PETER JAMES AT WATERSTONES

http://www.peterjames.com/ What a nice man!!

Ok, so I had heard some of his stories about being a writer before..….but when you think about it there can’t be that many anecdotes to tell……..and he did tell each one with that smile…..

He started off by reading the first chapter of: Dead Man’s Footsteps – his 18th novel and his 4th involving Roy Grace: If Ronnie Wilson had known, as he woke up, that in just a couple of hours he would be dead, he would have planned his day somewhat differently.

I did not realize he had been involved in the film industry – some of his early horror films included titles such as ‘I Dismembered Mama’ and ‘The Corpse Grinders’. He mentioned his involvement (Executive Producer) in the Merchant of Venice but said he was more proud of his writing. A series has been commissioned by ITV Granada to put Roy Grace on the screen. Peter said that he would like an unknown actor to get the part and he may actually have some say in this as Peter will be co-producing the series.

He said he likes writing crime as he feels it is ‘the best way to examine and reflect on the society in which we live.’ He is interested (as a lot of crime writers say) in why people do the things we do. He also added he likes writing police procedurals as police see life from the other side of the curtain. As part of his research he spends a day every 10 days with the Sussex Constabulary who cover Brighton and who figure a lot in his novels. He discussed the observational powers of the police – modern day Sherlock Holmes and how a policeman might go into a bar or restaurant and look at every face in the room. He noted that the only other people who look at all the faces are the villains. He forgot to mention crime writers….

Of course I was interested in what he had to say about his technique of writing. He plans the basic story and writes in detail the first 20% of the book and the ending. This is so he can drive the story to its conclusion. However, he did discuss the need to surprise both yourself and your reader, and to not plan too much. He repeated the old mantra Write Every Day!! and emphasized how this leads to continuity within the story. This was something I had not really thought about before. I had always thought people said ‘Write Every Day’ in order to keep the numbers up and to focus on getting the novel finished. Of course, writing every day also keeps the ideas and the story fresh in your head, and focuses you to keep thinking about the story and its twists and turns EVERY DAY!! It also emphasizes your status as a writer……

He said he can usually write a first draft in 7 months and the quickest he wrote a novel was in 7 weeks, but he had been researching it for 2 years. He emphasized that along with character and plot at the top of the list, research was just as important.

He was supposed to be at Lincoln Waterstones on the Thursday but as he had made the shortlist for the Theakston novel of the year he had been asked to attend the festival instead and so came to Lincoln one day early. I had read a number of the entries this year but did actually vote for Peter and Not Dead Enough and told him when I met him. He signed my book ‘Thanks for the Vote’ – what a nice man! Peter lost out to Stef Penney’s debut novel The Tenderness of Wolves (which I have not read) http://www.harrogate-festival.org.uk/crime/index.html


And what was the book like – as usual, un-put-down-able – one chapter flowing into the next so that your days and nights disappear until you have finished – another reason I have yet to finish MY novel!!

The Last Word in Procrastination.....

Went to the Winn Street Writers on Tuesday night and was asked why my blog at present only talks about procrastination and not about my writing. It seems I am procrastinating by talking about procrastination now! Anyway, one of the group (thanks Steve) sent me a short video which kinda sums it all up
see: www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2005/procrastination-p1.php

As the final lesson from Jurgen Wolff says:
Seize this moment. No more excuses, no more delays, this is it! The minute you finish reading this lesson, figure out one chunk of what you need to do.
Don't watch TV, don't go out, don't answer the phone, don't eat first, don't tolerate any interruptions.
Don't ponder why you haven't done it yet, or what it all means, or how long it will take you.
Stop thinking, start doing!
www.tameyourinnercritic.com/

And there will be no more on the subject...

QUOTATION

"To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make." Truman Capote, American writer (1824-1984)

www.writers.com Newsletter - July 08

Winners of the 10 word story challenge...

After much deliberation Simon, best-selling author, and programming chair of the 2008 Festival today judged the winner to be Sarah Netherclift for her story:
Expiry Date: Cruellest month, April. Although, technically he didn’t die until July.

The standard was so high, Simon also picked out five other stories from the adult competition for a special mention:
Grabbed, stabbed, shopped, copped, lied, denied, squealed, appealed, failed, jailed. (By MS Harris)
Take my car Joe said. Sue was never seen again. (By Yvonne Otter)
Going Postal: The knife glinted. Sometimes people just crack, said Miss Marple. (by Donna Mail)
Marital Problem: Cynical Wife, husband with knife, serious strife, husband got life. (By Geoff Newton)
Widower killed, not by seven suspects, but by dead wife. (By Phil Cook)

and another thing....

Writers News and Magazine arrived last week and as usual I have been devouring the contents. I particularly liked the quote reported that Anne Fine (Children's Laureate 2001-2003) said when interviewed for GuardianUnlimited:
'Firstly, Muriel Spark said you should write a book as if no one you know will ever read it. Secondly, you should never share your book with your partner. They are the worst people to advise you. And finally, Philip Larkin said, "Write the book you would most like to read, that no on else has written"'

Overcoming Procrastination

Jurgen Wolff is a star!! www.timetowrite.com/ Once again he has something very valuable to say but whether we listen to it or not is another matter....

In this weeks email he discusses controlled procrastination.
The normal pattern for procrastinating on something that is due in, say, two weeks is to put it off for maybe a week and a half or even more, feeling anxious and guilty the entire time. Then we work in a panic for the rest of the time to get it done--or we miss the deadline.

Here's an alternative: Consciously decide to procrastinate for the first week. During that week, don't even give the project or deadline another thought. Do whatever you want or need to do, unrelated to the project. Enjoy being free of the usual anxiety or guilt. When the procrastination period is up, get to work!

Of course in each case you will have to estimate how much time you have to enjoy procrastinating and how much time you will need to actually do the work, but in my experience we usually have a pretty good intuitive feel for how long something will take when we focus on it fully.

P.S. One of the core reasons behind procrastination is that you probably have a harsh inner critic. When you transform it to a constructive inner critic, it will change your life for the better. You'll have more energy, more motivation--and you'll be free of the fear that is often the cause of procrastination.