● Diane Wordsworth ● freelance writer ● editor ● proofreader ● storyteller ● novelist ● photo-journalist ●
I had a lot of fun working on my killer this week. Wednesday was the day I did this work, and I didn't even reach the end of the chapter in Writing the Killer Mystery for creating the killer. I was itching to get creating. This story, The Beast Within, has been stewing for many... Continue Reading →
This feature is in association with NetGalley. The Quartet Murders, JR Ellis Thanks to NetGalley and to Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of The Quartet Murders by JR Ellis. This is the second in the series of Yorkshire murders for JR Ellis, and once again I really enjoyed the setting. It's nice to... Continue Reading →
Details of the victim have been percolating in the back of my mind this week, while I did other stuff. When I finally came to sit down and write the ideas up, I was surprised at how much I'd learnt about her. (I'm not throwing out any spoilers, remember. This will be on the book... Continue Reading →
I have been a Windows gal for as long as we've been using Windows. I remember when the first Microsoft products started to come out. I started off on WordStar for word processing and Lotus for spreadsheets, and I graduated to WordPerfect, which did everything I needed it to. I remember when the monopoly began.... Continue Reading →
Oh my goodness. Was it really 5 February when I last posted about my (new) fat year? I think it's fair to say I've been having a bit of a … hiatus. (Keep reading!) We were doing really well on the high-fibre diet. We were eating at meal times only – mostly – and feeling... Continue Reading →
I didn't get very much work done on the novel at the weekend as we did shopping and gardening on Saturday, the poet had a gig Saturday night, and we were out all day Sunday, walking. Saying that, I did start work on the characters on Saturday morning, writing 85 words. This was mostly writing... Continue Reading →
We finally caught up on “I is for ...” yesterday, for the alphabet adventurers. It's been a long time coming – 6 months since our last outing – and, boy, could we tell. It was already a struggle getting up, as the poet's band had a gig the previous evening, and that usually means a... Continue Reading →
I didn't do any more work on the novel on Tuesday, so I wrote the grand total of 197 words, bringing my running total to 464. Instead, I carried on with the edit that I'd started on Monday. I worked on that all day Wednesday as well, and most of Thursday, submitting it yesterday teatime-ish.... Continue Reading →
Having abandoned – temporarily – Catch the Rainbow, yesterday I started work on The Beast Within: a Marcie Craig mystery. Marcie Craig is the main protagonist and amateur sleuth in my first novel Night Crawler. Whereas that novel was set in a pub where she works as a rock DJ, this story is set in... Continue Reading →
Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to last week's post – here, on Facebook and elsewhere. The general consensus is that I finish the book and, on the whole, I agree. But while the case continues, I think I'll leave it on ice. I have other stuff I can be getting on... Continue Reading →
*** AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION REQUESTED *** For the past four weeks there has been an inquest into the Birmingham pub bombings of 1974. Much of my book, Catch the Rainbow, was set against that period. Some of the plot hinged on speculation and suggestion behind the atrocity on my part. So far, quite a lot of... Continue Reading →
After much hand-wringing and some discussion with friends and colleagues, I made a tough decision and sent a particularly heavy edit back to the author yesterday. It was taking me too long and I couldn't really do it any justice, as I was struggling to work out what the author was trying to say on... Continue Reading →
I had a relatively productive day yesterday. I stuck to my schedule and kept on top of the household chores. I did some writing work, a blog post, and some editing work. And I was able to finish work on time, or not long after. This morning I managed my first two Pomodoros on Catch... Continue Reading →
I didn't have chance to do any writing on Thursday evening, as the poet had band practice and I had to do the shopping. So we had a quick tea, and then we both went out. The band had a new PA system they wanted to set up, so it was a slightly later than... Continue Reading →
This feature is in association with NetGalley. The Mistress of Pennington's, Rachel Brimble Thanks to NetGalley and to Aria for an advance copy of The Mistress of Pennington's by Rachel Brimble. I quite liked this story. It was like a twist on the Mr Selfridge story. I found that the department store came to life... Continue Reading →
We had a relatively still night. When the wind drops, it's actually fairly mild – currently around 11 degrees Centigrade, but with plenty of sunshine during the day. However, at around 7am, the wind started to pick up again, and we can expect winds of up to 51 miles per hour by mid-morning. So I... Continue Reading →
We're in the midst of another massive storm here in the UK and my internet connection keeps blowing out – on the phone and on the broadband. Fortunately, I can still do a lot of work when this happens, I just can't submit it or collect any new stuff. On Monday, for example, while we... Continue Reading →
We had another long weekend, this time for my birthday. And this time, it was more of a chilled, relaxing time. We saw the poet's mum on Friday evening, and we saw my mom yesterday. On the way home from seeing Mom, we nipped to Brueton Park in Solihull, where we had a picnic and... Continue Reading →
This feature is in association with NetGalley. The Body in the Dales, J R Ellis Thanks to NetGalley and to Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of The Body in the Dales by J R Ellis. I really enjoyed the setting of this novel. As an adopted Yorkshire lass, I have some idea how... Continue Reading →
The Cadbury book has certainly stirred up some interest. Not only did I get a photo-splash in the Daily Mail, but after I posted last time, the Daily Telegraph also featured the book! I am absolutely over the moon. See the Daily Mail feature here. See the Daily Telegraph feature here. There are others popping... Continue Reading →
I was feeling overwhelmed last week, and started to steadily work through my outstanding piles of work. One of the jobs I did was send out a book proposal on Friday. I already knew the publisher was interested in the topic because we had discussed it, and others, a few weeks ago. But they'd asked... Continue Reading →
I was feeling a tad overwhelmed this time last week when I posted about the various piles of work I had. But sorting them out and discussing it with the poet really helped. The first thing I did was finish the big proofreading job that was already in. That was completed yesterday and I nipped... Continue Reading →
Today I thought it might be a good idea to get myself organised. I have so many different projects on the go, it was time to weed some out. But before doing that, I wanted to put them into their own individual piles. Here is how my current Work in Progress (WiP) is looking (sorry... Continue Reading →
I am very gradually weaning myself away from the diet culture that only seems to benefit the diet industry by generating a lot of income for them and a lot of spending for me. Don't get me wrong. I have medical conditions that *do* have certain dietary requirements, as do other people. What I'm talking... Continue Reading →
The more reading and research I do, the more I realise that losing weight shouldn't be the main objective. Plus, my doctor assures me that I'm not worryingly overweight. However, I do feel that I should lose some weight, if only for the benefit of my knees and hips. And my digestive system. I'm not avoiding... Continue Reading →
I don't normally edit or proofread on screen. I find I miss things and, anyway, reading hard copy exercises different eye muscles (apparently). So I usually print my editing and proofreading jobs off so that I can carefully work on the hard copy and then transfer the edits to the electronic version. I can also... Continue Reading →
I've had a very busy week, but it's been a good one. I've been working at a desk in the corner of the living room away from distractions on the computer, such as the internet, Facebook, playing games, etc. A while ago I turned off email notifications on my mobile phone. At first I was... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 44. Save the Cat! has been the last book on screenwriting that screenwriters will ever need since 2005, and then there was another, and another ... until there were five books using this tried and tested method... Continue Reading →
Four years ago, when we were preparing to get married, the poet lost around 2 stone (24lb) and I lost about half a stone (7lb). At our first weigh-in of the new year last week, the poet had gained half a stone (7lb), and I had gained about a stone (14lb). 😳 Last Monday we switched,... Continue Reading →
I started the year with great plans to catch up with the backlog and crack on with new stuff. (Wow, I got a dropped capital.) (Hmm, not sure if I like it or not.) It hasn't gone well so far ... I've checked the job boards every day, but nothing has taken my fancy -... Continue Reading →
Readers of Tales from Baggins Bottom will remember an old regular feature, My Fat Year. They may also remember how I yo-yo'd so much between losing and gaining weight despite trying several commercial diets that many suggested having some blood tests. I've had those blood tests, numerous tests in fact, in a bid to find... Continue Reading →
Welcome to a shiny new year. What are your plans for the coming months? We had a decent, relaxing holiday, with a very busy first half and a very lazy second half. The Saturday before Christmas was perhaps our busiest day. This was the day we went out and did ALL of the Christmas shopping.... Continue Reading →
It's been a fair week where I've finally organised myself and my work again. I've managed to write at least one blog post a day, and on Thursday I spent time on two blogs as well as some gig list work. I've given the blog a bit of a facelift, and I've learnt how to... Continue Reading →
