A resolution?

It is a new year and I have realized I have fallen prey to one of the biggest killers of a writer's creativity ... not writing.

Things started out well.  I got this blog, I joined a few forums, I embarked on a blog fiction serial, I wrote a short story for a magazine competition and I planned (and started) two novels.  And then, I stopped.  What happened?  I worked, I played, I got side tracked (read a plethora of novels, got addicted to 'Dragon Age'), Christmas happened with inevitable family and friend  reunions ... life got in the way.

Two nights ago we stayed with some good friends, one of whom, Joy, asked me about my writing.  She has a brother who is a fairly successful artist.  I began with excuses, of course.  My work is busy and very consuming (which it is) I enjoy other things aside from writing, like cycling, socializing and gardening, which are also very time consuming.  She listened to me, nodding her head in silent agreement.  Then she uttered one sentence, "you have to be disciplined."

The effect of this one statement has been transforming.  I have ruminated on that one word since I returned home yesterday.  I think I have always dismissed 'discipline' as belonging to the athletes or soldiers - never to the artists who I have always thought (in the back of my mind at least) need to work when they are inspired.  Now I have changed my view on this.

I have been meaning to get back into writing many times over the past days, weeks and months.  But my friend's clear message seemed to encapsulate, succinctly, what I need to do.  And so, with great enthusiasm I have returned to my blog.  If we want to be successful as writers we need to be disciplined and persistent.  Is this a new year's resolution?  Perhaps it is ;)  Well, let's see if I'm back again this time next week.

Happy New Year!

A great read for writers!

The most important thing when writing is ... well, writing!  But, you should also start to consider other factors that will be pivotal in determining success and fame (well getting your name out there at least).

If you intend on epublishing (even if you're not)  I would like to suggest a very useful read from smashwords.  It's the 'Smashwords Book Marketing Guide'.

This FREE read will provide you with priceless insights about the competitive world of novels. It details the most effective 'tricks' for promoting your masterpiece on the web, from creating book trailers, to starting your own blog (who would have thought!!!). Enjoy.

Dracula - read it on a dark, rainy weekend!

If you find yourself at home on a long, rainy weekend in winter.  Perhaps the fire is going, all your friends are out of town, and there's just you and the cat; I highly recommend losing yourself in the original 'Dracula' (insert - thunderclap).

Dracula is free at Amazon Kindle

If you're a reader of classics, you'll appreciate the dark symbolism and poetic language employed by Stoker.  If you're not, it's one classic you might enjoy with its sinister yet saucy tale.

The novel is a well known Gothic tale about the elusive Count Dracula.  It is written in an epistolary style, which means it is a series of diary entries, letters, newspaper articles and so on.  This style makes it interesting as we read about the story and characters from different perspectives, and we are left wondering which perspectives are reliable (insert- eerie music)!

We are introduced to the story by Jonathan Harker, a young solicitor who travels to Transylvania to meet with Dracula on business.  The narrative then switches back to England where Harker's fiance, Mina and her friend Lucy, pick up the tale.  They wonder what has happened to Jonathan and also muse upon the mysterious arrival of a ship, with one dead body on board.  The simultaneous sightings of a black dog have the town of Whitby in a flap.  A strange sequence of events plays out, first with Lucy, then with Mina!

The thing that keeps you turning the pages and wanting to know more is the lack of explicit reference.  Stoker manages to allude to sexuality and horror in symbolic ways, making it all the more tantalising and just  plain scary.  The word 'Vampire' is barely mentioned, and so we wonder, along with Harker who or what Dracula is!

Here is one of my favourite descriptions:

"... my very feelings changed to repulsion and terror when I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over that dreadful abyss, face down, with his cloak spreading out around him like great wings.  At first I could not believe my eyes.  I thought it was some trick of the moonlight, some weird effect of shadow;  but I kept looking, and it could be no delusion.  I saw the fingers and toes grasp the corners of the stones, worn clear of the mortar by the stress of years, and by thus using every projection and inequality move downwards with considerable speed, just as a lizard moves along a wall."

Isn't it thrilling?

The Viscount's Son

I have published the first segment of my ongoing, fictional blog called 'The Viscount's Son'.  This is an experimental writing project; I am interested in the capacity of blogging as a fictional tool.  Any feedback about it will be welcomed.  'The Viscount's Son' will be updated on an irregular basis, so stay tuned!

'The Viscount's Son' is a fictional blog that tells the story of book conservator, Emma, and her online project - to transcribe an ancient and mysterious text.  The trouble is, Emma's colleague, Jack, believes the medieval 'diary' is a fake.  Emma decides to translate the text and leave it up to her readers to decide - so what will you think?  Follow Emma's journey to discern the mysteries of the medieval memoir!


Chapter one - To Begin

Join me?

Hi I'm Aderyn.  I'm one of the millions out there who have dreams of authorial success!  Sounds a little grandiose doesn't it?  Well, it probably is.  The purpose of this blog is multifold.  Of course I want to (eventually) advertise my novel, when it's finished ('if' may be more appropriate), but I also want to share the whole writing process with other interested or potential authors.   I would like to take you on a journey from the humble beginnings of a new writer to something more.
In addition to this, I like to review.  Therefore, I want to provide fellow readers with my views about books, old and new.  So, please feel free to visit this blog on occasion to read some reviews on ebooks.
"Ebooks!?" I hear you exclaim.  You may be surprised at the depth and breadth, not to mention the price, of a whole range of ebooks.  So if you do not yet possess an ipad or kindle, might I suggest you investigate them?  I'll also be reviewing ebooks from very new/unheard of authors, which could go either way.  But many of us are willing to take the risk, after all, big publishing houses don't always get it right.
To conclude this inaugural blog, I'm looking forward to the day when someone ... anyone, reads it ... it will be a grand day!


Until next week,

Aderyn.