I have been v busy this last week going to writer's talks/meetings. Tuesday evening I went to a talk by children's author Sally Nicholls and her editor about how Sally got published. I bought both of her books and asked her a question on where she keeps her ideas. She replied in her head. She waits until one idea comes to focus then works on that one. Then on Wednesday I went to an RNA meeting where Freya North talked about how she got published and how she writes. She said that she often has a queue of heroines lined up in her head. So I asked her as well doesn't she write her ideas down? The answer was no. She keeps them in her head until one heroine gets nearer to her so she can see them clearly and know what they are like. I just can't do that as I have too many ideas for books and stories in my mind, and have to write them down otherwise I could get a headache. They were both enjoyable talks.
Yesterday I went to a Fantasy Masterclass on how to write Fantasy for children. It was held by Sara O'Connor, Senior Commissioning Editor of Working Partners, a book packagers who do series books for children. I learnt a lot there about background, setting, plot and motivation, which I wrote down and will refer to when I go back to writing Georgina's story. I also got a brief feedback from Sara on the chapter summaries and writing sample I had emailed her for the workshop, which thankfully she didn't use. It really gave me lots to think about when I go back to writing Georgina and for all the other children's books I have in mind later on. In fact, I made me want to start on Georgina again but I will wait until I finish Checkmate and send that off.
Well, must get on to do some revisions to Checkmate. Be back next week.
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