Thursday, February 13, 2014

The Voices in My Head

Hello from a very soggy Britain! Although today was a brief respite from the lovely (read: not lovely) weather we've been having, apparently we are back to rain and gales tomorrow. Sigh. Well, I didn't come for the weather, that's for sure.

This has been a very busy week! I reviewed the proofs for The No-Kids Club (coming out  in June), worked with match.com UK on creating some Valentine's stories for their Twitter followers, started writing my short story for Belinda Jones's Sunlounger edition, and made it to 35,000 words on the first draft of my new novel. Phew.

As always when I'm writing a first draft, those sneaky little voices pop into my head. Who's going to read this drivel? This is rubbish! So boring! So dull! People will hate it! They are quite insidious little devils, and they hang around pretty much every paragraph until the end. Diving onto Twitter and expressing my frustration at their whispering, I was relieved to see I'm not alone: many other writers suffer from them, too.

After six published novels (and four not!), I think I've learned to push them aside and soldier on. I don't ignore them, because I've learned to allow myself the freedom to write crap and boring twaddle on a first draft. Yes, it just may suck -- and yes, people may put it down after the first chapter. But that doesn't matter, because the first draft is just that: a first draft. There are at least four others waiting in the wings, and with every pass I'll re-structure, re-write, tidy, and edit to my heart's content (and often past my heart's content) until I'm finally happy.

And when this comes in the post . . .


It's all worth it!

Have a great day, everyone, and congrats to Vicky Lesage, who has won a copy of My Mini Midwife from last week's post!

16 comments:

  1. Yeah, you got copies of your book!!
    You are a writing machine, Tallie.
    And you are not alone. Three hundred IWSG members relate with your insecurities.

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  2. Yay! I won! Very exciting :) Thanks for doing the giveaway!

    And, wow, it's inspiring how much you got done this week. I started on my next book so that's something but it'll be a while before I hit 35,000 words. Glad you hear the same voices I do - now I know I should just keep going!

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    1. Congratulations Vicki and good luck finishing that next novel within the timeframe you have set for yourself.

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  3. You've done a lot! Well done, Love the cover :) Worked with Match.com? is there going to be a book?? 35,000 words is awesome! Cant wait for June till the new book comes.

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  4. Ignore those pesky voices! Love the cover & well done for all that writing :)

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  5. The pesky voices shall not be heeded, Talli! The cover looks smashing!

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  6. You busy bee! The books look lovely. I have to write a story for Belinda too but am struggling to come up with an idea that will produce a SHORT (1-2K) story. My last Sunlounger story was nearly 7k!

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  7. I was surprised by the blue skies today. I guess we should remember they're always there,somewhere behind our usual brooding clouds. Back to floods and gales tomorrow!

    mood
    Moody Writing

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  8. I loathe writing first drafts lol. Those voices are particularly evil at that stage, but we have to keep on pushing through!

    You never write drivel! <3

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  9. We all suffer from such doubts, Talli - at least you're seeing the tangible fruits of your writing! Hope you don't get too much more rain.

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  10. Sounds like you've been very busy! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks their first drafts are a load of pap.

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  11. Hi Talli - congratulations .. yes the ups and downs of life - Love the look of the Pollyanna Plan. Hasn't the weather been grotty - I feel for the farmers and fishermen ... as well as anyone who is flooded - cheers Hilary

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  12. Talli: Great artwork and of course, I'm always amazed at your work capacity! It's work, but you make it sound fun too!

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  13. Congratulations Talli! Love, love, love that new cover. xo

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  14. Congrats Talli & love the cover!

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  15. Dont worry about the drivel... people still read..... and its no drivel :-)

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Coffee and wine for all!