Today I have two adventures to tell you about! Last night I had a really helpful chat with writing coach, and published author, Katherine Bolton. She helped me to make a final decision about whether the Mills & Boon route was right for me, and she gave me some top tips about how to find the right publisher. You can find links to the book and website I mention in todays video here [ Writers’ And Artist’s Yearbook] and here [Romantic Novelists’ Association.]
Today, I took some of Katherine’s advice . I also talked to a complete stranger about my book and their response was rather promising 🙂 .
Over the last three days, I’ve enjoyed the gifts of dissociation, gained insight into my own need for internal peace and quiet, and gained a greater understanding of the workings of the main female character . More importantly, the main female character has now made it up to Inverness (she was stranded in Peterborough for rather a long time!) The big “meet” is about to take place 🙂 .
Today’s video is an amalgamation of the last 3 days of writing adventures ~
In the last 4 days of my romantic fiction writing adventure, I have discovered that if you write for long enough, you eventually bump into yourself! Today’s video, which merges the last 4 video diary entries, sees me ~
Receiving a direct personal message
Beginning to experience creative writing as a rapid route to personal discovery
Stumbling across a powerful and “moving” literary device 🙂
The last four days have been packed with writing, learning and adventure! I’ve had my first dose of “Writers’ Doubt” , I’ve learned how to slide into writing mode without causing my fictional characters too much distress and I’ve received my first piece of feedback.
Two more tragic deaths have occurred (I know – alot can happen in four days) and I’m learning to get comfortable with writing even in conditions of “poor visibility”.
I’m editing like Stephen King and gaining confidence in the natural direction of my story.
In short, I am beginning to feel like a real writer 🙂 .
You can watch the highlights of the last 4 days here ~
For today’s adventure, I am visiting a local area of interest for the very first time : the Dark Hedges. The weather wasn’t ideal for filming and my video camera couldn’t really pick up the eerie beauty and unusual atmosphere.
I did manage to take some pictures though and , whilst I was taking them, I realised how much I have slowed down over the last 4 months of adventuring. There is something very slow and present about the writing I am doing at the moment ; there is something very slow and present about taking photographs. I seem to be noticing much more … about much more 🙂 .
I have posted some of my photographs, which I took with my phone, below the video. (I am really enjoying “playing” with Instagram at the moment too!) The main image was taken by my son : he’s a keen photographer.
For today’s adventure, I start to get real with the leading lady in my romantic novel! A quote from Anton Chekhov, and yesterday’s interview with my friend Tiffany Kay, got me thinking about how true to the “real” female protagonist I was being. I spent the morning putting myself in her shoes and inviting her true character to unfold.
Chapter one has been edited : the action is the same but the character’s responses now feel really authentic. I sense I have something more stable from which to launch the rest of the story.
Now that I am no longer ” lying” about who the heroine really is, I can relax in the knowledge that all I have to do now is follow her all the way to the end of the tale. Well, that’s the plan anyway 🙂 .
In this rescheduled episode of “Jane’s Brilliant Friends”, I’m talking to Tiffany Kay : author and transformational coach . In this programme, Tiff talsks about her soon-to-be-published book “From Pursuit to Presence” . Her book’s key message is that most of us are living under a misguided cloud of unworthiness that dominates much of our thinking and behaviour outside of our conscious awareness. That’s what causes us to pursue life : our pursuit is an attempt to close the illusionary gap. Tiffany suggests that when we reconnect to the inherent worth we were born with, all the struggle and suffering disappears. We can let life come to us; a life which is joyful and contented.
In our conversation, Tiffany shares her own journey from pursuit to presence and offers some simple yet effective ways to become more present to who we really are and to life. The free video series she mentions can be found here.
Wow – it’s the last day of April already and that means guest adventures and a monthly adventure summary! But first to the action of the day.
Today’s adventure into the world of romantic fiction reminds me of the universal appeal of men in uniform (I just want you to know that it was my lead female character that demanded the uniforms and not me.)
With a much shorter writing window available to me, and in danger of feeling the pressure, I have carried my lessons that my previous adventures have brought me into today’s experience ~ placing my awareness on presence, connection and the opportunity for personal discovery kept me well and truly in the flow today 🙂 .
Looking back on this month of adventuring, I am amazed at what happens when you are prepared to pay attention to the “call to adventure”. I’ve received advice from Richard Branson, JK Rowling and Tony Robbins (my Invisible Counsellors) ; I’ve learned how to make video trailers ; I’ve hosted my own TV show and now I’m writing a book! These are all things that I had not even imagined last month. A real pattern is emerging and I’m beginning to piece together a way of sharing my adventuring experience and my adventuring philosophy with a wider range of people. This is far too good to keep to myself 🙂 .
Now let me introduce you to todays’ guest adventurer : Ian Barnfield who is a fan of the Paleo way of eating. In Ian’s video, you can watch thei thoroughly modern cave man try his hand at foraging for wild food . It’s really worth a watch.
Today’s the day I start my romantic fiction adventure 🙂 . This first day has been all about getting my actors and theatre organised : I’ve even come up with a title!
I am noticing some interesting changes in me already. The most noticeable of those changes has been a desire to draw as part of the writing process. At this point it is important that you know that I was told by my art teacher at school that I had no talent for art at all. I never draw, paint or sketch. It just hasn’t been my thing. I believed the teacher.
Yesterday, I had the urge to buy myself some coloured pens and pencils when I bought my notebook. I respected the impulse and bought them. This morning as I “summoned” my characters to the theatre, I began to draw. It felt like the drawing was all to do with me “seeing” the story more clearly. The act of drawing felt like a bridge between my world and the world of this emerging story.
Here are my reflections about my first day as an author 🙂 ~
Humans Resourced 