Confused Love has gone

Firstly, please let me apologise for the abruptness of yesterday's post or the previous (below) published post. It was written yesterday at work in a few spare moments. Unfortunately I got called away before it could be posted and so I've had to log in remotely and post it from home, today.

Confused - so am I.

On to today's offerings.

Confused Love was sent out last night. 9442 words of drama, killing and unrequited love :)

It's the longest piece I've written other than my novel and I'm fairly proud of it. It's been edited down from a little over 10K words around a month ago to become a tighter piece. Fingers crossed.

As you may have guessed, I'm a big fan of the Fiction Factor group of web sites. I'm also an avid participant in their forum. A new board has been made available to members who also write erotica. Come check it out. You must be a member to get onto the forum and a password is required to get into the erotica board but both are easily obtained.

I hope to see you here: http://fictionfactor.1.forumer.com/

Good luck with your submissions

Happy Halloween - Unfortunately I still have no time to write

My time for writing has become extremely limited over the last few weeks and will continue to get squeezed in the months ahead.

I currently have 10 pieces out in the market awaiting a response from learned editors everywhere. I have another 12 or so pieces in various states including my ebook and my novel.

I have sent 5 pieces out at the beginning of this week alone. Unfortunately I have gone from an allocated minimum of 4 hours a night to be lucky to get in 30 minutes.

If I spend that 30 minutes blogging or updating my website, then I don't write so my blogging has reduced considerably.

Part of the problem is I'm currently a single dad for all intensive purposes. I have three kids at home and work full time, although I do work from home for two out of five days. I now fully appreciate all the work my wife does in regards to running the household. I will, in future, do my utmost to share that burden. I humbly suggest all you men out there do the same, regardless of how good you currently have it. Helping out a little can only make things better for you and your significant other. Say and do the right things and who knows what rewards you'll receive ;)

Unfortunately I haven't gotten to "Confused Love" yet this week, but it is next on the agenda. All the erotica has gone out to market as well as resubmitting EULA. Tonight is one of those rare nights when I don't have a lot trying to take my writing time away from me so "Confused Love" will be at least fully edited tonight.

Erotica Week

Last night I finished editing a slew of erotica that I'm about to send out to various markets.

I also came to the conclusion that a set writers schedule isn't going to work for me. I need to work on projects each night. I set myself a goal to get something finished so I work on that until my muse runs away with blue hair flowing out behind her. A quick whistle and a change of project brings her back all refreshed and ready to go but this is rarely needed as she becomes as engrossed in whatever project I'm working on, as much as I do.

So getting my erotica pieces out was my main goal last night. I didn't get them all sent but that will be completed by this evening where I can work on editing another piece that has sat around for too long. The longest piece I have written so far - outside of my novel - is "Confused Love".

I am yet to send it out into the market place. Tonight I will do a full edit on it, in preparation for it to go out the door on Sunday night. Why not send it tonight? I will do my edit tonight as I haven't looked at it in a while so I will not be editing it with jaded eyes. I will then let it sit for another day before doing a final read through to see if I missed anything - and then send it out.

I've hit a small hitch with my ebook. I had set myself parameters which I now have to change to enable me to get the content required for the type of ebook I'm working on. To be honest, I'm not real happy about it as I will now be including content I didn't want to. I will have to ensure that my views on the content are clearly expressed or that the content is securely kept in a section for it's type. It can't look like a tacked on after thought though so it will be a difficult blend. We'll see - after I finish my shorts submissions.

My three Novella's have been sitting on the back burner for a while now too so they will be brought back into the light of day by the end of next week.

That leaves my novel. She has sat quietly for a while now. I have begun a new edit on the beginning of it but my writing time each evening is reducing and so somethings have begun to get squeezed out. "Tigers Eye" has lost out badly to my other work and my life in general. She will have to stay in the background for now, my first year as a serious writer is almost up - only a little over a month to go. I have written the story, it just needs the time to be polished. At this moment in time I am thinking it will become my major work for my diploma if I get accepted next year. That will then drive my need to work on it. I love the story I wrote, the premise behind it all. It's just the words that need rearranging, the structure in some instances. It will get done.

Well - it's turned into a long post. It wasn't meant to be but I had a bit to update, so there you go. As always - thank you for reading but now it's time to get back to your own writing and get those pieces out the door.

Good luck with your submissions.

A quick link for you

Time is currently running away with me to the extent I'm struggling to find the time to write - but I have promised myself I would find time to read and so I shall.

But before I go and open a book that has waited patiently for me to give it due attention, the following link was made available to me:

http://www.sff.net/people/doylemacdonald/lit.htm

Toward the bottom of this list was a remarkable find - although to be true, there are many in this collection but this was personally remarkable.

By none other than Mr Rudyard Kipling himself, is a piece titled "Tomlinson" which can be read directly from:

http://www.sff.net/people/doylemacdonald/l_tomlin.htm

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Now off to that book I keep promising myself.

What a Weekend!

Hi all. from Friday night and my eldest having her 18th birthday party, through a hectic Saturday with sport and the flu striking at my youngest. Onto Sunday with a spring cleaning taken to the extreme - I've written exactly zip, nil, nada, nothing, zero!

In regards to my writing - its been a bad weekend but I'm at a time in my life when I look at things a little differently. Three months ago, I was writing alot. I was producing a lot of work. Most of it wasn't particularly good but with editing and rewriting, those pieces are getting better. Apart from some erotica shorts though, I haven't produced a lot of new stuff.

I have been on a short journey of self learning about myself. Four months ago, I was pretty sure who I was and part of that was to be a writer. With huge turmoil entering my private life, my drive to succeed in any area, including my writing, began to meander. It never failed, it just never maintained the fervour it had previously. With amazing insight and support from a very good friend, I have learnt a great deal about myself, truths I am still discovering now.

The good news about this is the renewed determination I have in all areas of my life - especially my writing.

This weekend has been a write-off for my words. But tomorrow is a new day (actually that would be a little later this morning will be a new day) and one I look forward to.

Keep on writing, good readers - and keep on submitting.

Happy 18th sweetheart

Today we celebrated my eldest reaching adulthood. 18 years old today and we had a big party to celebrate, She looked beautiful as did all her female friends. Pity the guys that turned up didn't try to dress to impress but I guess that's how it is now-a-days. Perhaps I'm just getting too old.

I am still recovering from my terrible bout of the flu and now it seems my youngest may be coming down with it. It took me a week to get over it, I hope the little doesn't have it so bad.

This post is the only writing I have managed today which is unusual for me but one day every now and then won't cause my writing to completely grind to a halt.

Still no emails in regards to my pieces that are in the market place either. I have set a goal to have two more pieces (at least) accepted before the end of the year. Nobody can get anything accepted if they don't submit so don't sit on your work. An author is not going to publish your story if it is your bottom draw gathering dust.

Good luck with your submissions. I'm beat so its time for bed.

Good night.

The best part about getting sick

I have been at home all week, full of a particularly nasty flu which is continually trying to extract a lung through my throat. My nose is useless for anything other than blowing and sleep is a distant memory - not a nice picture.

But - I have plenty of time to write. I can only write in relatively short bursts as I need to nap often and I need to log into work on occasion so I'm not writing in the 6 hour blocks I normally do of an evening, but I am getting close to a dozen blacks of around an hour each in. So now I'm writing 10 hours a day or doing something to do with my writing during those times - researching, reading, editing, etc.

When I lie down to have a nap, my head is full of ideas to mull over which I launch into when I get up. Being ill shouldn't mean just wallowing in self pity and allowing your writing to grind to a halt. If anything, it gives you more time to indulge in our passion.

I hope this entry finds you full of good health and cheer but if it doesn't, then use the time to do something for yourself - write.

Good luck with your submissions.

Critiquing

Hi all

I like to critique other writers work. I like to give them the benefit of my limited experience, my point of view. It is after all only an opinion.

If I really like the piece then my crits are very short, more often than not, if I really like it, I'll send a note saying as much and apologise for not offering a crit - why should I try to find fault with something I like - critiquing is not being a critic.

If I find work I like the premise of but has either technical or more ethereal issues, my critique can run into the thousands of words - all very diplomatically chosen although I try not to pull any punches. It's my opinion and the person I'm providing it too paid a whole $0 for it. If they don't agree or don't like it then they can disregard. If I point out things that others have then they disregard at their own peril.

Nothing annoys me more than taking the time to crit something for a stranger and then having that crit critiqued or shot down in flames or worse - being rude in response to it.

If you submit a piece for critique anywhere then you're asking for others opinions. If you don't like that opinion then say thank you for taking the time and move on. If you take the time to argue points then you will loose that person critiquing for you in the future. If you only retain those who say they like your work - you will not learn anything and you will not improve.

I also actively put my work out to crit circles and groups. I want the feedback. I want to learn. I don't always agree with the responses but I take the time to see if each comment is valid from a readers point of view. More often than not it is and i need to find another way to do things - but I refuse to restructure or loose the way I want to convey the piece because I've written it and each writer needs to have their own voice. No point in writing like someone else - just have a look at all the bad press the writer of Eragon has gotten.

Be yourself but be willing to learn. You will learn from critiquing others work too.

The only way to keep getting better at the craft is to write and keep on writing. Critiquing and gaining feedback is part of that.

Okay - I'll get off my soapbox for the moment now. But only for now :)

Good luck with your submissions.

Busy - but not all writing

I have read many articles on the Art of writing over the last year and most of them make the suggestion that a writer should put time aside each day to write. Whether that be 30 minutes or more, it doesn't matter as long as you allow time to write regularly.

I try to write every evening but if I was successful then I would be able to at least blog every evening but I don't. I get side tracked. More to the point, I allow myself to get side tracked.

This week has been a very surreal experience with family deaths, family birthdays (two of those) a life altering epiphany that I'm still coming to terms with, trying to continue my normal work (which currently involves a huge mega-dollar project) and my writing.

Something has to give, and with three children and a need to continue bringing in a pay packet - it tends to be my writing time. Now I find I'm up till odd hours doing some editing or writing but I get something done until later in the week when my batteries finally give up and I've exhausted all my reserves. Then I don't write at all.

I don't write as much now as I did even a month ago. That's not so much through choice. Sometimes life sucks and we have to make choices that we feel we don't want to. At least that's what I thought during the last month. Not anymore.

My life will be what I want it to be and I will be making it great. Sounds simple - not so easy to live up to that statement but I have made the decision that I am going to.

And as part of that - my writing time is now set in stone and blogging will be part of that. I will add a blog entry at least every two days. I will try for everyday but unforeseen things still happen and part of my promise to myself is to get more sleep. If something comes up - I will not be up until all hours, squeezing in some writing. I'll just write more the following day when i have more time.

Stay tuned to this space. The writing works in progress will begin to climb as will the publishing credits and the number of posts.

On checking my counter stats tonight I have found visitors from all over the world. I thank you all for your interest and hope you continue to visit.

Like me - try and make time for your writing everyday and keep those submissions rolling out.

Good luck.

Condolences

I apologise for not having blogged over the last four days - my Aunt passed away after a short fight with cancer. It's obviously hit my mum fairly hard and she's needed her kids support. After all she's done for me over the years - its the least I could.

So apart from my normal stress of home and the additional strain of departing family members, I have managed to do some writing. Well over the last day or so anyway.

I have written three new erotic pieces that are currently being critiqued and will go out the door very soon.

I continue work on my ebook - long hours of research but it'll be worth it.

The new website has been put on hold due to outside influences but it will happen.

I have begun another edit of my novel - version 5 now! I was going to enter the first 5000 words into a competition as I thought I was happy with them (I was half way through the novel on edit 4). When I went back and read it again, I'd found I'd learnt a lot more as a writer and immediately began another edit. It's a long way from seeing the light of day but it will one day.

There is only so much polishing a writer can do before a gem turns to sand and slips through your fingers.

I like that - it sounds almost profound :)

Well I'm heading back to continue writing and editing, I respectfully suggest you do the same.

Keep those submissions flying!

More Ins and Outs

System Failure failed to make the final cut in its submitted for competition. Shame but not the end of the world. It has had the slightest of tweaks done to it and gone straight back out to another market.

I'm working hard on my new e-book. I'm hoping to have it completed by the end of the month. I'm also working hard on creating a second income through providing magazine fillers. I am busy creating, cataloguing and preparing a huge store of fillers so I can begin submitting them to the multitude of magazines out there.

A friend is also preparing an ebook for sale which will reveal more of these secret markets. Keep you eyes and ears open and watching this space - I'll let you all know when it's available and where you can get it from. These little markets can be a great side income while you wait for that big publishing contract.

Good luck with your submissions

New things on the horizon

Hi all.

Today, and for the next few months, is a time of turmoil and change in my life. Lots of different things happening around my personal life which will have profound impacts on me in the months and years ahead but until they're resolved (sometime before Christmas - I hope) I won't comment further on them.

My good friend and crit buddy has mentioned an exceptional deal for me to get a new site and domain - this is still in the negotiation phase but watch this space - Aussie musings will be getting bigger and better.

I have also had an offer to work on a new e-book. I had an idea which seemed a normal extension of something I was already playing with. On mentioning this to an editor friend, they have kindly offered to show me the ropes self publishing and promoting an e-book. Exciting to say the least.

So - apart from my writing, waiting anxiously on acceptance into my course, learning HTML, learning about e-books and self publishing and continuing to ride the current, constant downward spiral of my home life - life is pretty normal :)

I have resubmitted EULA to a new market and continue to work on improving my other shorts. I have finally made a writing timetable to better allocate my time - especially seeing how everything is requiring more time now.

Well - that's it from me for now - back to work.

Good luck with your submissions

A new market consideration

We are writers - we love to write. Some of us prefer to write exclusively in a single genre, most of us dream of retiring early and just making a good living from our words.

More often than not sacrifices have to be made to pay the bills. You've all read that I've dabbled or am at least trying to dabble in the adult markets. There's good money to be made there. I've been let in on another one. Online adult newsletters for adult sex and clothing shops. A lot of them include stories to promote their gear and they're after writers to write it for them. Very lucrative to.

Have a search around some of the online shops that sell the saucy underwear and other like minded places of commerce.

It could be worth your while. Just remember that regardless of the market you write for, you must follow the same rules of good writing. Check all submission guidelines and respect your target audience.

Good luck with your submissions and keep on writing.

Another submission Voodoo galore

I have submitted my piece for the current On The Premise competition. The competition is titled Disguised so the entry must have a character who uses a disguise that is important to the story - not just a quick one paragraph mention.

My story involves a woman traumatised by a sexual assault who looses the ability to have children because of it. She goes on to use the disguise of a nurse with stolen credentials to kidnap a new born from the hospital where she's been receiving counselling from for her assault.

It goes through many levels and over a six month period. I also has a lot of scene breaks in it - way more than recommended for a short story of only 4000 words but there was no other way to tell the story I wanted and with the necessary details without them.

I had my crit buddy go over it and she agreed. The story was sound but the scene breaks are a problem.

The entry had to come in under 5000 words. To play out this story without the scene breaks, a conservative guess would put the length closer to 7000 words - way too many.

I like it the way it is - it's different - let's hope the judges like something different too.

On the new works front - I seriously got stuck into my Voodoo story last night. It currently sits at 1656 words, one woman and two chickens dead. A second woman was being lined up as I finished writing at some ungodly hour last night.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your own submissions.

Another Rejection

This was another piece I'd done sometime ago and jumped the gun when I sent it in. Fey Island Contract was originally written to help me fill in a sub plot I needed to know about within my novel Tiger's Eye.

One of the characters carries some serious magical weaponry and I wanted to explain how he came by them for my own benefit as much as anyone else. So I wrote the short story of his finding his weapons - I have since gone back and looked at what I submitted - very green and very much a first or second draft at best.

So yet another of my original works commences the process of growing up. Again the story idea is sound so it's purely a mechanics thing. The tightening up of structure and dialogue, contractions and pacing. In another 4 or 5 rewrites, I'm sure it will be ready to go back out and face the world.

Above all - never get discouraged. If you polish something long enough, someone will see the gem beneath and accept your baby for publication, somewhere.

Keep on writing and keep on submitting.

Best of luck and thanks for reading.

BT

Zeitgeist

Hi all from a very nervous man. Before you go on to read this blog - go here and watch the movie.

Warning - some of the images are very graphic and the concepts are very disturbing - they're supposed to be. Provoking free thought from today's apathetic population is hard work! Honestly - we're trained not to have it - don't believe me - watch the movie.

It is something you should watch if you want to be fully informed of what "may" be happening in our world!!!!!

The "facts" and the submissions put forward are extremely thought provoking, to say the least. I've had some very strange thoughts leap into my head after watching this that I intend to research further before airing those concerns in the public domain - stay tuned.

For a comprehensive definition of Zeitgeist, have a look here.

If nothing else - for those of you that visit here and are writers (All of you I hope) it will provide a huge amount of stimulation of your muse.

............

On the writing front - EULA was rejected today but I gained some useful and encouraging comments back from the reader. I seem to get the same lady to read my submissions at this particular publication and she is very helpful with her comments. The comments as received are:

"Not bad, conspiracy pieces can be fun but this one doesn't quite hit the mark. The science doesn't seem quite right here, a society advanced enough to colonise Mars should be able to create cloned organs from an individual.
This aside, it's well-paced and entertaining but the ending doesn't deliver the payoff generated by the lengthy build-up.

Hope that's of some help, and better luck next time!"

So now I need to revisit the idea of introducing the Mars colony and dragging back some of the other technology so it's not so "out there" - should be relatively easy to do. Then it will need to be critiqued again and then sent to a new market.

On the bright side, she did say it was well-paced and entertaining so I'm getting better at the mechanics of writing (and story telling)which is very rewarding and encouraging. Past comments on this story have ranged from "What the..." to "I guessed it in paragraph 2."

I've mentioned before that this piece was the first serious piece I worked on over 3000 words and has become a love/hate type of thing. I will sell it somewhere - its just a matter of time and placement. There is a market for every idea somewhere - writers just have to keep submitting until we find it - and I will find EULA's home eventually.

Fiction Factor goes HTML! The very good and informative Fiction Factor (FF) newsletter is going HTML for the first time in its 7 and a half year history. Most writers sites die soon after conception. A very few continue to grow through the consistent good advise and content they host within their pages. Rarely, some continue to stick like the proverbial mud they peddle. I'm huge fan of FF because they have good advise from proven writers. Check their warnings page for the unethical arseholes out there. To get the good oil on writing, make sure you subscribe to this very worthwhile newsletter!

Ok - that's it from me for now - Go back to the top of this blog and click the link for Zeitgeist - if you're too lazy - click here instead :) If you were too lazy to bother doing either than the culprits who are targeted in the movie have already got you! Don't believe me - WATCH THE MOVIE!

OK - I think I've made the point.

Good luck with your writing and keep on submitting that work. (and watch the movie)

A strange idea

Hi all

I've been generally paying lip service to my writing recently due to family issues. Of an evening I open my stories and do some editing and occasional rewriting but apart from three sessions of sitting down and writing erotica, I've written very little new stuff.

I did an outline for an idea I have based around the Egyptian goddess of Hathor but haven't gone any further on that one yet. Today another idea struck me.

I was sitting down in the cafeteria with my work colleagues, waiting for our morning coffees to be served up. The topic of conversation was the recent meteor that hit Peru and the zombie craze that seems to have followed it.

Hmmm - a story on zombies from bacteria carried to earth on a meteorite. Not bad but sounded like something that's been done to death back in the slasher days of the 1980's. So I went a researched some more and followed my nose to end up reading about Haitian Mythology and Voodoo. Now this is cool and has a whole heap of inspirational stuff.

From the plains of Africa to Haiti to New Orleans and onto unthought of Voodoo haunts like England, France and Poland.

Some major idea's floating to the top now. If I can just rein in my time and tie down my muse, this should be good.

I'll let you know....

Minor updates

I've done some minor updates on the website - in particular to the details of works in progress, where bits have been submitted, that kind of thing.

I've written what'll be the first three chapters of my first effort in erotica. It needs work to be any good in regards to a written piece of work, but I have it from another source (an open minded female friend) that the content isn't an issue ;)

I think I'm flying solo for a while in regards to having my work judged, which isn't a good thing. My normal critique buddy has undertaken a great deal of work outside of writing and has now become extremely swamped. I have no wish to nag this good friend so it's time to march alone for a while.

Currently the links to Holly's books are broken on the website. I can't fix that from here so I'll get to it when I get home.

I post a lot on the Fiction Factor forum which is starting to seriously take off as a place for writers from all over the world to gather. The moderators there have just created a password protected Critique Site for members to post their work. I'll start throwing my work up there for comments. I'll also be heavily into critiquing others work to do my bit in helping the community thrive. If you have some spare time - and lets face it, if you're reading this, you have the spare time - then head on over and have a look. I hope to see you there soon.

All the best with your writing!

BT

Back in the saddle but way off the mark

I've been playing with the idea's stirred by the new anthology market I found. I've written an outline of what I'm thinking of but its already drifted away from the guidelines laid down for the anthology market. Too bad - I like my idea - I'll look somewhere else. It currently has no title and no conflict - it's just a setting. Not even a specific character or POV.

It's Egyptian based, something I've never written a fictional story about before, so I'm excited. It has subdued adult content but that is due to the central setting. The main characters will have at least one female priestess of Hathor who is the daughter of Ra and supposedly the title holder of "The Eye Of Ra."

It will be very dark as that was the type of goddess she was before being subdued with red beer. It has all sorts of potential. I'm seriously considering making this my new major work, especially if I get selected to do the course I want next year - the ideas floating around in my head are fairly epic in proportion.

In other news - Grimoire was sent back out and then yesterday I found a market that could be ideal for it. I can't send it though due to the no multiple submissions rule. I sent it to a market that has anywhere up to a 3 month response time although I've been told they normally get back to you within a few weeks normally. Unfortunately the new market I found has a deadline of two weeks - if the first market doesn't respond in time then I guess it was never meant to be.

System Failure has gone back for one last look over by my critique friend. I've made a few additional changes on top of her minor suggested ones. It is a very complexly braided story with multiple layers. I don''t think it will work for a few people but I like it and I can't see any other way of presenting the plot I'm conveying. We'll see.

I hope your writing is proceeding just as well. Above all else, keep on writing and keep on submitting.

Dreaded Writers Block

The man with so much on the go he'll never experience a shortage of ideas - has hit a wall.

I've been revising a lot of the work I'd completed over the last 4-6 weeks, completing competition entries and generally clearing the decks. With some major family issues at home, I was distracted from writing and now suddenly I have one competition piece I'm working on that isn't due until next year and my novel (which I'm still stuck on!) - and my erotica piece that is still in formulation and had now struck a snag (to do with scene placement as opposed to content ;) - I need to go visit a few fine restaurants - the things we do for art!)

So I went in search of muse for the last few days to find something new to write. She's gone missing!!

If you see a beautiful blue haired woman, sitting around doing very little, then smack her on the wrist and send her back to me please.

I went through some old notes I'd jotted down about possible ideas, and none of them have stirred the slightest bit of a plot. So I looked around further. I have the smallest inclining of a possible line for a serial killer so I need to do some research.

I've found the ultimate resource for such plots - the Bureau of Statistics!

Cool place. Go have a look at your countries Office of stat gatherers. They have some really strange stuff if you look hard enough. Right in the middle of researching strange drownings and odd homicides, an email for Duotrope landed in my inbox.

Within the listings of markets, I find a new anthology I didn't know about. It gives me a picture and a couple of words. The guidelines then request I create a 6000 or so word story based on them.

The muse sees the competition displayed by the woman on the cover art and surges to the fore with visions of mayhem and chaos revolving around her!

Ha - excellent - I'm back in the saddle!

Good luck over coming your own writers block whenever it should strike.

Erotica

Ha - that got you looking didn't it?

I've been toying with the idea of writing some pieces in the erotic markets. I see you all begin to shy away with thoughts of - this guy obviously isn't a real writer if he's considering writing porn!

Wrong!!!

I read an article recently that aptly described what erotica isn't - "Writing erotica isn't just about getting tab A into slot B (or slot C, for that matter)." What's Your Pleasure? by Emma MacNeil (You can find the article here)

Take the time to read it. Honestly. There are no gratuitous sex scenes in it. A couple of interesting anecdotes but no hot and heavy stuff.

This article, along with a number of others I've read in my research, has made one thing abundantly clear - it doesn't matter what the words are or the topic in hand (so to speak) - if you write badly - its bad - and no-one will want to read it, let alone buy it.

Frame your conflicts with wonderful prose, punctuate and spell correctly, pace it well, build believable characters and you may just sell your piece. Isn't that what you try to do for "mainstream" fiction markets? Well the same goes here. And the adult markets pay heaps better than most normal - so called normal - markets for short fiction.

And most people have a huge store of research data already available. Use your own experiences, speak to your friends, go to a club with a clipboard and pen and make believe you're doing a survey - you'd be surprised at how many people are happy to talk about their exploits. You'll be changing the names to protect the innocent anyway.

Added benefits: you bet there are added benefits. You will learn all sorts of things and when it comes to this area of an individuals education - a lot of us are found to be deficient. Unfortunately it's our women who put up with the majority of our failings here. Imagine the shock you're significant other will get when you suddenly begin to push "buttons" she thought you knew nothing about. Trust me - most men (and some women) have no idea what these buttons are, let alone where they are and how to press them.

How will writing about your experiences teach you new things? It won't. Reading your market to research what sells - will! All the guidelines found in the mainstream markets scream about it. "If you're not sure what we want, have a look through one of our issues in archive" - don't believe me - go have a look on Duotrope - the links on the right side of the page - Why should writing for the adult markets be any different.

Read, enjoy - practise - write. ;)

Remember, writing is supposed to be fun as well as a calling.

One last comment - never instigate anything new with your significant other without discussion and without gaining their permission first. If you can't be honest and ask then maybe you're not open minded enough to write for these markets to start with.

Have fun and be safe - and if you cant be safe, be careful.

Time flies

I am yet again sorry for the days that have passed without me updating.

I've had some family issues here which has taken me away from my writing. What's happened (in my writing) -

Monday night: I went to a course information session in regards to "Advanced Diploma of Arts (Professional Writing)"

Interesting session. 25 or so people turned up including me. I have never seen such a diverse group of individuals who call themselves writers - including me. There were people from a young girl still in high school, through to a couple of candidates for grandmothers and one grandfather. A young lady who could do promotional work for any product she wished to (I have a friend who also used to be in that line of work and she is a very talented and intelligent woman - so I mean nothing by it). A fella who looked as if he would be at home behind the wheel of a long-haul truck, a clean shaven beat-nick and many in between.

We were asked to do an exercise in character creation and the creation of conflict between two characters.

As an IT guy I'm required to be contactable at all times so my mobile was on vibrate - of course just as I was about to settle into this exercise - it rang. By the time I got out of the class - it stopped.

I got a whole five minutes to pen my character outline:

Janice is a 19 year old ecologist fresh out of uni. Shy around people, she is passionate about the planet, but particularly about Madagascan Lemurs. She doesn't drink or smoke but enjoys naturalism to the point of embarrassing her younger brother and sister. She has signed up on an expedition to combat recent poaching problems.

That's as far as I got - still it's an idea. I also couldn't get the thought of all these writers in this one classroom applying for the limited places in the course on offer. I thought of a reception area outside of God's office with wannabe script writers applying for a job to write "The Days of Our Real Lives" - weird but I think there's a story in that.

When I got home I critiqued a very early draft of a cool piece my friend is working on. Can't wait to see that one finished - very cool concept.

Tuesday - not a good day. Tuesday night I sequestered myself away and finished two pieces - and sent them off for critiquing.

Wednesday - another decidedly average day. Tonight - I finished another piece and sent for critiquing. My friend who does this for me will take out a restraining order at this rate. If I can get into the course than maybe I can increase my circle of writer friends. I also gave comment on another piece for her - more just general comment on a group of ideas she has and the way she intends to portray them.

And lastly I blogged :)

I have a few other pieces I am playing with and there's always my novel to get back to rewriting. It's nearly half way through it's fourth rewrite but I've hit a wall. That's OK as I have plenty to go on with and my Muse just isn't going to help with Tigers Eye right now.

So tonight I'll play with some bits and nudge around a few other things.

As long as you try to write at least something each and every day.

Have fun and be good - but if you can't be good then be safe ;)

Double Whammy

The first short story I wrote that I really liked - got rejected by Aurealis today - I expected it as I wrote EULA back in May.

It was the third short I'd ever done. It was the first one over 1000 words - 3125 to be precise.

Through critiques - after I'd sent it in (I think I've spotted a flaw in the process here) - it was unanimous that I needed a better ending, I needed to add a couple of scenes and kill a few others.

So tonight I did all that.

I now have quite the political statement of how governments may run in the future if we're not careful about what we do now - with undertones of black market organ transplants, political manoeuvrings and the greed for power all playing a part.

Total death count is 2 in 5174 words.

Yep it grew too.

Second reject off the bat wasn't such a painful one.

Grimoire was written specifically for an anthology but with future marketing in mind. The market only had a very limited call for submissions from unknown writers like me so I figured my chances weren't great.

Surprisingly I got good feedback from the editor though.

Comments like: "I found the story entertaining and likeable" were nice and enough to make me think a renaming of the town would be enough to market it elsewhere.

I have posted a call for town name suggestions here: http://fictionfactor.1.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=1080

If you think you can help then please fire off some suggestions.

Fiction Factor is also a great writers site and forum you should check out anyway.

EULA has been resub'd after changes I'd already been working on before this rejection - like I said - I was expecting it.

Grimoire will be going out once I've decided on the new town name.

Remember - keep on writing and keep on submitting - a very wise writer once told me that there's a market for everything out there. If you don't submit - you won't find it.

Good luck with your submissions.

Sorry

Hi all

Sorry its been a while since I updated this. I have been in extreme revision mode all week, when I haven't been at work creating a huge project development document - really dry stuff but it pays the bills.

So I, with a lot of help from a friend, have done a full five revisions of "What Price Salvation" - my unicorn story. It's growing, evolving, becoming a much more saleable piece.

I've ear marked a number of possible markets for "Terminal Thoughts", so that'll be going out the door shortly.

I've written a new piece on "The Art of Critiquing" - which is currently being critiqued.

I still haven't heard anything back on the anthology submission which could be a good thing. If they were attempting to clear out the slush pile by the 28th of last month and succeeded, then logic suggests that I've made it through to the next level. No news could be good news in this case - fingers remain crossed.

Still working on two more competition pieces and have three pieces out for critique.

Oh - and still working on the website. The link is on the top right of this blog page - have a gander. There's plenty of new and free stuff to find there.

One last thing: my friends at Fiction Factor are looking to grow their forum. They have some really cool stuff planned as both the website and the forum continue to expand., so go have a look.

That's it for now - keep on writing.

Rejection

I have just received a rejection for "What Price Salvation", a little fantasy story I wrote concerning the last surviving herd of unicorns. I originally started to write it for my little girl but when the first unicorn died a horrible death, I figured I'd better write something different for her.

So this piece evolved into more of a dark fantasy piece set in Herculean times. When I received the rejection email I opened up the story to recheck it before sending it out again. I wrote this story a few months ago and I can see why they rejected it. The story itself is sound I think, the death scenes are OK but there are issues with POV and some of the dialogue is very stilted.

My writing has evolved and I think - improved. I am now trying to completely rework this piece before happily sending it out again.

The thing to remember when a rejection arrives is to have a subjective look at your work, make any changes that you deem necessary and then - importantly - send it back out!

Remember that a rejection only means that the market you sent it to wasn't the right one at the right time. There is a market for everything somewhere. Sometimes it just takes time to find it.

Good luck with your submissions and keep on writing!

Quick Update

Hi All

The the new website is starting to generate traffic which is nice but if you do visit, please sign the guest book. I'd love to know who is visiting and from where.

Next update: I have gathered together all the market guides and listed them in the Book Store & E-Book Store on the website. There is also a section for other books with some gems to help us poor writers to be found there.

Last Update for now: A good friend of mine contributed to a new book titled "The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy." It's more than worth a look.

Apt Pupil

A couple of nights ago, I was presented with one of those DVD cases that house three movies - two on one disc. I've never seen a movie on either side of the disc - yeah - I don't get out much. That's not the good bit. I am starting to seriously get into writing horror and dark fiction so who better to learn from than Stephen King.

The three DVD set contained - Christine; Sleepwalkers; Apt Pupil.

The first two are full blown novels but the last is a novella. I'm a fan of Christine from way back, always had a soft spot for a 57 Fury since watching it. Sleepwalkers was strange. I remember watching years ago and thinking it was a little weird. Now I'm all grown up, I know it's weird!

Apt Pupil I'd never heard of. I haven't read it or seen the movie before. - It is seriously good! If you want to learn how to portray a plot with a couple of major twists in it - watch this.

It starts with a barely plausible plot of a young boy in school taking a weeks focus on The Holocaust and becoming obsessed with it. During a bus trip home, he recognises an older version of a man he has seen in his research. With an old raincoat, glasses, hat and an extra 50 years - apparently a single glance was enough to set the boy off on the course that makes the movie. A lame opening but it gets better.

With items purchased from Toy World, the kid proves the real identity of the old man to be that of a German Soldier, a member of the SS, who worked in the concentration camps.

OK so with all the ridiculous bits out of the way, the real story begins - the kid blackmails the old man into telling him about the camps during the war. Not the watered down versions he learnt at school - but every sickening detail.

This is a sixteen year old kid! His obsession grows until it's all he can think about and his grades start to slide. The old man steps in and makes a deal with the school councillor and turns the tables on the kid, placing a full affidavit of their relationship in a bank security box. If he dies, then the lawyers get it which would expose the kid and ruin his life.

At this point I was thinking not a bad story, cant be much left - wrong! The story twists with the introduction of a homeless man discovering the old man's past, a Nazi war criminal hunter, the councillor discovering the deception of the old man after graduation, the old man's solution to the homeless guy and how it involves the kid. The secret of the strong box, suicide and suggested child molestation by the councillor.

In the end, the councillor runs for his professional career, the old man gets away with his crimes - kind of and the kid gets off Scott free and proves to be the most cunning of them all.

If this little gem has passed you by - do yourself a favour - go buy it!

The Website

“Musings of an Aussie Writer - The website” is up and running - woohoo!

You will find heaps of updated resources, articles and information there. Please have a look around. There is also a contact page to my Gmail account for any and all suggestions in regards to either the web page, the blog or anything writing related.

Many thianks to Lee for help with both articles for the free writing tips section and for aid with the HTML code. I work in server based computing not web design - there's a big difference!

Now that it is up and running, I need to do a few tweaks in regards to its searchability but I really need to get back to writing. I haven't written anything for three days other than blogs or emails - oh and a big report for work but that's no fun at all!

Keep on writing!

A new musing is born

Hi all

Today I published my first website. Unfortunately it is currently the free version so it includes ads not of my choosing. Please visit and let me know what you think.

http://bt-author.tripod.com/

You will find loads more links to helpful and interesting things designed to help all writers regardless of level.

Have a look and have fun.

Keep on writing!

New Website Currently being built

Hi Folks. I am currently playing around with building a free website through Tripod. If you're looking for a fairly simple website to share photo's of you and yours with relatives around the globe, this looks like the go.

I know nothing about HTML, coding, building websites (or blogs for that matter) but this is easy. And I think it can be customised to look exceptional!

Give it a go.

I'm heading back to play somemore. As soon as it's finished, I'll post the URL here first. Stay tuned because it will have heaps of useful stuff for writers on it.

:)

Great new tip

I have just been trolling the forums I usually visit and I found this gem that I must share. I work with computers but never knew about this ability within Word.

Many thanks goes out to Scribbler1382 at Absolute Writer Water Cooler for this one:

"For scene descriptions, use the Comments in track changes. Then when you're going to print, in the "Print What?" drop-down on the print dialog, choose "List of Markup". Just the comments will print."

Get your critiquers to do their comments this way and it's very cool too.

Anthology follow up

I just received confirmation that my submission was received. The editor was very happy to be notified that the email address that was listed in the submission guidelines didn't seem to be working.

Now we wait. She said the current slushpile should be answered to by the 28th. I wonder if she means to give me an answer by tomorrow??

Now that's turn around :)

New Anthology Submission

Hi All

Last night I submitted a piece, I've been playing around with for the last month or so, for the Courting Morpheus Anthology concerning New Bedlam. With editorial help from friends, I think it's pretty good, so I sent it. Unfortunately the editors email address kept bouncing. I sent it to her private gmail account instead with an explanation. Fingers crossed she won't count this against me. Hopefully I'll receive confirmation of submission before the 1st of September which is the deadline.

Have been in discussion with writer friends on all sorts of things lately, primarily to do with writing strangely enough. ;)

In my ongoing education it was suggested that I take aim at some of the lower paying markets and some of the less prestigious contests to gain writing credits for my bio. My response was not to take aim but to take a machine gun approach and submit to all levels of markets and competitions. It struck a note of approval. So with all the authority invested in me from my current three accepted pieces, may I suggest that little published, unpublished and anyone else who writes, should simply write a lot and send them out.

I tend to write a piece and create a submission path for it. I go through all the market listings (check the links on the side) and figure out which ones are likely to be interested in the story. I plot them out in order of payment. I send it to the best paying markets first and work my way down as any rejections roll in. Competitions are a little different. I don't really care about prestige or money, I care about any theme and deadlines. Having a competition piece on the back burner is a great way to beat the dreaded writer's block. Oh - and I only enter those that have no entry fee. There are plenty of writing comps about the place that have no fee of any kind attached to them. Aim for them.

The only other thing about comps I keep in mind are the really big ones, like Writers Of The Future (WOTF). It has four reading periods each year with winners in each period. If I'm working on a particular story I think fits the bill, I don't submit it anywhere else. Currently 2108 is my work in progress (WIP) for this major comp. We'll see.

Thanks for reading.

Enrolled

I have just received my writing requirements worksheet for the "Advanced Diploma of Arts (Professional Writing)".

I have to create a 500 word letter demonstrating my ability to

• Write correctly and fluently
• Meet creative and intellectual demands
• Exercise self dicipline
• Write unsupervised
• Read widely
• Meet Deadlines
• Deal with critical responses

Plus I have to write the first 500 words for a story in which the opening line is

""Take me with you," she said. "I'll try harder, I promise."

I knocked that one off last night. Nice little dark fiction piece about two kids with psychic powers. I also had to include a 100 word summary on how I saw the story progressing.

Lastly I have an editing exercise to do on a passage that was supplied.

Ah - the fun of learning. All this just to compete for a place to begin with. Fingers crossed I actually get accepted.

That's all for now.

Thanks for reading and keep on writing.

BT

The Bad

As with "The Good" posting, below you will find what I have found to be not so good over the past 9 months.

Ignorance
To start with I didn’t have a clue what the writing game was all about. I was like a teenager listening to their parents. I thought I knew a fair bit but what I did know turned out to be either wrong or just not enough. I definitely still don’t know everything I should, but I keep researching my questions and hassling those in the know.

Writing for the sake of writing is nice but gaining recognition for it by getting published is so much better. Getting paid for it is nice too :) Hold onto your ignorance or arrogance and you'll only ever be writing for the sake of it.

Being ripped off
Beware those out there that offer the fountain of knowledge. There are many web sites, publications, forums, etc, etc out there that offer to help new writers. In my experience, very few of them are genuinely not interested in making a buck for themselves along the way. Now I wouldn’t suggest that people shouldn’t make a dollar where they can, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of others. What I mean is making money while helping your fellow writer is fine, making money by ripping off new writers who don't know any better is wrong.

In my haste to become a writer I bought a huge amount of e-books on the topic. I bought programs to help me write and I looked into all sorts of courses and workshops. I’m lucky that I learn lessons very quickly but this was also my downfall. I figured I could sponge up all this information and churn out my best sellers in no time flat. Ha! Nearly everything I bought I found later on free sites or through friends.

Nothing in writing is new; it’s been around for centuries. Take your time – you can still write and have a huge store of work to release as you find the right resources for you.

I will take this time to suggest three resources that I found immeasurably helpful in my first six months of writing:

• http://www.fictionfactor.com/ - they have different sites for different genres too. Fantasy, horror, romance, children, freelance plus others. Excellent site. The forum and those that participate are also brilliant for information. There is no such thing as a stupid question! I have listed the links over on the left.
• http://www.critters.org/ I still crit but not as much anymore but in the beginning you need to read everything, not only to learn, but to see what you’re competing against. Wait until they release the zip file of the previous week’s crits and download it. Have a good look through. Read the story and see if you can figure out what the critters were getting at. Do a crit of a past week’s story and then have a look at the submitted crits in the zip file you downloaded earlier. Are you picking up similar things that others are. Have you noticed a glaring omission that the author may want to know about? Submit crit’s on the current story queue. Try and do ten a week for at least the first month. You’ll see why when you get there.
• The last is an e-book. I have gushed about Lee already but I discovered her first through purchasing her e-book. She wrote “Write Here Write Now” with her friend and co-author Tina, both involved with the FictionFactor web sites. All the questions most green writers ask will be answered here. http://www.fictionfactor.com/writenow.html
  ****Disclaimer - My recomendation above is completely impartial. I gain no benefits from the sale of Lee's ebook***

Newsletters
To begin with I subscribed to every newsletter under the sun. Eventually you figure out which ones are actually of any use. Surprisingly few are but recognising them only comes with trial and error. It’s simple enough to cancel them but your email will take a hit to begin with.

Self doubt
I could probably list this one every couple of weeks. My writing tends to come in waves. I try to write something every day but my real inspirations come much less regularly. When they don’t come, I doubt. When they do come, I doubt that I can express them well enough. When I send them to other writers for critique, I worry over their responses because I have doubt over my own ability. When I submit them to editors, publishers and agents, I doubt the ability of the pieces to catch their attention. When I show friends published pieces, I have doubts over their reactions. When people ask me what I do in my spare time, I have doubts over telling them I write. When it comes to my creative side, I doubt anyone could understand my insecurities. Then I write another piece.

My first uncomplimentary batch of critiques to a work I really liked, and had received good feedback on from people I trusted to tell me the truth.
Now there's a title! Let me explain: the first short story I submitted to Critters was the third thing I had written since I had made the decision to write seriously. The first two amused my family but I never really considered them to be any good. (Until yesterday! "Wake-up Call" has been accepted) - back to the third thing ever wrote; I wrote a 3500 word story in the sci-fi genre. It took six weeks to make it to the top of the queue. By that time I had begun to learn about gramma, how to represent conversations and a multitude of other things that this story didn’t have. And everyone jumped on it. Some not so nicely.

A friend had already convinced me that I needed a better ending. I knew the grammer wasn't up to scratch. I'd realised there was a small POV shift part way through. All fixable things.

About a third of the critiques, which constituted nearly all those I received first up, tore the piece in its entirety, to shreds. I was devastated. I tried to rewrite it four times before the first nice crit came in. Self doubt was huge that week. I left it alone and let the remainder of the crits come. I let the lot sit for a few weeks. Only now am I working through them. A good friend told me something like "they're only critiquing your choice of words, not the story" and "not everyone will like everything but submit a good story to enough places and it'll find a home."
Both pieces of advise are very true.

I'll add this bit though - Never react to a single crit. Wait until you have received them all and a week has gone by since you received the last. Then sit down with all of them and see what multiple people have noticed in your work. If a good percentage of people are saying the same thing, it may point to something that needs fixing. Remember it's only an opinion.

Thanks for reading & keep writing.

The Good

Ok - now it starts.

At the writing of this, I have been seriously trying to master the art of writing for about 9 months. Seriously for me means, I come home from work, spend some time with my kids, eat, clean away all the dinner stuff and then spend the next 5 or 6 hours on the computer.

Sometimes I just write, sometimes I research, sometimes I edit, sometimes I critique -sometimes I do all of the above.

Over the last 9 months, I've learnt a thing or two. Well more than two as you'll see below.

Here are the good things that have happened to me so far:

New friends
In learning about writing I have met some wonderful people. Actually I haven’t met most of them but we converse regularly online. One I have met is Lee. I would have drowned in ignorance a long time ago if it wasn’t for her. My number one tip for all new writers – research your local area and find a local writer who runs a workshop or a web site or a newsletter that is willing to exchange email addresses with you, and help out a new comer to the industry. Treat them with respect but learn all you can until they take out a restraining order.

Being published for the first time
I wrote a piece titled "The Elusive Muse" on a whim which I sent to my friend Lee who is the editor for a well respected website that aims to help new writers – http://www.fictionfactor.com/ – Out of the blue she treated it as a submission and accepted it. She even paid me the going fee. I thought she was just being extremely nice to me, a kind of pat on the head – now go away, type of gesture. The following month it turned up in the newsletter that is sent out to the hundreds, if not thousands, of writers who pray at the FictionFactor alter. I was flabbergasted and suddenly extremely proud. It was a very little piece but it was the start.

My first requested article
Lee has a lot to answer for as she also requested my first real non-fiction article. As I said earlier, I suggest everyone find a writer and learn all they can. I asked so many questions of Lee, I’m sure she became afraid to open her email. At first she was amused at my enthusiasm but getting multiple emails every single day, attempting to suck all the knowledge and creativity out of you, gets old really quick. While it was still a little amusing to her, I sent an email on some interesting bits and pieces I had come across whilst trying to write my first novel. I cross referenced everything and provided many examples on ways to make inventing worlds and characters easy. She then asked me to submit it as an article. "Reinventing the Wheel" came into being and was to be found in the following month’s newsletter. Again the fee was paid and I began to feel like a real author.

My first rejection
I know this sounds odd to be in the “good” points list but it really was. I was disappointed but I was lucky enough a gain a few words of encouragement from the slusher and possible ways to improve it. No opportunity to resubmit but you can’t ask for everything and remember that this was my very first submission, I was lucky not to be told to just bugger off.

Joining Critters.org
A valuable piece of advice was continually told to me or kept popping up in my research about writing – keep doing it, every day if you can. Practise makes a good piece, nothing is ever perfect. A good way to recognise good and bad writing is read a lot of it. Read everything you can in the genre that you choose to write in and then add works from outside your chosen genre for variety and to gain additional insight. There are some good writers on Critters and there are a number who could be, with practise and perseverance. There are a few who may never be any good at all, but at least they’re trying and willing to put their hard work before others for judgement. I have read posts from “writers” on forums, that openly admit to their fear of submissions. Gaining the courage to submit – for critique – a piece on the Critters queue is a big step. Once taken and once you start critiquing others and gaining positive feedback your writing will move forward.

Setting priorities
At first I wanted to get a story out my head that a few mates and I had mucked about with for many, many years. One December morning, 2006, I didn’t have a lot of work on and decided to finally pen a few lines. It didn’t come out too bad. A month later I wrote a bit more and started to get hooked. My writing time slowly increased and within six months of penning the first few lines I managed to write “the end” – an important milestone not to be underestimated. I then started writing short stories. After writing for a whole seven months I stopped and asked, “Why am I doing all this and what do I want out of it?” So I set some priorities

• I want to be published in print. Be it a short story or hopefully my novel, I want it in a dead tree format – call me a traditionalist.
  
• To win a contest. Then to win more than one. Looks great on the bio.
  
• I would like to become good enough to be published in any format regularly; to provide a tidy side income.
  
• To gain professional writing credentials. Back to school for formal education. Scary!
  
• To find an agent for my novel
  
• To get my novel published
  
• To become a full time writer
  
• To become a millionaire
  
• To… - okay I’m getting a little off track now.

Finding a guaranteed solution for the dreaded writers block

Multiple projects. Let’s say you’re trying to work on a short story, and you get stuck part way through on where to go with your main character. Put it aside and continue work on editing your novel. Just as you get into a real rhythm, an idea for your short story will pop into your head. Jot it down and continue editing. When your steam runs out on the novel, switch back to the short story. When that’s completed and you can’t be bothered doing the novel, (its not the inspiring choice for the day) try critiquing someone else’s work. Write a short story in a different genre. Research a different story or an article for a non-fiction piece. Cruise the anthology listings and see what themes stir your juices. Enter a themed competition. With so much on your plate, you won’t have time for writers block.

Being introduced to the Absolute Writers forum. (Thanks Jo)

There are some very knowledgeable people who hang out there and you can find out just about everything you ever wanted to know. Be warned though – it’s huge!

Having a piece accepted for publication by a stranger

It was very nice when Lee published my essay about the Muse. It was nice when she requested another non-fiction essay about resources for fantasy writers. It was out of this world when the very first piece I ever wrote, the same one that garnered my first rejection, was accepted in a recognised publication.

I am pleased to announce that last night (my time) AntipodeanSF accepted a small humourous Sci-Fi piece I penned long ago. Mid February 2008 http://www.antisf.com/ will be publishing it's 10th Anniversary edition publication. In it will be "Wake-up Call." This tiny little piece, that all my kids loved, was rejected by three other publications before finding its home (nearly 9 months after its first draft was completed).

Working on it

Hi again. Don't get used to so many posts in one day. I'm playing with my new toy.

To the left, you'll find listings for all the sites I visit often. I find them extremely useful, hopefully others will to.

In my research I've found that a lot of this information is scattered around so part of my blogs mandate will be to bring it together - primarily so I know where it is, but also for so those of you that have found this space to also have easy access.

Also over there, I keep a list of everything I'm currently working on. Pieces that genius' out there in the market have recognised as good enough to publish. Hopefully this list will grow as quickly as the others.

Apart from chronicling my writing exploits, I'll also be doing the occasional review on books, movies or web sites I encounter, courses I enrol in or other writers who have good FREE wisdom to impart.

Hope some of it helps

BT

In the beginning

Ok - Hi

I'm totally new to the whole blogging experience so please bear with me.

Who - My name is Brenton Tomlinson. I'm a 39 year old Aussie male, happily married with three kids. My wife is Jodi, Amie 17 (nearly 18), Corey 14 and Tyarna 8 make up the immediate Tomlinson clan. When I figure out how to post pic's, I will.

Why - I am an aspiring writer, currently banging away on the keyboard creating my first novel. I have been seriously writing since December 2006. I have been trying to write down all the good and bad points I encounter as I go. It helps me remember my mistakes, re-live my glories and I thought it might be a good idea for a freelance article at some point. Now I figure I'd just blog it all. As soon as I figure out what I'm doing, I'll post what I have and try to keep it up to date.

While learning all I can about writing during my first year, it has been suggested that a web presence is a requirement for a professional writer. As this is my target, becoming a professional writer I thought a blog would be a good place to start.

So for those of you that have wandered into my blog - welcome and thanks for reading. I'll try to be a good citizen and update regularly but it probably wont be a daily thing. You never know.

Now I'm off to see about configuring all this.

Cheers

BT