De-blog

Reunions: yep, I’m still writing that beast of a WIP. Today, the word count stands at 186,321, which means I’ve written 13,000 words in the past week and I’m still no closer to finishing it! That’s how it feels, at least, because I’ve been patching holes rather than moving towards the conclusion. Brief explanation: This snippet follows on from last week’s: George is thinking back to the verbal bullying he went through in high school, as well as his mum, who is much ‘lovelier’ than she comes across here. OK, she’s not that lovely, but she means well. Here's the snippet: Josh the boy genius, who remembered everything—every cruel and kind word spoken, every fight, argument, every mundane moment. All those times he’d recounted events of which George had no memory, yet when Josh had said those words, playing down the courage it had taken to stand up to Suzie Tyler, they had tattooed George’s brain. You make me brave. He wished he’d been braver. He wished he could have done...

Reunions: the never-ending WIP. Sigh. Today, the word count stands at 173,100. It’s a mess, still not finished, but I do believe it’s getting there. That said, trying to find six sentences that make sense in isolation is getting a bit tricky. Brief explanation: George is thinking back to the verbal bullying he went through in high school. Here's the snippet: Of course it bothered him. He hated being gay first, everything else second. It was what he’d always loved about Josh; he wasn’t ‘gay George’ or ‘star footballer George’. To Josh, he was ‘just George’, and when Josh had taken on Suzie Tyler, it hadn’t been only for George’s sake. He’d given her hell on Shaunna’s behalf, and Kris’s, and Rob’s—the list was endless. You make me brave. * * * * * Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please...

There is a school of thought which argues authors shouldn't read reviews of their work, because reviews are written for other would-be readers. Furthermore, those who argue for free expression in reviews contend that once the work is out there, it is a product, just like any other, and authors should not take it personally if a reviewer hates their 'product'. I can agree with this sentiment - up to a point - and it is precisely why we SHOULD read our reviews. In every industry, customer feedback is used to improve products and services. Likewise, if we authors don't read our reviews, we can not improve our product. That said, a piece of creative writing is not the same as an engine part, or a sofa, or a coffee maker, for whilst the inventor of a new and innovative product might well pour their heart and soul into it, the end product that we buy off the production line is tried, tested and far removed from that initial creative endeavour. A bad review for a vacuum cl...