The letters will fall into place to make words.
The words will group together to form sentences.
The sentences gather to form paragraphs.
The paragraphs will flourish and bloom into chapters.
Then the chapters will blossom into your book.
And it all began with a single letter…..
Now for the final instalment in my Meet The Writer series that was first shared as part of a 15-day challenge on my author Facebook page back in July. Seems like a lifetime ago now…
#MeetTheWriter Day 11/15…MOVEMENT
Walking…meandering…. gives my mind space to drift off into the storyline. I often puzzle through the roadblocks of my writing as I meander after work. That daily post-work walk also serves to clear the day job out of my head and allow the creative spaces to open up again.
“Dancing” (I use the term loosely as I have very little sense of rhythm) at a gig helps in general. There’s a great sense of freedom in it. I love losing myself in the performance. Watching what is going on up on stage closely is also good research for my book babies, especially watching soundcheck when the chance arises.
#MeetTheWriter Day 12/15…FIRSTS…
Before I answer this one, I’ll give you a little background. I started to write my first novel in May 2013. Later that year I shared an excerpt from it with a close friend who encouraged me to keep chasing the dream. One small problem – I’m terrified of letting people read what I write. That’s a fear that’s still very real today but I’ve got better at dealing with it. My way of attempting to overcome it was to start my blog back on 29 Dec 2013. So to answer the question, this blog post was the first piece of writing I shared publicly https://coralmccallum.co.uk/2013/12/ The journey began right there..
#MeetTheWriter … DAY 13/15…DREAM
There’s two answers to this …humour me for a moment.
If I could turn back time, I would love to go back to my aunt’s house and sit and write out on her sun deck while I listened to the sounds of nature around me.
The current dream (and I will make it happen one day) is not to write at a specific desk but instead is to sit on my favourite beach, listening to the waves crashing in on the shore and just lose myself in the moment with my notebook and pen on my knee.
#MeetTheWriter DAY 14/15….ADVICE…
The best writing advice I have been given to date was given to me by one of my high school English teachers who told me to write about places I love and topics I am passionate about. I think it took me about 30 years to fully understand what he meant by it.
Another creative analogy that has stuck is the one about first drafts being like chucking sand into the sand box. There’s time to build castles later. I heed that one when at the end of an evening’s writing I start to doubt the quality of the words I’ve written.
#MeetTheWriter … Day 15/15… MIRROR
Oh good question to end this 15 days of #MeetTheWriter! I would like my writing to be described as genuine. I write from the heart. I strive to create believable, slightly flawed central characters (no one in this world is perfect) and I do my best to write about characters that people want to get to know. I’ve had several folk say to me that they want to hear the songs my rock stars sing. I’ve had folk sigh because they’ll never get to see Silver Lake or After Life or The RJ Band on stage. If I can evoke those feelings, along with the laughter and the tears, then I’m happy. The greatest compliment I’ve been paid to date came from someone at work. After I wrote Stronger Within they approached me in the staff restaurant and said they’d read my book and quite enjoyed it. They followed that comment up by adding that it had encouraged them to read other books. Job done! If I can make someone pick up a book, then that’s good enough for me.
A new month beckons so time to share the next instalment of my Meet The Writer series. As I mentioned last month, this was first shared as a 15-day challenge on my author Facebook page back in July. The final instalment will be shared next month.
#meetthewriter Day 6/15 – MUSIC….
this question made me smile. Those who know me personally already know the answer. It’s no secret that I love my rock music. My books (so far) all centre around music so listening to music aids the creative process. Alexa is my musical writing buddy! (And my work buddy for during the day job) I’d be here all day trying to name everyone who’s on my playlist! Ok- there’s a fair bit of Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry, Halestorm, Rival Sons, Dirty Honey, Cardinal Black, Kris Barras…..I could go on and on and on…Read my music blog https://the525toglasgow.wordpress.com/ and you’ll get the gist of it. If I’m writing outdoors, I do however prefer the sounds of nature around me.
#meetthewriter Day 7/15….LIFE….
I love “meandering” – going for a leisurely walk especially after a day logged on at work as it clears the “workday” from the rest of the day. I love to walk along the beach and feel sand under my feet. It grounds me. I also enjoy wandering through woodland. Most mornings I start the day with some yoga and a short yoga meditation combined with some Reiki.
I love reading. My kindle is never far away, and I have a house full of books of all genres.
I’m also a keen amateur photographer. You don’t want to know how many photos are on my phone!
As I mentioned before I love music and I also collect vinyl. I really do need to find a better way to store it….
I love going to gigs as time allows and I review those on my music blog The525to Glasgow.
Something you might not know is that I also run a real-life rock star’s fan page on FB and a sister account on Instagram. That FB page has a following of over 60k…..if only my author page could catch up LOL
Suffice to say…life’s busy.
#meetthewriter Day 8/15.WORDS….
what do I write…. well, my novels (so far) have all been contemporary romance along a rock music theme. Admittedly Riley is a bit different to the others. I try to write “real” believable characters into my book babies.
I blog and if you’ve explored that then you already know it’s an eclectic mix of all sorts. I do tend to have fun with different genres on there especially my Silently Watching serialised vampire fiction that has been running for 9 years now.
I also write poetry. In fact, I was published as a poet before I wrote any of my book babies.
I write music blogs too for my The525toGlasgow blog that chronicle the gigs I attend.
I journal extensively. It’s a great coping mechanism. I also write a diary every night before bed.
I kind of feel I should add that I write my Tesco list every week too! LOL
#MeetTheAuthor Day 9/15… TOOLS….
I’ve mentioned before I write all my first drafts longhand so the weapons of creation of choice are usually pens with brightly coloured ink. Black and blue are too boring! Invariably the ink is purple but, I’ll let you into a wee secret, I always write the first drafts of the Silently Watching stories in green ink.
I’ve written my way through more pens than I care to think of. I’m a sucker for pens so I’ve dozens but for Book Baby 8 I’m using Zebra Fountain Pens in purple ink. Yup- real old school with a nib pen.
I’ve stayed loyal to Pukka notepads for my writing. I started Stronger Within in one and have stuck with them. I buy them in 5’s – all the same colour. I love a good Back To School stationery sale! For my blogs I tend to use slightly fancier notebooks. Normal blog posts get written at the front and gig reviews at the back.
My Continue the Story journal is the exception in a way. I always write in pencil in it.
#MeetTheWriter Day 10/15. TALISMAN…
Today’s question kind of stopped me in my tracks. I am a creature of habit. I am one of those annoying people you could just about set your watch to. I like my things to be about me and to be in their place (even if it could be argued as being cluttered) but the honest answer to this question is …no. Unless you count a glass of water, juice, mug of coffee or glass of wine. Once I get into my “writing head” I’m in those pages and the world about me has been shut out so the surroundings don’t really matter much.
Coral McCallum 