Two Pitches Made!

Been working on a couple of pitches over the last few weeks and today finally felt they were ready to go.  Just got to wait and see now....

......but while I am waiting for those two I hope to have a few hours free on Wednesday to start work on my next pitch / pitches!!

My Name In Print!!

Can you see?  That's my name there - and there is another page to the article!

Go out and buy February's Writing Magazine www.writers-online.co.uk to see my article in all its glory!!

Julie Wow

Thanks to Julie http://juliewow.com/ who sent me a very nice email with regards to my article. 

She writes:

Loved your recent article in 'Writing Magazine'. It has given me much to think about, especially how I waste so much time procrastinating as opposed to actually doing. Having started a blog of my own last year, http://juliewow.com my writing discipline has improved as a necessity to maintain its presence, but I can still become distracted when 'life issues' get in the way. However, I'm hoping that by following your tips, my writing focus will develop to provide a more productive and successful year ... and boy, do I need it. Keep the good ideas flowing.

So I am trying desperately to get motivated this morning; suffering as I am with a post birthday hangover, as I know now that there are people I have yet to meet, who are watching me from somewhere outside......

Another email

Received another lovely email from Alma who attends the group I call The Poison Pens:

 

HI Jo,

Happy New Year to you too.  What a start!  Congratulations, a very professional piece, full of enthusiasm and good advice.  I hope you will continue to enter at least one competition or submit one article a month.  Years ago, the very kind editor of She magazine - long before it was revamped - advised me that 'in this game, perseverance is all.'  I too am going to try to complete and submit something somewhere every month but my New Year will have to begin in February because of the backlog of tasks/obligations to be dealt with.  I only managed to write two pieces this last year. Shame! (Retirement is unfortunately not only sand, sea and sangria but quite a lot of hard work.) I sold one but will have to work on the rejected one. Can I ask you - did they pay you? Very sorry we won't see you at Ancaster. Keep up the blogging, the practice and discipline must be helping.

Email from Karen Maitland

Following publication of my article in Writing Magazine (February 2013) I sent an email to all my writing contacts wishing them a Happy New Year and of course mentioning the article!

I received this lovely email back from www.karenmaitland.com/  author of the medieval thrillers Company of Liars, The Owl Killers and The Gallows Curse, and one time creative writing tutor of Joanne Borrill.

 

Dear Joanne,

Many, many congratulations on your brilliant article in Writing Magazine. My copy just arrived in the post today, so I turned to your article first while I was eating lunch. Really excellent advice and I will certainly be trying to apply it. I loved the idea of writing the author blurb as you would like it to be and setting out the steps to achieve it, also the setting of SMART goals. I think I'm often one of those people that pours all the water and sand into the jar first in the mistaken belief that if I get the small tasks out of the way then I can concentrate. Such a mistake. I'm sure your piece will inspire a lot of readers like me. Thank you for writing it.

Published!!!

My article has been published in this month's edition of Writing Magazine (www.writers-online.co.uk) - entitled 'Kick-start Your Writing Year' (page 12/13). 

So, as for New Years Resolutions, all I can really say is that I will continue this status as a 'published writer' throughout 2013 and beyond!!

Last Years Resolutions..... (2012)

Last year I made 5 resolutions as part of the workshop I led for the Lindum Scribes.

These were to:
Develop a House Style for myself by the end of January 2012
Attend a workshop on writing poetry in 2012
Enter at least one competition a month in 2012
Take a new piece of writing to every meeting of The Lindum Scribes in 2012
Every day write something or do something that moves me towards the writer I want to be

Unfortunately, I wasn't entirely successful, in that I didn't enter as many competitions as I said I would and I didn't actually attend all the meetings, but I do feel 2012 helped me to concentrate on what I wanted out of my writing (and my life generally!).  I did concentrate on my poetry in 2012 and learnt that it is very subjective as to whether people actually like it or not; which makes it difficult for others to offer criticism.  As such, I left one writing group and joined another.  It was also for this reason I decided against attending a poetry workshop.  I write my own poetry and I don't feel the need at this stage, to think too much about the actual process of writing poetry.  Somehow that takes away the beauty of it.  I did however, attend a workshop on writing non-fiction, which has helped me to focus on my resolutions for 2013.....