My creative writing – Ruth Livingstone

NaNoWriMo – reflection on 2017

You would think writing 50,000 words would be easier than this…

I’m a NaNoWriMo winner

Yes, I finished the NaNoWriMo month with 51,416 words in the bag.

So, yet again, I’m a NaNo winner! That’s quite an achievement because most people who start off writing in NaNoWriMo never make it to the 50K word mark,

And yet… and yet… it was hard for me this year.

Words that wouldn’t flow.

51,416 words is a good total for one month, but last year I wrote 61,500 words for NaNo, and the year before I wrote 63,400. In those other years, the words just flew.

This year I stumbled and hesitated and edited and got frustrated with myself — and only just made it to the finish line because I was determined this would not be the first year I failed at NaNoWriMo.

I’ve been doing NaNo since 2010, with one year off due to onerous NHS commitments, and so this is my seventh year.

You might think it would get easier. Continue reading “NaNoWriMo – reflection on 2017”

October Writing Update: editing progress

Still working on that final, final draft.

It’s time to post an update on my writing for the 5 Year Project Do You Have Goals? blog hop. My goal is to write a novel (done) and get it published (working on it).

I’ve just finished editing chapter four of the final, final draft of the Orbital Contract. Feel ashamed not to have finished the whole novel by now, but I’ve been busy with the new grandbaby, dog walking, and enjoying Manchester. Continue reading “October Writing Update: editing progress”

August update: the final draft

I am taking part in the 5 Year Project, and my aim is to get a novel written and published.

As regular readers know, I have partly succeeded, because I have written two novels. The first one is historical fiction, set in the Tang Dynasty, China. Sadly the novel remains unpublished. I have been unable to get an agent interested, despite good feedback. Either agents don’t “feel passionate” or it’s “not the type of thing we’re looking for.” Continue reading “August update: the final draft”

Shortlisted for an Award

As a writer, you learn to expect the unexpected.

I discovered, almost by accident, that I am on the shortlist for an award…

for my non-fiction book
Walking the English Coast: A Beginner’s Guide.

The International Rubery Book Award is designed specifically for small independent presses and for self-published writers.

I notice that the winners for of the 2015 and 2016 non-fiction awards were both books about the coast. For that reason, and because the standard seems very high, I don’t expect to win. But it’s wonderful to be shortlisted.

Here is what they say about my book:

Walking the English Coast: A Beginner’s Guide
Ruth Livingstone
A book written by a GP who decided to follow her own advice about fitness and embarked on the ambitious project of walking all 5,500 miles of the British Coast. Written in a deceptively straightforward style, it offers practical advice that you feel you ought to know, but actually don’t, from what shoes to wear to how to deal with cows. It’s the kind of book you glance at, intending to pick out a few sections, then can’t put down.

It’s been a dry period for my writing.

I’ve entered several short stories into competitions with no luck and continued my fruitless quest for agents for my two novels, again with no luck…

It’s been a long time since I submitted my book and, to be honest, I thought it had been rejected. What a great way to start the week! And it’s funny what some encouragement will do… it spurred me on to find a developmental editor for my sci-fi novel.

Time to move forward and get my next book published.