Spent the evening proofing and uploading these two chapters.  I seem to have a little following of readers who look forward to my next chapter and e-mail request more.  It is very motivating. 

Every writer has a favorite genre and sometimes despite how much you love to write, you just can't get your ideas on the paper.

I was frustrated and complaining over a cup of tea when my finance wisely suggested "Why don't you try a different genre?"

The idea was almost scary.  Literally, stepping out of my comfort zone - naked!  It was unspeakable!  I couldn't do it!

I let the idea settle in my mind and it began to appeal to me.  The reason I enjoy Scribblers (my writing social group) so much is because they challenge me.  Writing a different genre would be a good leaning experience.   After all every genre has aspects of other genres within it, for example a romance novel might have the lead feeling stalked and that scene might not look out of place in a thriller or horror.  There could be a detective that has some romantic involvement or there could be a fight that wouldn't look out of place in an action story.   When I am struggling for ideas, keeping my mind fresh by trying something new is the solution.  

Choosing to try my hand at a little horror was quite thrilling and my immagination has already begun to take flight.  I shan't try it late at night of course... now that would be scary!  

This story has been split between 3 PCs.  It started on my old PC using an old version of Word.  When it died a sudden death I moved to my fiance's new PC (no gaming for him) and had to use MS Works. 

Being robbed of his PC, my fiance was more agreeable that I needed a PC of my own (so he can get back to gaming).  Returning from his parents with his old PC I was back in business.  I hate MS Works, so to avoid having to use it, I downloaded open office.  Only problem was... now this story is in three formats.  Luckily, Open Office is quite a bilingal program and happily opened the other files witout too much trouble.

My final dilema is.... it turns out, WeBooks prefers Ms Word for uploads.  This wasn't a huge problem as I could copy and paste the text in and just had to format it afterwards - which in a way encouraged me to give the document a final proof before going live. 

I am currently reading Rachel Vincent's book "Pride". I can't help but be impressed at what an amazing writer she is. I love how she describes things, such as:

'I am so persuasive I can talk the colour off a crayon."

"Dread settled in my stomach like sour milk."

I am not sure if I have these quotes dead on as I don't have the book in front of me (amazingly) but I am sure you have got the point. Is there a name for this style of writing? It makes reading her books so much more interesting as the way she describes things draws up images in my mind that help me relate easilyt o what the character is feeling.

I think it was in "Rogue" where there is a scene I loved, where she described the chess pieces falling over. I can't say too much as I don't want to spoil the story for people who haven't yet read it but what she did was similar to the sort of thing a director of photography might do in a film. The small details of what was happening around the character were just as important to the main story as the plot.  She used the fallen chess piece in a way to compliment the actual events taking place in the story. The chess board breaking had nothing to do with the story but the images it brought up were symbolic - it was genius.

I wish I could write like this! I feel I have plenty of great ideas for more stories but so do many other writers. If I want my work to stand out and be something special then I have to find a way to incorporate something unique within my writing style because describing a scene well or making a character realistic just isn't enough! I need to give my writing some va-va-voom.

To write at the level of Rachel Vincent will be no easy feat but I know I am improving everyday. I can now see my mistakes and I have a better idea of what I need to do next to improve. With time I am confident I will get published. That is my ultimate goal, my dream, my destiny. If I didn't have bills to pay I would live and breath writing as it is the oxygen that fuels my existence.

The first four chapters for Drift have now been uploaded to WeBook. 

The first three chapters of Drift have been up on www.webook.com since Christmas.  After a string of positive feedback I was encouraged to upload more. 

The community on WeBook are so supportive and the feedback on submissions is really useful.  I have learnt a lot from other people and my confident has soared. 

Getting my manuscript to a presentable standard is going to take time if I want it to be accepted. This is not because my writing is rubbish but due to the high level required to get noticed. It must be perfect!

I was today researching Literary Agents. I have discovered most publishers don't accept unsolicited manuscripts - meaning you need an agent! Searching the web I found the general advice to be:

1. There are lots of sites with directories of contacts (Agent Query being one of them) and you should select one that specialises in your genre

2. Only send what that ask for (usually the first 3 chapters) and the story best be complete. They are not interested in your ideas, in fact they will tell you what needs to be changed!

3. Research the agent to ensure you like each others working styles - but seen as getting past the slush pile is very difficult, I bet most authors are simply ecstatic to have their work realised.

Point 3 is pretty tricky as nowhere can you find a website where someone reviews their experience of an agent or publisher. You can't write to them and request a reference. I began to wonder, how are you supposed to know whether an agent is right for you (or vice versa)? The answer was simple... a Social Networking site for those involved in the Literary World.  Now you can meet like minded writers and publishers from the comfort of your PC.

I have today created an account on Agent Query and hope that it will help me develop as a writer and take me further towards publication. If you want to check it out, the website address is: www.agentquery.com