Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Meg Waite Clayton on November 27, 2011 at 5:27pm

I think if you're going to have a ghost, he or she should show up pretty soon in the story.

Permalink Reply by Anna Wadlow on November 27, 2011 at 6:01pm

Thank you Meg...I agree...My friend thought it would be to soon...now I can tell him he was wrong...LOL

I have only lived in this house for two months, the spirits started showing their signs real quick...I just wasn't sure if I put it in a book like that, that it would be believable.

Permalink Reply by Razia Ladson-Shamsiddeen on November 23, 2011 at 11:50am

I just recently completed my first book "To Thine Own Self Be True" It describes my personal journey in finding myself, the essence of who I am and what I believe I was put on this earth to aspire into.  It describes the many experiences that shaped me and forced me to grow into who I am today.  I wanted to share my experiences because although they were unique to me, we have all had life-changing experiences in our lives that have forced us to grow in many ways.  This book is an affirmation for those who know how to make their experiences work for them, as well as the people who find themselves stuck; stuck in relationships, stuck in jobs, stuck in unwanted situations, or just plain stuck.  It is my journey of me reaching deep inside myself in order to help change and shape the world around me.  I speak about putting yourself first, getting rid of toxic people and toxic issues, and just being true to yourself, as the beginning of a long road to taking back your life.

I love writing and researching, so I am into writing self help books about real topics, and I just do my homework.  My book is now available on Amazon, and I have already started writing and researching my second book: "Finding The Peace Within".

Permalink Reply by Regina Y. Swint on November 23, 2011 at 12:13pm

Hi, Razia!

Sounds like your book will help a lot of people.  I'm going to go take a look at it on Amazon now.  Congratulations on this one, and good luck to you with the next one!  :)

Permalink Reply by Meg Waite Clayton on November 27, 2011 at 5:27pm

Congrats, Razia!

Permalink Reply by Anita Chapman on November 27, 2011 at 10:32am

Hello,

Thank you to Meg for her warm welcome to this group.

I've been working on a novel (commercial women's fiction) set in Siena, Italy for a few years. The novel is about a girl wanting to get out of rural Yorkshire (in the U.K.) who finds love with an Italian-American whilst au pairing in Tuscany.  I'm from Surrey in the U.K. and I've been a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association's New Writer's Scheme for two years. This means my complete manuscript (80K words) has been reviewed by an anonymous reader (published writer) twice. I sent a submission to an agent two weeks ago. I've worked out a rough plan for my next novel which will be set in France and Italy. I hope to get stuck into this second novel after Christmas.

I'm looking forward to taking part in your discussions on here - some of them are really interesting. When I've worked out what time the water cooler discussion is in the U.K, I'd like to take part in that too!- what a great idea.

Regards,

Anita

Permalink Reply by Meg Waite Clayton on November 27, 2011 at 5:29pm

Great setting for a novel, Anita, and it sounds like a fun premise, too. And I hope water cooler works for you. If I remember correctly, part of the reason we have it pretty early in the day is so Europeans can participate. 

Permalink Reply by Samantha Carlin on November 30, 2011 at 11:29am

Hi everyone! This is a great thread. Really excited to be a part of it.

 

Just as a quick introduction-- I'm working on my first novel. It's a sort of pop-lit (but with depth, I promise), bildungsroman about a young woman trying to make it in NYC. In the meantime she's fallen into a relationship with a celebrity that, as the novel begins, has been found out by the press. To top it off, her life is falling apart around her-- career problems, family problems, ex-boyfriend problems, money problems, pressure-of-being-young-in-NYC problems. She's also looking out into the world and trying to find her place in it during a time when things are not so clear or so easy for her generation.

 

It's told in first person and takes place in the present day (post 2008 economy crash). I'm having a lot of fun writing it, and since I'm not an outliner or planner, I intuitively feel about 1/3 -1/2 through the first draft.

 

Looking forward to getting to know you all a little more. Thanks for listening!

 

Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Towns on November 30, 2011 at 11:57am

Hi Samantha!

Your novel sounds intricate and interesting. How are you doing with that first person perspective? I am trying to outline now, although I have already been writing for a while. A writer friend got me into the idea of outlining my characters and my story line, so that I can identify the characters better.

 

Good to meet you!

Permalink Reply by Samantha Carlin on November 30, 2011 at 12:17pm

Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for the feedback. The first person perspective can be challenging (like breaking up the sentence structure from using "I" as the first word in so many sentences), and there are times I definitely want to get into the minds of my other characters. But at the heart of it, I'm really invested in my narrator/protagonist, and I know it has to be her story from her perspective, so I'm enjoying being in her mind the whole time.

 

I think outlining characters is a good idea if that's what works for you! Process is so unique, there's no right or wrong way to do it. I just find that, personally, the only way I can write anything is by writing it. Discovery happens for me in the moment of each word on the page.

 

Good to meet you too!

Permalink Reply by Meg Waite Clayton on December 4, 2011 at 10:52am

sounds terrific, Samantha.

Permalink Reply by Regina Y. Swint on December 4, 2011 at 12:19pm

Sounds cool, Samantha.  Have you given it a title yet?  Looking forward to hearing more about it.  :)

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