After spending years writing my first novel (and shedding plenty tears) I vowed to do things differently next time. Writing books is my passion, surely it didn’t have to feel so hard?
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If you’ve read Fireside Fairy Tales or excerpts of my writing on Instagram, you might have spotted some Gaelic words. And lots of Scots.
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Ironically, I felt stressed writing parts of this blog. As in, my teeth literally went numb.
I remember a time when writing didn’t come with a heap of expectations or mental resistance. Somewhere along the line what should be simple and joyful has become source of stress and judgement.
And that’s why I’m writing about how to find a calm writing routine.
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My country is steeped in fairy faith. Many of our traditions and rituals in Scotland come from our ancestor’s desire to appease the ‘guid folk’ who could be fickle in their affections and downright dangerous if provoked. As children, on the 31st of October we’d go “guising”, which is the practise of dressing up in scary costumes and visiting neighbours to sing songs or tell jokes in exchange for sweeties.
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‘Tis the season for scary stories!
The nights are drawing in. On evening walks bats whirl under the streetlamps like wind-whipped leaves and I scurry past “haunted” spots like the Hodler’s Bush. Carved pumpkins line the window sill and I find myself reaching for dark folktales and gothic playlists. Sometimes I wish spooky season would last just a wee bit longer…
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I will cut to the chase. Eva Deverell’s One Page Novel is a course that changed my writing life and right now you can get 10% off using the code KATE10.
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Being a slow writer is hard. I was never sure if it was perfectionism or not having the ‘right’ writing process that held me back. Maybe I was just a slow writer, end of story.
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Setting is perhaps more important to Fantasy writers than any other genre.
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On Instagram last weekend I asked for your favourite books inspired by folklore and fairy tales. There were so many wonderful suggestions that I decided to compile them into a blog post that we can refer to whenever our reading pile needs a dose of magic!
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Hasn’t it been a while? Winter and lockdown wove a web of quiet days, book reading and nurturing creative seedlings. Now those seeds are nudging their way out of the snow, it’s time to come out of hibernation…
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As the year-end approaches, I like to reflect on the books that left an impression. It’s a constant source of surprise and excitement knowing a life-changing read could be just around the corner, magical and unexpected as snow in July.
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Do writing affirmations really work? Yes, I’ve concluded, to a spooky degree. I took an interest after discovering that one of my key love languages (as a Scot, my toes curl writing that sentence) is Words of Affirmation.
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It’s the last weekend before National Novel Writing Month. Before you write off participating, I’m here to tell you there’s still time to prepare. 2020’s been rough, might as well get a novel out of it!
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A few weeks ago we stayed at Little Dell, a cosy cottage nestled within Abernethy Forest. Three days whisked by but each night spent in the cottage had a timeless quality, even as autumn ripened around us.
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I’m going on an overdue adventure to the edge of a dark forest, where limbless horsemen canter in ghostly procession…
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I’m euphoric! I’ve just finished the first draft of Against the Sun, my latest novel, and it only took four months. Scenes are (mostly) in the right place and my protagonist’s arc is solid. There isn’t a spare character in sight and I’m confident this book will take less time to edit than my last. I owe it all to Eva Deverell and her One Page Novel course.
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Why can’t first drafts be perfect? I knew I wouldn’t get away scot-free, but wasn’t quite prepared for the mountain of revisions. Where was my Zadie Smith moment - grabbing a bottle of champagne and having a introspective moment of satisfaction and emptiness in my garden? Instead I’d reached a false summit, the way forward shrouded by mist. I didn’t know where to go next.
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Welcome to another edition of Simple Magic. Lockdown restrictions are lifting, the sun’s shining, and I’m making progress with the first draft of my novel. This is a strange chapter in history, and I think it’s the small, everyday details that shed light on the whole. Time to pause the writing posts for a moment and share a quick tour of my camera roll before the moment slips away forever.
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On Monday I asked via Instagram Stories whether you’d like a post on searching for literary agents or how to keep a writer’s notebook - as you can see, the writer’s notebook won!
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I have a rocky relationship with word counts. They go down when I want them to go up, and soar out of control when I’d rather be concise. I’ve found word counts motivating, stifling, an uplifting measurement of progress and a way to disguise floundering as progress.
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