Vote, write, change

June 25^th.

It’s been a momentous week, but not from a writing point of view. This week the British voted to leave the European Union. I voted for it so am pleased with the result. A lot of people are upset and some are quite bitter. Now the mud-slinging starts and some of the losers are making spiteful utterances. They claim we have divided Britain, but as they continue their vituperative tongue slashing, they forget they are acting like a spoilt child who wants the game played a different way; otherwise he/she will take their ball home. We certainly have a bumpy ride ahead.

I’m often asked where I get the ideas for my stories. I say I get them from real life. The stories are all around, like fruit waiting to plucked from the trees. The actions of some of our senior politicians, and their sycophants are worth delving into, particularly if you are a political writer. Out will come the knives, political parties will break apart and new parties formed. So there’s a ton of stuff if you have a devious, political writing gift. It’s like the House of Cards all over again.

Looking at my sales this week, I can see they are settling around five a day. This could be a good base from which to continue building, but it won’t happen on its own; I have to do something. I am working my way through the Mark Dawson Facebook course. It’s packed with information and advice. There is so much there that I need to go through it twice before I start advertising. If I get it right, and there’s no reason why I can’t, I should be able to build my subscribers list and consequently my average sales. Or I could sit and dream!

Working on my latest book is giving me self-inflicted problems; I keep changing direction. Not too wildly, but enough to make me see where the story could improve if I am brave enough to go with my instincts. For example: one of my characters has been killed off already, although she figured prominently in the early part of the book. And I have weakened the character of another by making her a drug addict, although addict would be too strong a word because I need her to survive in a dramatic way, and not from going cold turkey. I have also been doing some research and found myself reading scientific papers that are written in a language that is quite alien to me. It’s all English by the way, but you know what these scientific types are like. One of the problems with this kind of research is that it’s necessary to wade through a lot of material in the hope you can unearth a little gem that can be used as the raison d’etre in the story. I’m nearly there. Perhaps I’ll award myself an honorary degree in science ‘stickability’. But whatever happens, wish me, and the British public, a lot of luck!