Tuesday 11 September 2012

A Blogging Virgin

A blank page: the story of my writing life. And yet words invariably flow and before long there are thousands and then, voila! a finished manuscript. Often the time taken waiting for a publisher to respond to the submission is far longer than the time taken to actually write the 45,000 word manuscript. More often than not.

What is it with publishers? Do they have no regard for the travails of writers? So often I read of publishers judging writing competitions, speaking at conferences or festivals or attending awards of their successful authors. And I wonder why aren’t they at their publishing home reading my manuscript? Doing the work they ought to be doing? It is so easy to become cynical about publishers and the publishing world. And yet, I’m afraid this is how it is for me after 30+ years working as a children’s author. Mind you, I’ve had 120+ books published in that time, and countless short stories, poems, plays and articles. So you might say I’ve been around.

 Today I ‘own’ writing time so I will be once again at my computer working this time on a junior novel, A Game of Keeps. It’s coming along well, though I have written it piecemeal, a scene here, a chapter there. And now I need to put all the pieces together in chronological order, and too I need to work out how to show the passing of a four month period in the book where not much happens — before I reach the end chapter (already written). A boy asked yesterday if I ever experience writers’ block. No, I said, but I do experience writer’s problems. So enough of blogging, and back to A Game of Keeps!

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