January update: 5 year writing project

I’m working on my Walking the English Coast non-fiction book. Not sure if I’m ever truly happy with anything I write.

do you have goalsI’m taking part in Misha and Beth’s Five Year Project and my five-year goal is to write a novel and get it published.

It’s two years since I joined the project and, although I have finished my novel, The Reluctant Scribe, I’m still collecting rejections from agents.
Continue reading “January update: 5 year writing project”

5 year writing goal: November update

My quest for an agent for my historical novel, The Reluctant Scribe, continues. I’ve written to eight so far, with six polite rejections and two still pending.
Meanwhile, I’m moving on. From the past and into the future…

5 Year Writing Goal: November update

do you have goalsI’m taking part in Misha and Beth’s Five Year Project and my five-year goal is to write a novel and get it published.

My quest for an agent for my historical novel, The Reluctant Scribe, continues. I’ve written to eight so far, with six polite rejections and two still pending.

In the meantime, I’m moving on with my next novel. It’s completely different in tone and style. This time it’s a fast-paced, sci-fi adventure, written in the first person, present tense, and aimed at the young adult reader. Continue reading “5 year writing goal: November update”

50,000 words and onwards…

Today I hit the 50,000 word NaNoWriMo milestone. Actually, I raced past it at some speed.

NaNoWriMo novel writing winners banner - Ruth Livingstone

So, I’ve collected my certificate, some stickers for the blog, and – when November is over and done –  will find some free goodies in the end-of-NaNoWriMo winner’s bag.

BUT – and this is important – I’ve not finished my novel. Yes, I’ve got over 50,000 words down and that is quite an achievement. No, I haven’t got to the ending yet.

This is my promise to myself: this year I WILL finish my NaNo novel.

After that, of course, what  I’ve got is a rough first draft. A very rough first draft. Then the hard work really begins.


777 NaNo challenge

I don’t usually post extracts of my work on this blog. And I don’t usually do blog challenges. But I couldn’t resist this one!

777 NaNoWriMo challengeThe 777 challenge requires you go to Page 7 of your work-in-progress, scroll down to Line 7 and share the next 7 sentences in a blog post. Once you have done this, you can tag 7 other bloggers to do the same with their work-in-progress. Continue reading “777 NaNo challenge”

2nd Week NaNo blues

Today, I put off doing NaNo.

Yes, today I had 2,000 words to write.
No, I didn’t feel like doing it.

I’ve never hit the second week blues before. Other NaNoWriMos talk about them. But I’ve never actually been there. Until yesterday, when I paid them a visit. It’s a horrible, lonely place to be. Continue reading “2nd Week NaNo blues”