Find out how my novel-writing is going. Or not…
How’s your writing going? The question that non-writers love to ask. But so hard to answer. I’m doing a bit of this and that. Working on a poem. Submitting my work for publication (Jacob’s Ladder, my second novel – there’s a third one too but that’s on hold). And… I’ve started something new, something lighter … More Writing update
After 50 years, I’m back in Withernsea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, fictionalised as Holdersea in my novel, One Scheme of Happiness. It’s so rooted in my imagination it’s been like going to Narnia. So much has stayed the same and is very familiar, but much has changed – in the 1960s the lighthouse … More Turn right at the lighthouse
27 February 2020 was the launch of my first novel. The whole process had taken years. But I had an agent and a publisher and life was rosy. And I had a lovely launch party at The English Rose Cafe in Victoria, London where friends, family and fellow writers came and my books sold out! … More Three years ago …
Well, I’d finished the latest draft of my novel Jacob’s Ladder, and was feeling rather smug, ready to relax and access some culture, be more sociable, do some serious gardening or just rest. But something made me think: What happened to that scene where they come back and he’s thrown all her letters away? A … More Discovery!
Last week I said I was going to print off my novel, Jacob’s Ladder, read it and start editing. My son had given me a printer they didn’t need and his girlfriend gave me a load of paper that was going to be recycled. The meeting of perfect circumstances? Well, at first all went well … More Printing my novel?
A quick update… I can’t believe I actually finished redrafting my second novel, Jacob’s Ladder in March 2017. Five years ago. And it’s still sitting waiting patiently to go out into the world. But of course since then I’ve finished a third novel: The River Brings The Sea and in 2020 published my debut, One … More Let’s start again
Editing my novel… very slowly … but today I finally sorted out a chapter which has always been problematic in terms of just about everything. One part of me said just scrap it. It’ll never work. It’s far-fetched, melodramatic and unlikely. But another part, the stubborn side wouldn’t give in. So I kept going. Writing … More Progress
At the weekend I get a train from King’s Cross to visit my daughter in Leeds. It’s over two hours, so lots of time to write. Comfy seats, an efficient service and I’m ready for my cup of tea so try to use the ‘at seat’ service to magically summon the buffet car attendant to … More I’m on the train!
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and I thought I’d share how I cope/struggle with my own mental health and how it feeds into my writing. I was a child who worried; I’m an adult who gets anxious and depressed. Talking to a friend the other day (also a writer) she said it’s those qualities of … More Mental health & writing
Well, this week has been fun… one straight out rejection, but one who asked to see the whole novel. For a few days I was in a state of bliss (she’s going to say yes, that’s it… publication, huge advance, broadsheet reviews, shortlisted for big prizes…) which alternated with the purgatory of each new email … More Hunting for a new agent
Ali Thurm 