I notice it's been a little while since I last posted here. Sorry. I've been a bit under the weather and I've been busy, mostly with writing. Some of what I've written I'm pleased with, other stories, erm, not so much. It's reminded me, and I think this is a really, really important lesson for anyone beginning to write, that a good idea does not guarantee a good story. But not being able to turn a good idea into a good story does not make you a bad writer.

There are often other ways to tell it (two of the best things, in my opinion, that I've written, have been tackled from half a dozen different angles) and, probably more often, it just doesn't work. And that's fine. Knowing when to give up and move on's a really healthy thing to learn - that's probably as important as learning that writing something good takes a lot of time and hard work.

And let's not forget, of course, that there are other good ideas that do make good stories.

So, um, that's what I think about that.

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Well, I did get up on my legs and go out of the house, but only for an hour and there wasn't actually much walking because I took the car (500 yds) to my favourite spot. I had to walk from the car to my bench (10 yds) to glory in this view.

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The third in the series of interviews with writers about giving up their day jobs features Keris Stainton. Her debut novel for young adults ‘DELLA SAYS: OMG! WTF?’ comes out 6 May 2010. She also works as a freelance journalist.

MT: Hi Keris. What day jobs have you done?

KS: I’ve been a ‘Mother’s Help’ (basically a nanny for very little money), held various secretarial and admin positions, was PA to Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, a steward at Wembley and a bookseller in Waterstone’s.

MT: Anything in those day jobs that has inspired your writing?

KS: The first novel I started writing was inspired by my job at the time.

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One of my blog-readers recently emailed me a sorry story of struggle to become published http://helpineedapublisher.blogspot.com/2009/10/true-story-of-struggling-writer.html) and it included this question: "Do you think sometimes a writer just has to admit they are a bit crap, and give up?"



Now, as someone who struggled for 21 years to hook a publisher - and “struggled” does not properly describe the grim tale of my shattered soul and shrinking self-esteem - I could be the person to answer this.

I could be glib and answer in either of two simple ways:

1. Yes. (But not you, of course, because you’re marvellous.)
2. No. (Crap gets published: you just need to find a way to get your crap published.)

But there are two main things at the heart of the question:

1. Can a not-good-enough writer become good enough to be published?
2. Can we know - and if so, how? - whether we’re good enough and therefore can we reach the point of saying, “Yes, I’m a bit crap; I’m not going to get better; so I’ll give up.”



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What do you call yourself?

I mean, here on Strictly we’ve already said that if you write - whether for profit or pleasure or to get your own back on that bitch who stole your boyfriend back in 197 – blah! (writers and elephants have long memories!) - then a writer is what you are.


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Oh I’m busy beavering away at the novel for NaNo – keeping pace, but it’s only day three; plenty of time to screw up! No, I’m not going to do that this year. I’ve got two weeks off work to get myself into a nice routine. I did think of running ahead of the game but I could turn myself right off doing that. So, nice and easy it is; just what I’m supposed to do and no more.



Though, after three days in bed I’m getting a bit twitchy –

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Fancy a stab at crime writing? The Crime Writers Association have just announced that this years Debut Dagger Competition has now been launched. Check out their site for further details.

http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/debut/index.html

Our Top Writing Reference Books


Below are our top writing reference books that you can refer to if you're hoping to learn a bit more about the craft or how to submit work, or just to find some inspiration.

It would be great if you had any books to recommend yourselves, in the comments section!

ROD: How Fiction Works by James Wood isn't a manual for writers, so you won't find all the stock appeals to "show don't tell" or "avoid adverbs". Instead it's a searching anatomy of literature by one of the most insightful critics in the business. It follows the tradition of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel, but I found it more readable and more fun and more insightful than either of those. The discussion of the case for and against realism was the part that struck me most. Let James Wood guide you towards a deeper understanding of what you are trying to do when you sit down to write.


CAROLINE R: On Writing by Stephen King. Although I've read and enjoyed a few of King's books, I wouldn't consider myself a big fan. On Writing, however, is a hugely enjoyable read for which you don't need any prior knowledge of King's work. The book's autobiographical sections are very funny, and the writing advice is given in an amusingly no-nonsense tone. The advice itself is nothing earth-shattering – it's the kind of stuff you can easily find on the internet – but King is not out to boss anyone around. He says what works for him and the reader can take it or leave it – a refreshingly non-patronising book.

GERALDINE: Becoming A Writer. Way back in 1934 Dorothea Brande showed us the way. Brande realised the importance of psychology in the writer's make up and taught me, for one, the importance of separating my sensitive writerly self from my editing self which would sooner tell me I'm rubbish than praise me. She also came up with the idea of morning pages way before any other author of "How-To-Write" manuals. DB is the Elizabeth David of creative writing. Everyone else is just an imitator.



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More from Casper’s Handbook of the Practice of Forensic Medicine (3rd Edition, 1861). This is from a section dealing with infanticide. One of the interesting things that reading these old books throws to light is how changes in vocabulary reflect changes in attitudes. The political incorrectness of former times (judged by our own standards) is sometimes breathtaking, though I must admit it is one of the things I find fascinating about writing historical fiction.

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Lovely news to start November! My flash, Dig the Dead, is the inaugural story at Left Hand Waving, a brand new sister site to Right Hand Pointing, who published my story, After a Long Illness, Quietly at Home, last month. The editors, Dale and John, emailed about the new site yesterday. It celebrates 'first person stories of approximate truth'. Dig the Dead is just that, about my experience of losing my father to Motor Neurone Disease and the strange funeral service that followed. It seemed to fit the bill for Left Hand Waving, so I subbed it and received an almost immediate acceptance. The fastest turnaround for publication ever, I think, and a welcome way to start a new month when I shall be trying hard to fit writing into my new working life.

Exciting developments with regard to local publishing connections are afoot, and I hope to be able to update here soon. It's all happening and my feet haven't touched the ground much in the last six weeks, nor have my fingers been at the keyboard.

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