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Autumn is on its way out (boo!) and I realised I f Autumn is on its way out (boo!) and I realised I forgot to share this super autumnal picture of The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, visiting Hampton Court Palace. I mean, I did the visiting. The book didn’t ask to go, but it felt wrong not to invite it along and whip it out in the perfect historical setting 🍂 I’ve seen this story in movie form so many times, and came across the book in a box outside someone’s house, so I couldn’t not take it (it was a charity sale, I promise I didn’t steal!) I love historical fiction but I probably wouldn’t have thought to pick this up otherwise. Glad I did and can’t wait to get further into it. Hampton Court Palace remains one of the coolest places I live close to. If you haven’t been, go 👍 Any other fans of Philippa Gregory or other Tudor era books here? I’ve been meaning to read some Hilary Mantel too. So many stories, not enough time! 📚
Today I had the pleasure of changing my bio from ‘WIP: First draft’ to ‘WIP: Revisions’, and it felt good. I’ve definitely neglected this little app for one or two (or five) months, but as anyone writing a book will probably understand, it’s hard to share content about your progress when you don’t feel like you’re making any. Although I have been slowly chipping away at the book I’m currently working on, I really thought I’d be further ahead by now, and sometimes it's tough to realise another month has passed and you're no closer to publishing. BUT. I’ve made some pretty big changes in the past few, and they’ve all got me to this point: ✔ I cut down on my client hours in order to focus on writing more consistently ✔ I started the London Writers’ Gym where we do writing sprints together and work to push our projects forward. I took this photo before one of our recent sessions ✔ I sorted out my hundreds of very messy documents and created one super-document (erm, manuscript) which now feels so much more organised and clean ✔ I've tried to be more confident when people ask me what I'm doing, and stopped answering the “what’s it about?” question with lots of umms and ahhs ✔ I read through my full draft and didn’t want to throw it in the bin… progress! As an aspiring author with no book to show yet, I often come on here and feel like posting is pointless because I have nothing to offer, but I’m starting to realise that most of the content I love to see here comes from writers who don’t have their sh*t together. I want to see the messy first drafts, the unsuccessful submissions, and the days when the words just won’t come. I have all those things and then some, so I’m going to start sharing it here and, hopefully, meeting other writers who are in the trenches with me. So today’s celebration is simply changing my Instagram bio from first draft to revisions, because it’s all about the little things. If you have a teeny, tiny win for the day, I’d love to hear it! Nothing is too small (trust me) 👇
Happy Halloween, ft. book club and ball pit 🎃💃 P.S. You may be thinking I'm dressed as a lobster for a second year because I ran out of time to get a new costume, but in fact this year I was a crayfish. They're very different. No, they are.
Ticked a bucket list item this weekend: Run the Br Ticked a bucket list item this weekend: Run the Brighton Marathon and then run into the sea after ✔ (It was more like a waddle into the sea, and I needed help to get out, but still counts!) 🏃‍♀️ Thanks again to the best pit crew a girl could ask for! 😁 @gabriellaalonzi @greg__mcallister @wendycmac @bryonyhan @greg_ashbaugh #BrightonMarathon #BrightonMarathonWeekend #BrightonHero #FirstMarathon
Wasn't quite the result we were hoping for, but it Wasn't quite the result we were hoping for, but it was a damn good night cheering on the country I've now spent a decade in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿💃❤ #welldoneboys #stillscottishthough
My copy of Ordinary People came in the post from @ My copy of Ordinary People came in the post from @swoop_books_, with my name in print and everything! 💃 Haven't had a chance to read all the stories in there yet, but I've already come across some beeeautiful writing and looking forward to diving into the rest very soon 👀 Huge thanks to Swoop Books for including my story among such a talented bunch! If you want to grab a copy, swoopbooks.com is the place 👈🏻
Well... my nails are shredded 😬 I read this in Well... my nails are shredded 😬 I read this in probably three sittings, and even that was too long. I couldn't put it down. If you want a masterclass in writing tension, this is it. Initially I went for it because of the title (some titles just intrigue me, even when the genre or the cover isn't something I would normally go for) but I stayed for the heartbreaking MC narration, and for the villain of the story - one of the creepiest, even though I feel like they don't say a whole lot throughout 🤐 I won't give anything away, but it should sum it up to say that apparently Marian Keyes called this book "Misery meets Room". Perfect comparison really. If you want something uplifting, this is NOT for you. Kidnapping, human trafficking, abuse, it's all in there. But it's brilliantly written and tense to the max. Highly recommend to my fellow crime and thriller fans out there 📚 #thelastthingtoburn by Will Dean
Took alllllll the notes this week during @prowrit Took alllllll the notes this week during @prowritingaid.insta's Crime Writer's Week. I was obviously in my element with sessions like 'Crime Scene Management' and 'History of the Mystery' 🤓🤓🤓
Happy pubs-are-open week! 🍻 Some good writing Happy pubs-are-open week! 🍻 Some good writing things: ▪ My copywriting workload is finally manageable again after a fortnight-long balancing act ▪ One of my stories was shortlisted for a competition from Cranked Anvil Press 🎉 ▪I sent off an excerpt from my novel to the second round of an amaaazing competition. I always try not to get my hopes up but I am the KEENEST OF BEANS for this one 🤞🏻 Some not-so-good writing things: ▪ I spent most of my time outside in the park, achieving a grand total of 0 words written on my story. But when you live in the UK and the sun comes out, what else is there to do? ☀️ Now for some fun facts about this picture: ▪ My ring is new and it's called a 'hug ring' - love it! ▪ Yes a picture of a full cup of hot chocolate would have been more aesthetically pleasing, but I got to be me, and me never waits to drink a hot chocolate ▪ I had to put a filter on this picture because my hand looks like that of an actual reptile - need some hand cream pronto How's your week been?
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