As normal we will be meeting in the White Hart Hotel. We'll be there from 7.30 p.m onwards. As per usual look for us in the quietest corner of the bar we can find, or sometimes upstairs with the skeleton.

Usual format: manuscript review, drinks and general catchup.

For those with work to review we will aim to start reading out before 8 p.m and finish by 10 p.m.

Hope to see you there!

As normal we will be meeting in the White Hart Hotel. We'll be there from 7.30 p.m onwards. As per usual look for us in the quietest corner of the bar we can find, or sometimes upstairs with the skeleton.

Usual format: manuscript review, drinks and general catchup.

For those with work to review we will aim to start reading out before 8 p.m and finish by 10 p.m.

Hope to see you there!

Last week Brandon Sanderson donated some of his time to stream his writing process live.

For the worldbuilders charity he offered to stream himself writing and share with people the process that he goes through.

The result is a really interesting piece of footage as you can go through the creative process with Sanderson.  throughout the video you can see how he creates characters and plot ideas (with the help of his online audience) and then transfers the ideas to prose. His editing process and approach are there on the screen and it is fun to go through it with him.

Throughout the 4(!)  hours of the video he takes breaks to answer questions from people who are watching the stream live and also interact with his family and pets who interrupt him.

We worth checking out - especially if you are a fan of his work but even if you are not it is always good to see how others approach the writing process.

Watch it here.

So you've set your goals for writing in 2014 and am sure are making great progress.

Something that helps is to have a short term milestone to aim for.

GetWriting 2014 is a writing conference run by our friends over at Verulam Writing Circle. It is a great opportunity to attend workshops, listen to panels and presentations, mingle with other writers and even get the opportunity to pitch your work.

As a milestone it can be a great target to set yourself to have that novel draft complete (and pitch it!), that short story finished (enter the on the day comp!) or just a chance to re-energise yourself to keep up and hit your targets.

The conference is on 29th March.

Check it out:

http://getwritingday.verulamwriterscircle.org.uk/

We will be going and hope to see you there!

As normal we will be meeting in the White Hart Hotel. We'll be there from 7.30 p.m onwards. As per usual look for us in the quietest corner of the bar we can find, or sometimes upstairs with the skeleton.

Usual format: manuscript review, drinks and general catchup.

For those with work to review we will aim to start reading out before 8 p.m and finish by 10 p.m.

Hope to see you there!

According to the press there now exists an algorithm to help determine if your book will be a success...

Unfortunately they give only a few clues to what might work but it is worth investigating. Apparently high incidence of nouns and adjectives are found in more successful books whereas a high incidence of verbs and adverbs are found in less successful books.

Article in the Independent here and one a little more detailed on  the Inside Science site here.

Alternatively if you have time and an eye for statistical analysis the original article is here in .PDF format.

Seems like quantity works well for Russell Blake...who has cranked out 25 novels in 30 months!

For those of you considering self publishing - this could be an inspiration for getting content out there and making money...

Link to the full article on the wall street journal below.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303640604579298604044404682

I happy new year to you all!

Time to dust off those manuscripts..but don't worry if you haven't written, we can always discuss writing plans and resolutions for 2014.

AS normal we will be meeting in the White Hart Hotel. We'll be there from 7.30 p.m onwards. As per usual look for us in the quietest corner of the bar we can find, or sometimes upstairs with the skeleton.

Usual format: manuscript review, drinks and general catchup.

For those with work to review we will aim to start reading out before 8 p.m and finish by 10 p.m.

Hope to see you there!

It's that time in January when you have probably made a list of resolutions about your writing for this year..and in many cases this might contain many of last year's goals that were not quite achieved.  (Get published, finish writing that trilogy, win the Booker prize etc)



If you want to be a little easier on yourself have a look at this post on fantasy faction. It might inspire you to set some more realistic goals this time round....

Good luck and Best Wishes for a creative and productive 2014!