Retreat to Advance

The title of this blog is not to suggest I am a military tactician but to establish how much progress a writer can make by removing her/himself from the ‘normal’ world.

For this year’s annual writing retreat, Elaine Everest, Elaine Roberts, Francesca Capaldi Burgess and I chose Ramsgate on the Kent coast. For one week we lived and worked in a delightful house overlooking the beach and the harbour. We all had different aims but the ambition of each was to focus on our work away from the distractions of everyday life. There was a level of concentration that was impossible to maintain every waking hour so I make no apology for admitting that we sampled many of the diversions on offer – and the ice-cream was delicious.

I asked each of my companions to tell me about their week.

Elaine Everest

I like to plan what I'll be working on while on a writing retreat. Clear the decks so I'm not working on admin or blogging if at all possible and stick to my writing. This year the sun has been out most days and our lovely four-bedroomed house overlooks the sea. There's a buzz from cafes and the harbour nearby which can make it extremely hard to concentrate on words. Worse still was waiting on news from my publisher with the Nielsen Bookscan results for The Woolworths Girls. Tuesday started with much chewing of fingernails and ended with ice cream and bubbly when I learned The Woolworths Girls was number 15 in the Sunday Times Bestsellers chart. Apart from that I wrote around 2.000 words before moving onto edits for my second book The Butlins Girls. With a fair wind behind me and not too much sun to distract me I should have cleared the track changes and possibly even written another short scene before we head for home on Saturday.

Elaine Roberts

Left to Right
Elaine R, Francesca, Natalie and Elaine E
in Corby's Tearooms

The week before the writing retreat, I made a plan and chapter breakdown of my new novel. In my mind, I thought I’d write around 10,000 words; the final figure was 6,335. No, I am not disappointed; tiredness got the better of me. I lost two days writing, one travelling to the RNA Summer Party, which was great, and the following day. Wine, travelling and lack of sleep did play its part for me.

The week did bring lots of writerly discussions. We celebrated Elaine Everest’s success with excessive ice cream and champagne, not at the same time. An afternoon coming up with book titles caused a lot of laughter as we sat near the marina; we got some funny looks from people sitting close by.

It was a good week of sea and sun, with lots of food and wine, even if my word count was down.

Francesca Capaldi Burgess

View from our balcony

A week away to write, research and edit the second part of my serial for People's Friend was what I was hoping to achieve during our week in Ramsgate. Happily, I can report I managed it. I'm sure I'll do a couple more edits, but it's more or less ready to send off. A retreat is a good way to escape the everyday stresses and have some dedicated writing time. It's also valuable having other writers to hand as you can throw ideas around and get feedback. Not all the ideas are sensible but they are fun! I find that our down time, sharing meals etc, is an important component of the week as it refreshes us and sets us up for the next bout of work.

Natalie Kleinman

For a while there I felt as if I was in no man’s land. I had not yet engaged with my new novel and I was waiting for track changes to arrive from my agent, Lisa Eveleigh. Arrive they did and I set to with a will.

We took a day out to get the train to London for the RNA Summer Party, arriving back at the house in Ramsgate close to midnight. We walked each day, on the promenade, on the beach, inland, exploring this lovely seaside town which I had never before visited. We ate a lot. We drank…some. And we worked!

Edits were resumed. They are time-consuming and require much concentration, but are very rewarding. I still have a lot to do but at least I can now foresee the time (I hope) when my book will be ready to submit to publishers. So let’s return to the title of this post. Retreat to Advance. It is unlikely that I would have achieved as much had I remained at home. Every writing retreat I’ve been to has pushed my work forward, given me the time and space to focus on the job in hand. Though the edits are not finished they are well in advance of where they would have been. So, here’s to next year’s retreat. To more eating, drinking, walking and exploration. And above all, to more writing.

My thanks to Elaine E, Elaine R and Francesca for their contributions. 

When is enough enough?

Can one ever do too much? Can one ever do enough?

It’s been a while since you heard from me here on the blog. Several weeks in fact, at which time I had just taken my courage in both hands and sent my Regency novel to my agent, Lisa Eveleigh, for a ‘first look’. I had very positive feedback from Lisa but obviously there was still a lot to do. Her advice was invaluable and I have spent the time since editing, re-editing then editing some more. I am very fortunate in having beta readers whom I’ve known for a long time and who have no hesitation in telling it like it is. This honesty is as important as any other factor in producing the best finished article possible and they don’t seem to mind reading it over and over again. At least, that’s what they tell me. A week ago I came to the point where I felt I’d done as much as I could and I set it aside. I will leave it to sit for another week or so before going through it once more. Then it’ll go back to Lisa for track changes.

So what have I been doing for the past several days? Well, while my fingers have been idle my brain hasn’t. Somewhere in there the seed of an idea for the next book has been formulating for some time. I don’t yet have a fully established plot but my heroine has become very real to me. Physically she is completely different from the last but we’re getting along very well and I’m looking forward to knowing her better. My hero is much hazier – I haven’t got to grips with him yet but he’s definitely there, building himself quietly in the background.

Today I put pen to paper – well, fingers to keyboard – and I’ve written the opening page. It’s only 405 words but it has a feel. This too will now be left for a few days, after which time I will return to see if it works for me. The hardest thing has been getting out of Charlotte’s head and into Phoebe’s. I think I’ve done that now. Heaven knows how confused I’ll be when Lisa gets back to me with those track changes and I have to change heads again. Who’d be a writer? I can answer that one without hesitation. I would.

The Journey Travelled

It's always an adventure writing a new book

St James's Palace

I began writing my latest book on 24th August last year, wrote 896 words then waited a fortnight to continue. Why, you might ask? Was I on holiday? Incapacitated in any way? Neither of those, nor any other impediment. I had changed genre and needed those two weeks to ‘bed in’. Could I write in the Regency language I so love to read? It was certainly a change from my usual contemporary romantic fiction. By 7th September I was burning to continue and after an amazing five months – almost to the day – I completed the first draft, and what a journey it was.

Of necessity a historical novel requires a considerable amount of research, far more than I have previously needed when writing in a time period I inhabit and am familiar with. Armed with Google and a wonderful guide to Regency London, I walked the streets virtually and in reality. What an amazing experience that was. Far more distracting than social media and I kind of got lost in what I was doing. I shared some of my experiences with you on this blog here.

Blue Ball Yard
A mews where stables from the 18th century
survive to this day

So, how was the journey and did the goal achieve my expectations? The journey was great. Compelling to the extent that I almost lost touch with my other (what some would call normal) life. Were expectations realised? I can only say I have never enjoyed writing anything as much before and I made myself cry at the end. I’ve been through the manuscript so many times with a fine tooth comb. No longer can I procrastinate. This week I have sent my ‘baby’ to my agent, Lisa Eveleigh, founder of the Richford Becklow Literary Agency. Would that she will like it. I hope so.

From Stormy Seas to a Safe Harbour

As this is a holiday weekend in the UK I'm celebrating by offering Safe Harbour as a free download on Amazon here. I've had such fabulous feedback that I thought I'd share some of the questions I've been asked about the book:

What inspired the setting for your book?

I’ve been on several cruises, each different in its own way, to diverse destinations in various types of weather. Every one, though, had an almost mystical feel about it, an excitement and an awareness of things to come, as yet unseen. There is a romance about cruising that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the love between two people, though of course that isn’t the case in Safe Harbour. Nothing could be more to the fore than the feelings Beth and Ryan have for each other.

I heard you had a problem with naming your characters?

I didn’t actually have a problem at all. They, on the other, had strong objections to their original names and insisted I change them. As I did so their personalities asserted themselves and my characters became more real to me. I’ve learned over time that try as I may to write my protagonists they always have the last word.

Beth, shows a huge amount of courage in taking the action she did? Are all your heroines so strong?

I like to think so. I’ve never been able to write the type of woman who fawns on her man without having a mind of her own. I believe we’d all like to trust we would take what we saw as the right decision, rather than the easy option. There’s no doubt that Beth does that!

Beth faces a terrible dilemma. Was there no other action she could have taken than the one she did?

I suspect there might have been several. None, though, would have allowed her to remain true to herself and the principles that guide her. I prefer to believe that the heartbreak they go through in the end forges an even stronger bond between her and Ryan.

There is one chapter in the book that is quite sexually explicit. Did you find this difficult to write?

Strangely enough, no. Perhaps had I thought about it I might have done but once I started I didn’t think about it…just wrote to the end. Naturally it needed a bit of editing but I truly believe that if I’d stopped to consider it would have ended up being stilted. I don’t believe it is. In fact, I have received several compliments that it is very sensitively written.

I loved your characters in Safe Harbour. Can I look forward to seeing any of them in future books?

You aren’t the first person to have asked me this question. I felt a strong affinity with Ryan’s sister, Siobhan. I think it’s possible her own story is waiting to be written.

I have Safe Harbour downloaded onto my Kindle but would like a signed copy for my friend's birthday. Is this possible?

I’d be delighted to send you a signed copy. If you let me have your details by email at natalie@nataliekleinman.co.uk I’ll be happy to arrange this with you.  

Is Safe Harbour available to borrow from my library?

Not at the moment but I’m happy to say it will come on stream in March of next year.

What are you writing at the moment?

I’m very excited about this. Having written three contemporary romances – the second is published and my latest is at present with my agent, Lisa Eveleigh – I have decided to take a leap of faith and attempt a romance set in Regency times. I grew up with Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen and I love the elegance and etiquette of that period. This project will be longer in the writing – Safe Harbour took about six months – as there is a huge amount of research to do first. It’s important for my own sake and that of my readers that I get it right.

It’s been a delight to reproduce some of the questions here. Do you have a question you would like to ask about the book?

If you've already read Safe Harbour please tell your friends they can read it for free if they download before midnight on Sunday 30^th August. If you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. I’d love to hear from you. 

Diary of a Writer's Week

It’s been a week of many parts. At times it felt like having all the ingredients to make a cake but not being sure what the outcome would be.

Saturday: Strictly speaking this was the previous week but as we went out to celebrate my daughter’s birthday I couldn’t resist an excuse for posting this photo.

Sunday: I wrote 800 ish words of my work in progress and then went to Dulwich College (magnificent place) to a concert celebrating music as experienced by different faiths. The Old Library was filled to capacity. I believe it only holds approximately a hundred people but there wasn’t a spare seat to be had. I mention this here because (a) it was an amazing experience and (b) my husband wrote a piece for a local publication which we edited together – my writing input. 

Monday: I have a writer friend who has a publisher interested in her manuscript. It’s her first book and to date social networking hasn’t been her priority – she’s been writing a book, dammit! However, as writers no longer live in ivory towers and self-promotion has become a part of the whole ‘deal’, it was imperative that my friend got herself onto Twitter and Facebook, where she had a page but not a presence. We spent four solid hours with just one cup of coffee each. So intent were we on what we were doing, I didn’t even think to offer her another (we were at my house, not hers). I apologise for my bad manners here and now, I don’t think I did at the time, but we were both exhausted by the time we stopped. That said, she embraced it fully and is now actively using social media.

Tuesday: This was the day I went to Rye Harbour where a member of my Tuesday writing group has a static caravan. There are three of us and we spent a lovely day on the nature reserve (saw an avocet – a real treat) and did no writing whatsoever, but sometimes one uses these things at a later date so guilt was not involved here. Well, maybe just a little.

Wednesday: Had my hair done which took up much of the morning. A very interesting evening though at The Write Place Creative Writing School http://www.thewriteplace.org.uk/ where, in the light of my Monday friend’s experience, tutor Elaine Everest chose social media and how to use it as her topic for the evening. Several of us are quite active in this respect but others have little or no history and while some of us are published others are not. When their time comes it will be much easier if they are already established on Facebook and Twitter. Otherwise it can be a very steep learning curve at a time when all they might want to concentrate on is getting their book published.

With Lisa Eveleigh last month
at the RNA Summer Party

Thursday: A splendid day. The weather was glorious, the best day so far this year, and I met my

agent, Lisa Eveleigh, at the Royal Academy for lunch. I’ve lived in London all my life and never cease to marvel at its beauty. In the past I’ve travelled abroad and admired architecture, ancient and modern, with gaping jaw and a hot camera. It’s so easy though to take one’s home town for granted. Thankfully I’m not guilty of this. As I walked along Piccadilly, watching tourists and indigenous population alike, where the pavements were crowded but not uncomfortably so and there was a smile on every face, or so it seemed, I felt real joy. Resisting the temptation to walk into Burlington Arcade – I didn’t want to be late – I met Lisa and we had what I can only describe as a lovely chinwag. We did talk about writing, which was the only writerly thing I did that day, and when I went home I sat in the garden with a book. Hey, that’s writerly too isn’t it? Good. Exonerated.

Friday: I am writing this piece. It is my intention to take the weekend off.

Initially I was going to entitle this ‘My Non-Writing Week’ but as it turns out there’s no such thing for me, nor I imagine for most writers. It’s been an interesting exercise though. I don’t usually keep a diary and this has made me realise that even on those weeks when I think I haven’t written there’s a lot that goes on that doesn’t get noticed. Of course I’ve spent some time on Twitter and Facebook, ‘meeting up’ with friends, oh, and playing a few online games of Scrabble. But even that involved words. 

You Wait for a Bus and Two Come Along at Once

You may have wondered if you follow my blog what happened to Monday’s post. I have been waiting until today so I could share my wonderful news with you.

One of the dictionary definitions of kaleidoscope is a continually changing pattern of shapes and colours - and that's just what my life feels like at the moment, but in the best possible way. It's customary, I know, to start at the beginning but in this case there isn't one, not really. Actually I'm wrong, there is. Or at least a platform from which to bounce.

It all began with me joining the Romantic Novelists Association's (RNA) New Writers' Scheme (NWS) and graduating in my first year with my debut novel, Safe Harbour. In spite of having had several short stories published, there was nothing like the thrill of seeing my book and name in print for the first time; to see the product of my labour of love sitting in pride of place on the bookshelf. 

This morning the RNA announced the shortlist for the Joan Hessayon Award for 2015, a prestigious and coveted recognition given by the lovely Dr David Hessayon in memory of his wife to the graduates of the NWS. You can see the announcement here. To be named as one of the contenders is a huge thrill and you will see from the link that I am in wonderful company. There are fifteen of us in contention this year - what a tribute to today's romantic novelists and to the RNA for running the New Writers' Scheme and giving so much opportunity to its members. For those of you who would like to read it and haven't yet done so, here is the link to Safe Harbour. 

A writer is never idle. If we aren't actually putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard we are busily turning plots around in our heads. My apologies to anyone who sees me staring off into the middle distance when I am supposed to be taking part in a conversation. Now you know the reason. So I am just as thrilled to announce the publication today of my second book, Honey Bun. You can find it here. It's more a novella than a novel but I think it has a genuine 'feel good' air about it - well, it does for me. I hope you enjoy it as well. 

I shall be in and out of Facebook and Twitter today where some lovely messages have been posted to me and my fellow contenders. The writing community is one I am happy and grateful to be a part of. Oh, and with my third manuscript in the hands of my agent, Lisa Eveleigh, I am now in the process of writing my fourth book.

Watch this space! 

Are Deadlines Healthy?

Do you think deadlines are healthy?

Sometimes I wonder. After all, isn’t life stressful enough without adding to the pressure? Well, yes – and no - I think. I’m quite good at setting my own deadlines, and sticking to them. I don’t know if I’m my own worst enemy or best friend but if I say I’ll do something I usually stick to it. I throw down my own gauntlet. (I’ve used this photo elsewhere before but I like it so much I just had to use it again) That said I am just as good at displacement therapy as the next person. I play Scrabble on line with my sister. We began with one game but now have several on the go. There’s sibling rivalry so naturally we don’t just put down the first word we think of. What started as just a few minutes of fun to relieve the daily pressure has become a pressure in itself.

Take this blog as an example. When I began writing – short stories to begin with and then novels – I had absolutely no idea of the amount of time I would have to spend social networking and at first I resented how much it took me away from what I truly wanted to do…WRITE. Circumstances, however, alter cases. With two books published in the same year social networking became a necessary and integral part of my day’s activities. And I LOVE IT! Okay, I’m not a great fan of Twitter but I suspect that’s more because I don’t use it properly. I could (and sometimes do) spend hours on Facebook interacting with other writers and with friends, and other writers have now become friends because of it. The blog has only been running for just over a couple of months with a weekly posting, some of them from guests but still requiring my input. I love that too. Time consuming it may be but it’s satisfying and in any case I love the way it looks. I have a fondness for owls, you understand.

Does anyone reading this have difficulty finding time to actually read (yeah, I know, split infinitive). I have a pile of books, literally and figuratively – on my Kindle – and look forward to the occasional train journey so I have a chance to indulge myself.

Back to the subject of deadlines. I have one for my work in progress. It isn’t set in stone but neither do I have the luxury of taking it easy. During the past few weeks I have been struck down three times with one lurgy or another. Not the sort of thing where you can muddle through. I had to succumb. On the few occasions I was able to sit up and take notice I concentrated on social networking. So now I’m left playing catch up with my novel. Pressure? Having spent some time (due to said lurgies it took weeks and weeks) incorporating several changes suggested by my lovely agent, Lisa Eveleigh, of the Richard Becklow Literary Agency, I began last Wednesday by going right back to the beginning. Three chapters fine-tuned and three more the following day. Thus far I've covered 43% of the total. I thought I hated this part of the process but I’m absolutely loving it. So much so that I’m having to pace myself, I’m not sure if the pressure is coming from me or the manuscript but, hey, who cares. All things being equal and lurgy-free I should make that deadline with ease.

What a Week!!!

Is writing the second blog as difficult as writing the second book? It might have been except that this past week has been exceptional. I spent the whole of Tuesday with my laptop – at two different venues. A glutton for punishment or what! I may have been driven by the fact that I knew Wednesday was going to be extraordinary and I wasn’t disappointed. It kind of went like this:

I was invited to join the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) committee for the pre-Winter Party lunch. I felt extremely privileged and would again like to thank Pia Fenton and her committee for asking me to join them. Having eaten far too much, helped down by some rather nice red wine, I absented myself while they held their scheduled meeting. How any of them could have concentrated on work after such a lovely meal I am at a loss to understand.

I was easy to 'spot'

With plenty of time to get to a scheduled meeting with my agent, Lisa Eveleigh, I walked along Piccadilly (the weather was lovely) and side-stepped into Fortnum and Mason for a quick browse, as you do. Once in Dean Street Lisa and I had rather a lot to talk about and, while she daintily sipped her tea, all I could manage was some water. I blame the lunch. Amongst other things we discussed the events of the coming Thursday – about which more below.

After parting company I retraced my steps to the Royal Overseas League and settled down behind the reception desk with Sally Quilford (party organiser) and Elaine Everest (RNA committee member with whom I co-run the RNA Blog). This turned out to be an inspired move as, while handing out name badges and lanyards, I had ample opportunity to meet the majority of the guests and spoke to many of them from the comfort of my chair.

Thursday – launch day as opposed to lunch day. Official publication date for Safe Harbour (shameless promotion here). Full on, exciting and an affirmation of what a wonderful group of people the writing community is.

To complete my day my poppy from the Tower of London arrived. What a wonderful idea this was and I now have a perfect reminder for those times when, as we all do, I get things a little out of perspective. 

 

Friday – rest…come on, give me a break here.

Weekend – belated girls’ lunch birthday celebration.

Enough about me. Next week my first guest on the blog will be Elaine Everest to tell us about what a whirlwind year she has had. No, I’m not giving anything away now. You’ll have to pop in again next Monday if you want to know!

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to my blog.

For those who don’t know me allow me to tell you a little about myself. I’m a bit of a late starter when it comes to writing. After intensive study I took up my metaphorical pen as a bit of light relief. An initial ten week course had me hooked, though in fact I was hooked by that first session. I spent the first few years learning and honing my craft – not that writers as a breed are ever satisfied with the finished product – before selling my first short story, followed by another (to date) twenty-five. In addition my attempt at sci-fi won me a place in the anthology Fusion while another gritty story appears in the students of The Write Place anthology Things that go Bump in the Night. Most of my work though comes under the genre of Contemporary Romance.

I have been part of a weekly writing group going by the name of Dingbats for some time but three years ago I joined The Write Place Creative Writing School (TWP) in Dartford and it was this that acted as a springboard and set me on my career path. Having become as comfortable as one can be, this one anyway, with short stories, I expanded my horizons and embarked on novels. I received a huge amount of help from the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s (RNA) New Writers’ Scheme and my first book was taken up and has just been published any under the title Safe Harbour.

I was extremely lucky to have an industry one2one at the RNA Conference this summer which resulted in me securing an agent when Lisa Eveleigh of the Richford Becklow Literary Agency subsequently agreed to represent me.

While not purporting to be as wise as my three friends at the top of this page, I’m doing okay!

This is not my first blogging experience as I have for the past year been part of a five hander, WriteMindsWritePlace Blog, as well as managing the RNA Blog with Elaine Everest. Now feels the right time to dive in and launch my own blog…wondering here if that’s a mixed metaphor. Please feel free to pop in and join me any time. It will be a pleasure to see you.