Oh my Wordle …

On 18/10/2012 By TomIn General, Insight, Novel1 Comment

Ten Days - wordle example - Chapter 3 - for blog — Proportion of word usage in ‘Ten Days’ – Chapter 3

Welcome to the world of Wordle. Until today I had never visited the site although I had a knowledge of ‘word clouds’. I must say a big thank you here to my online friend and fellow blogger Chloe for pointing me in the direction of this incredible tool.

My romantic novel ‘Ten Days’ is now at a point where a lot depends on; feedback from my five sample readers, the response from my proof-reader and the results of the person tackling the design for the front cover. Personally I’m in the process of reading a hard copy of the manuscript, word by word and line by line.

I was aware of the overuse of some words but not others. It’s a romantic novel featuring two main characters; Pete and Gloria, so you might well expect them to appear a lot. In my Wordle experiment, I found that to be the case so I was pleased. After subjecting the entire novel to the filter effect of the Wordle system it seems that I rather like the word ‘looked’.

No, that’s not quite correct. I’m lazy where the word ‘looked’ is concerned, so I should now be seeking to alter it on many occasions to a word of similar meaning … and I’ve ‘looked’ and there are several out there. I would recommend Wordle to all writers.

Progress on the novel? Yes, I think I can say with confidence that I’ve made some. I’ve got the main task done, which is reaching the end of the third draft. My read-through will be a tidy-up and then my proof-reader will highlight issues for me. I have the opinions of one of my sample readers already and I’m confident in my cover designer’s ability.

I’ve decided to take the self-publishing route through Smashwords to produce an e-book. I’ve read all three books produced by the man behind Smashwords – Mr. Mark Coker. Once I’ve managed to work my way through that system I’ll tackle the Amazon Kindle method. One step at a time eh!

My aim is now to get the book out there for early-mid November. I have plenty of work to do yet and I still have to depend to a great extent on other people. One last thing to do is a bit of self-marketing. My website is now up and running, ‘Tom Benson – Creative Writer and Artist’. If you’ve checked in here, please feel free to check in there too, browse and leave a comment in the Guestbook. I’m constantly adding to my art portfolio on the site so it’s not just writing in there.

Am I crazy … or not? – Part 2

On 10/10/2012 By TomIn General2 Comments

acrylic - lillies — White Lillies – in acrylic on a 3ft x 2ft box canvas. Oct ‘2012

On the subject of questions – what possible connection am I going to use between my painting of white lillies and this post?

The lillies were real flowers, so by painting them I’ve given them a new lease of life, albeit on a canvas. It took a few weeks but I completed it at the weekend. It was also at the weekend that I completed my time in Retail Management. The connection to the subject of this post is therefore not so much the flowers themselves as much as the painting. It’s about continuation, but with a bit of a change to circumstances.

With effect from Monday, 8th October I started work in the local branch of Ryman, but as a Sales Assistant. I’ve no doubt I’ll occasionally be asked to do more, which I don’t mind, but my new part-time position will be for three days per week. It will provide me with a little financial support and keep me in touch with reality.

Part 1 of this subject suggested there was more than one factor that had motivated me to make the move and reduction in hours. In the first place I wanted more time to write and explore my capabilities. There was also the small matter of travelling for an average of three hours each day – and that’s when the trains were running and on time.

Apart from those things, which may seem trivial to some, I’m only five years away from retirement. I don’t want to look back in five years and wish I’d taken the step earlier. One important factor, which I mentioned previously is that I have the support of my wife.

My debut novel, ‘Ten Days’ is almost ready for publication as an e-book and I have plans to compile another book using a selection of my poetry. I have a second novel underway and I know it will feel better having the luxury of time to pursue my objectives. With regard to the second novel, I feel I’ve learned so much from the first one.

When it comes right down to it I feel I’ve done my bit in the world of work over two separate careers. While I can, I owe it to myself to grasp the opportunity to do what I want to do. If I work hard enough at it, my success will be measured in the entertainment I provide to my readership.

Got to go now, I’ve got some writing to get on with … oh yes, and a new lifestyle.