Novel – Page 111

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.

Ryman - Eldon Square - Red Nose Day — Ryman – Newcastle Upon Tyne.

I know that several people think that I am crazy, and that was before I made the decision. Which decision? I hear you ask.

It could be my stepping down from a management position, or perhaps reducing to a three day working week. In the eyes of different folk it’s one or the other, but for most I suppose it’s because I’m doing both … at the same time. My graphic is an acrylic of the Ryman, Newcastle Upon Tyne store where I’ve worked as a Deputy Manager for the last four years. I completed the painting in 2009 to celebrate Red Nose Day.

Mainly thanks to my wife who is continuing to work, I have no major concerns regarding cashflow. Olive (the wife), is the unsung hero in my situation, because I have her support. She understands how much it means for me to devote quality time to my writing. My motivation is based on several factors but I’ll mention more detail on that in my next post.

I am now well on the way with the third (and final) draft of my romantic novel ‘Ten Days’. My sample readers will have their copies of the manuscript within a few days and a hard copy is already with my son, Andrew. He has agreed to help me with the design of the cover and I know his design expertise will better anything I could come up with.

The Inkerman Writers writing group has recently re-established itself in a new base and I am in attendance once again every week. The group is working on short stories for inclusion in an anthology which we aim to have published in the Spring of 2013.

At the time of writing I have two other short stories underway for competitions. My writing schedule is rounded off by my attempts to write at least one poem a week for posting on thestarlitecafe.com/ For the purposes of posting poetry on that site I’ve retained the pseudonym of Tomfoollery.