Writers’ Process Blog Tour – works in progress

I’ve been rather neglecting this blog of late but then I got tagged into one of those writers’ blog tours by Janet Givens. It was an interesting one, involving everyone who is tagged answering three questions about themselves, including what our current works in progress are.

That was a mind-concentrating moment as, although I am heading into retirement from the ‘day job’ of copywriting and editing, I suddenly find myself a bit snowed under on present and future writing projects. So this is a good opportunity for me to set them down on paper and remind myself of what I need to get done.

What am I working on?

When I wrote the first book in the Sell the Pig series, Sell the Pig itself, I wasn’t sure what interest there would be in it. After all, every man and his dog, literally, had written about moving to France. In fact it was very well received and did extremely well.

That led to my new-found readers asking for more, which came along in the shape of first Is That Billinge Lump? Then the new baby piglet, Mother Was It Worth It?

Yet still people seem to want to know more! So much as I dislike the word, there will have to be at least one ‘prequel’ and I shall probably start on that this winter – I tend to write most prolifically when snowed in.

I’m very superstitious about works in progress, I tend not to reveal too much about them early on for fear of jinxing them. But here are a few ideas that are swirling round in the melting pot of my mind.

1. A book written in collaboration with two good friends which is such an innovative new genre we may have to think up a new name for it!

2. Another possible collaboration with author Suzan Collins, comparing the different strengths and weakness of the British and French healthcare systems. Am still scratching my head for any French weaknesses, so that might be a very short chapter.

3. Expanding on the backstory of Sell the Pig in various forms and various volumes.

4. Sorting out French translations of the Sell the Pig series, once I can find a suitable translator with whom I can work.

Why do I write what I do?

People love hearing about other people’s lives, it seems. I write pretty much as a speak. Friends have always liked listening to my tales and found them amusing so it’s just a continuation of that really.

I have written many other genres though. I wrote a storyline for a TV western, which was bought and produced, I’ve written a stage play which was given a Highly Commended mention at a drama festival in Germany, as a journalist I’ve written endless newspaper, magazine and e-magazine articles and as a copywriter I have written on just about any subject you care to mention.

I write a lot of press releases for clients, as well as for my own marketing and my little booklet Press Releases: An Idiot’s Guide has done very well and has helped several writers to get great free publicity for their own books.

How does my writing process work?

I do a lot of my first drafts in my head, usually when I’m walking my dogs. I’ll get an idea and churn it around in there until it comes together and when I get back from the walk, I’ll whack it out on the computer whilst it’s still fresh in my mind. I type quickly, I was taught properly, copy-typing, so can get stuff bashed out speedily

My two trusty helpers, Fleur (left) and Ci, who accompany on my walks whilst my brain is busy writing the next chapter

I always try to edit a day’s work at the end of the day whilst it’s fresh, then I’ll do several edits of the finished article before it goes to beta readers. That seems to work for me.

So now it’s my turn to tag people into this blog tour, so they get to write about their writers’ process. I tag Suzan Collins, of course, since we are going to be collaborating on the new project. I next tag the brilliantly talented Charlotte Stirling, whose ‘Blood on the Banana Leaf’ recently reached the editors’ desk on Authonomy.com. And finally I tag Jill Pennington, author of Diary of a Single Parent Abroad, a really great read. Jill doesn’t have her own blog so will be guest posting from mine.

Do drop by and meet them and discover their work!