Being but men

I discovered this poem the other day and just had to put it on my blog because it is, in a word, stunning. Apparently when Dylan Thomas brought out his first anthology of collected poems some time in the 1950's, he chose not to include this particular poem. Why, I have no idea. For me, it's a call to not just walk into the trees, but to somehow retain that childlike ability to seek and explore. And to fear nothing.

Dylan Thomas

Being but Men

Being but men, we walked into the trees

Afraid, letting our syllables be soft

For fear of waking the rooks,

For fear of coming

Noiselessly into a world of wings and cries.

If we were children we might climb,

Catch the rooks sleeping, and break no twig,

And, after the soft ascent,

Thrust out our heads above the branches

To wonder at the unfailing stars.

Out of confusion, as the way is,

And the wonder, that man knows,

Out of the chaos would come bliss.

That, then, is loveliness, we said,

Children in wonder watching the stars,

Is the aim and the end.

Being but men, we walked into the trees. 

Dylan Thomas

Here goes

MaMartin Haake, Cruising Around Africand Afrhehrih

Sitting in my little eastern corner of Africa, the final edit of  my novel is coming up. Final? Really? Heard that before? I need to write this so it's set in stone, so people can say to me 'Have you finished yet?' and I can reply with a resounding YES. I've spent the morning reading editing tips and one that comes up time and again is to read the manuscript aloud. Every single word. As Mike Nappa puts it:

' Read it to the walls, to your spouse, to the patrons at Starbucks, to your dog, to the bowl of soggy Cocoa Puffs left over from breakfast. Doesn’t matter who’s in the room, only that you can hear yourself reading it. Start with word one and don’t stop until you read the last word. Yes, it may take you several days, but that’s OK. Keep reading every word out loud until you’re done.'

So. Here goes. I shall shut the door, close the curtains, whatever it takes. And read each word and see how it sounds. Imagine somebody listening. I am giving myself to the end of the 2013 and then if I haven't sent this book out by then I will…I will…well, I'm not sure what I will do. But I give anybody reading this permission to be very, very cross with me ;)

Hemingway on writing

Ernest Hemingway

Some wonderful advice from Ernest Hemingway on how to be a good writer:

Listen now. When people talk listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe. You should be able to go into a room and when you come out know everything that you saw there and not only that. If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling. Try that for practice. When you’re in town stand outside the theatre and see how the people differ in the way they get out of taxis or motor cars. There are a thousand ways to practice. And always think of other people.

Air and light and time and space

I came across this wonderful poem today by Charles Bukowski, a reminder for me that any excuse I find to not write (or create) is not good enough...

AIR AND LIGHT AND TIME AND SPACE

”– you know, I’ve either had a family, a job,

something has always been in the

way

but now

I’ve sold my house, I’ve found this

place, a large studio, you should see the space and

the light.

for the first time in my life I’m going to have

a place and the time to

create.”

no baby, if you’re going to create

you’re going to create whether you work

16 hours a day in a coal mine

or

you’re going to create in a small room with 3 children

while you’re on

welfare,

you’re going to create with part of your mind and your body blown

away,

you’re going to create blind

crippled

demented,

you’re going to create with a cat crawling up your

back while

the whole city trembles in earthquake, bombardment,

flood and fire.

baby, air and light and time and space

have nothing to do with it

and don’t create anything

except maybe a longer life to find

new excuses

for.

My first two Kenyan creative writing workshops

Story Jars

I have finally set the ball rolling and have given my first two sets of creative writing workshops here in Kenya (because really, I can't sit around all my life waiting for my novel to be published, can I.)

Last week I went to a suburb of Nairobi called Kiserian where, in a low-income school, I worked with two separate groups of 9 and 13 year old's who created ideas to go into story jars, brainstorming lots of characters, places and situations which served as the inspiration for stories. This week, I went to a British curriculum school (about 90% non-Kenyan)  and worked with two groups of 7 year old's, using the theme of Halloween to write spooky poems (It is hugely helpful to have a 7 year old myself as I tested my workshop out on her the night before!). I loved both experiences, I really loved them. I feel like I have so many ideas and am very grateful to these two schools for essentially taking a gamble and letting me come in.

It was interesting as well to work in two such different schools because I obviously needed to think hard about subject matter relevancy to the vastly different life experiences of these children. But they all came up with some wonderful writing and now I'm just looking forward to being invited back and, hopefully, for more doors to open into other schools :-)

Kofi Awoonor

Kofi Awoonor

1935-2013

Killed in the Westgate Terrorist Attack, Nairobi

ACROSS A NEW DAWN

Sometimes, we read the

lines in the green leaf

run our fingers over the

smooth of the precious wood

from our ancient trees;

Sometimes, even the sunset

puzzles, as we look

for the lines that propel the clouds,

the colour scheme

with the multiple designs

that the first artist put together

There is dancing in the streets again

the laughter of children rings

through the house

On the seaside, the ruins recent

from the latest storms

remind of ancestral wealth

pillaged purloined pawned

by an unthinking grandfather

who lived the life of a lord

and drove coming generations to

despair and ruin

*

But who says our time is up

that the box maker and the digger

are in conference

or that the preachers have aired their robes

and the choir and the drummers

are in rehearsal?

No; where the worm eats

a grain grows.

the consultant deities

have measured the time

with long winded

arguments of eternity

And death, when he comes

to the door with his own

inimitable calling card

shall find a homestead

resurrected with laughter and dance

and the festival of the meat

of the young lamb and the red porridge

of the new corn

*

We are the celebrants

whose fields were

overrun by rogues

and other bad men who

interrupted our dance

with obscene songs and bad gestures

Someone said an ailing fish

swam up our lagoon

seeking a place to lay its load

in consonance with the Original Plan

Master, if you can be the oarsman

for our boat

please do it, do it.

I asked you before

once upon a shore

at home, where the

seafront has narrowed

to the brief space of childhood

We welcome the travelers

come home on the new boat

fresh from the upright tree

Bloody-minded persistence

'...the most significant difference between a writer and a would-be writer is simple bloody-minded persistence.' Melissa Benn

I've had a surprise full day to myself as the children have gone to a friend's house for the afternoon and I've spent the whole time (apart from writing this blog, of course) re-drafting my novel. Sometimes - actually, quite a lot - I ask myself the question why I am still working on this novel. I first had the idea for it in 2004 - that's nearly ten years ago, and here I still am, slogging over the same story, the same characters, the same words. Am I flogging that figurative dead horse to death? 

There's no real answer to that question, other than the fact that I can't let go of it. It has been rejected by countless, countless agents but despite that, I believe in it. I was very heartened to read an article in the current edition of Mslexia entitled 'Survival of the fittest,' written by writer and journalist Melissa Benn, all about just that: that if you really believe in your work, keep going. Keep re-drafting. Keep learning from rejection. What is wrong with it? How can it be improved?  It's tough, it really is, but I can't believe I won't get there.

Back to school & writing

Back in beautiful Kenya, and september often feels like a time of new beginnings, probably because of all those years of starting a new school year around now. The children go back to school tomorrow and I get my mornings back. I've started to make some enquiries about going in to schools to do creative writing workshops, but it seems it may not be as straight forward as I'd hoped, namely because of the difficulty of getting hold of a work permit and also the relevant head of literacy even agreeing to have a meeting with me. However, I'm not going to be deterred easily. I'll keep pestering until the school secretaries are fed up with me and agree to meet me. And even if nothing comes of it this way, I shall definitely go in to lower income schools and give the workshops voluntarily (am presuming they are less concerned about work permits - hope I'm not wrong there.)

I'm also really enjoying working on a short story I'm going to submit to Mslexia, the theme being 'foreign parts' so no prizes for guessing where my story is set. And, difficult a decision as it's been, I'm going to put my new novel aside for now so I can sort out In the shade of the orange tree and get it ready for e-book publication. Kindle Direct Publishing, here I come!

Morning re-think and Vintage Script

Visiting favourite old haunts in London

Back in England, people have been asking me how I'm getting on with my writing and I've been responding, truthfully, that I'm getting on really well, enjoying my new-found morning time in Nairobi to write. What I'm starting to think, however, is that I may be spreading myself too thinly. I have the whole morning to write, and that is four hours a day more than I had before, but I may be trying to pack too much into the morning (preparing book no.1 to be published as an ebook, writing book no.2 and getting organised to go into schools to do creative writing workshops).

If I'm not careful, this Spanish Civil War novel may drag on for another five years if I'm investing minimum time into it each day. So. This is a tricky decision as the Matala book is gathering steam, but I think I need to put it aside for now and focus on getting 'In the shade of the orange tree' sorted out.

On another note, I was very happy to have a short story called Trafalgar Dusk accepted for a print publication named Vintage Script , a magazine which focuses on historical articles and fiction. You can't read the story online, but click here for a little more info.

Back in Nairobi, I think I need to use my morning hours a little more wisely and get this novel (which I love, but it has dragged on for too long) nailed, once and for all.

How children can help (and not hinder) the creative process

I'm really pleased today to have had an article published by US based writing site Women Writers on creativity and motherhood. Click here to read the article. I meant every single word that I wrote, but I must admit that now with eight weeks of summer holidays and three lively young children to entertain, I am having to employ even more creative means to carve out time for myself and my writing. 

Not long ago, I went to a talk at the school my kids go to, given by a specialist in early years education. One thing in particular that stands out from his talk was when he said that we should never, ever underestimate the importance of getting down on to the floor and really playing with our children. This may sound obvious, but the truth is that there are many times (too many times) that my kids ask me to play with them and I'm 'too busy' making their dinner or cleaning up. Something I am really trying to focus on over these holidays is not being too busy and sitting on the floor with them - and I'm not just talking about five minutes, but proper amounts of time - and really engaging with whatever they're doing. It's harder than it sounds as my mind is too often jumping ahead to what I should be doing next, rather than truly being present with them.

The other thing I am aiming for this summer is that, when I do have a little time for myself - even if it's only five minutes - using that time wisely. I am being helped in this respect by this wonderful book:

The illustrations are stunning and there are a number of mindfulness exercises which help you trust your inner wisdom and deal with stress and difficulties more wisely, compassionately and in many ways, more creatively. I love this quote on the back of the book:

'Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.'

Roger Miller, Singer / Songwriter

Wise words from The Little Prince

'Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.' 

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I love these words from the second page of 'The Little Prince.' This has to be one of my favourite books of all time, a book ostensibly for children but so rich and multi-layered that it's really an adult's book. I love it so much that it's the only book I own in three languages: The Little Prince, Le Petit Prince & El Principito. For the first time last night, my children asked me to read it to them before they went to bed (obviously not the whole thing; it's too long) but I was so delighted that they loved the pictures and the responded to the poetry of its language, asking for more this evening. It just goes to show how many levels this book can be read on and can appeal as much to a five year old as an adult.

Summer on Kindle

                                                        

            Edith Wharton

I've just finished reading a wonderful book called 'Summer' by Edith Wharton. The prose and characters were beautifully drawn and the tragedy of the love story, moving. Here's a little phrase I liked:

'Now and then a lurch of the train flung her against Harney, 

and through her thin muslin she felt the touch of his sleeve.

She steadied herself, their eyes met,

and the flaming breath of the day seemed to enclose them.'

But the big thing for me is that this is the first ever book I read on ...a kindle! I found myself out here in Nairobi without books as my container's not yet arrived. This being a slightly disastrous state of affairs for me, as I always need to be reading, I finally downloaded this free e-book on to my mac. Ok, I couldn't take my mac to bed with me and if I was out and about, I couldn't just pop it into my bag as I would have been able to with a book. But still, it's good to know that next time I find myself book-less (I have since discovered a source of second hand books at one of Nairobi's many matumba's / second hand markets), I can browse through the kindle selection.

Also, it's good for me to start looking at e-books in general, how they are formatted & presented / front covers etc if I'm going to be publishing an e-book. I must admit that I thought I would hate reading online and whilst it wasn't as enjoyable for me as physical book, it definitely didn't detract from the wonderful writing. On that note, I'd highly recommend Wharton's novel to anyone. Her books are always a bit tragic, but the prose is just stunning.

A taste of the next book

I am absolutely loving writing my new novel. The characters and plot are shaping up nicely and this one seems to be more dialogue based so I'm having lots of fun with the conversations. To give you a little visual taster, the novel is mainly set in Crete in both 1967 where young people flocked to live in caves seeking an alternative, utopian lifestyle and then forty years later, in 2007. Unlike the last novel, I have lots of LIVING people to talk to about life there, my mother being one of them! Here's what it looked like back in 1967 (picture taken from the caves):

And here's roughly the same view now:

A present day picture of the caves...

...and four previous cave dwellers reunited last year, in reminiscent mood (my mother is second to left with the hat)

Relaxing into my new writing routine

I can actually feel myself starting to physically relax out here. The days are warmer and slower and I feel like I'm not rushing so much anymore - in fact, I'm barely rushing at all.

I have got myself into a good routine as I have every morning from about 8.45 to 12.45 to myself for my writing, reading and conjuring and it is BLISS. It's worked well dividing my morning into little project chunks and even if I only work on one of these projects for ten minutes, that's fine, I have still given it some thought. So here's what I do (in no particular order): 1) Research digital publishing and read about it online 2) Edit my Spanish Civil War novel as it still needs some attention before I publish the e-book 3)Write between 500 and 1000 words of my new novel 4) Research and think about creative writing for kids as I would like to start running workshops at the start of next term 5) Do some exercise! This involves me walking very fast up and down up the long road at the end of our drive (it currently takes about 40 minutes but once I get my 'power-walking' style perfected should take less!  People often think I am lost and ask if they can help me, it is such an odd thing to see for most people!)

All the above might sound like quite a lot but it's amazing how much I can get done in 4 hours.

Oh, and before you think that photo of me was taken at our house and this is how we eat breakfast every morning in Kenya...it's not (sadly!). It was taken at a lodge during our last trip here in February.

Onwards and upwards

So here I am in Kenya with all its glorious mud, rain, dust, bright colours, smells of the earth, air, flowers and fruit and it's all new and wonderful and sometimes downright weird. But it really is good to  be here, I'm slowly finding a new rhythm to my days and meeting a few people. Now that the children are settled in school (my eldest does 8.10 to 3.15 and my younger two do 8.30 till 1) I, very excitingly, have each and every morning to myself which, no surprises, I will mainly devote to writing (as well as at some point in the future do creative writing workshops in schools I hope, just working on this at the moment so more of this later...)

Just yesterday, I heard back from the agent who had my full manuscript - my final thread of hope of finding representation in the traditional publishing industry. She had many wonderful things to say about it eg 'outstanding plot & backdrop' blah blah blah BUT the answer was still NO. There are no two ways of saying no, it's just NO. It's hard for me to express how this made me feel, I'm not going to go on about it but - pardon my french - I am utterly bloody gutted. When you put your heart and soul into a project for so long - and I'm sure some people reading this have experienced this in a similar way with something else - and it's something you believe in whole-heartedly, it's not easy to admit to yourself that whilst lots of people (agents) have clearly been impressed by it over the years, they just have not been impressed enough.

This particular agent encouraged me to keep working on it but I can't. I don't have it in me. I've re-worked it to the death. It wouldn't be right to say that I'm 'admitting defeat' but what I do know is that I should pick myself up and continue, I must pick myself up and continue. The good news is that getting an e-book out there for those of you who want to read it is one step closer. Boy is it going to be a steep learning curve for me, I'm not even on Facebook and have never really wanted to be but I think now, if I'm going to be tackling the world of digital publishing, it would be a big mistake not to get myself out there.

But a quick question for any of you reading this - I'm at the beginning stages of looking at e-books and also print copies being made of my book which you (the buyer) would have to pay 6.99 for or something like that to have a physical copy. What I'm wondering is whether people would prefer to have the physical book OR would be happy to buy an e-book (much cheaper for you) and then read it on your kindle / ipad etc. I'd be so grateful if you could drop me a line and let me know.

And hey, even though things didn't go the way I hoped they would, I have a great deal to look forward to with this new book I've started work on. It feels right, like this is what I should be writing about. Also, I must remember that potential possibilities abound with digital publishing. Just think Fifty shades of grey. Maybe I should be writing kinky erotic novels instead?!! I'll just have to make the next book a bit more steamy....

Kenyan countdown

3 full days to go before we move to Nairobi - can this really be possible??

Since I last posted about the agent wanting to read my full manuscript, I've heard nothing. I did actually send her an email last week with a gentle prompt, asking if she'd had a chance to look at it yet. She responded that she hadn't as she's been up to her eyeballs in the London Book Fair but will get back to me in the next few weeks. So this period of *hope* (that dangerous but beautiful word!) has been extended.

In the meantime, I have had a short story published in an online magazine. Always rewarding to see my name in print (let's face it, all I really want is to egotistically see my name in print!). The magazine was meant to be a physical one but a bit guttingly they ran out of money before it went to print and had to do a virtual version. But no matter, they liked my story enough to print it :)

I will be blogging about the experiences of my middle child in Kenya here and probably continue to blog about writing-related topics on Mother Writes. See you on the other side - wish me luck!
x

Dreaming in Lisbon

Lisboa

I spent last weekend in the tumbledown rainy sunny city of Lisboa, visiting some old friends. I love this place. The dire economic straits the country is in is palpable but despite this, Lisboans have not lost their sense of alegria. (This is a Spanish & Portuguese word which broadly translates to lightness of spirit). 

The whole time I was away, I was feeling pretty excited because last week, for the first time in a VERY, VERY long time, an agent asked to see my full manuscript. I really needed this as a boost to my confidence and to help me believe that my writing is of some merit because, believe me, there are times when I wonder. So while I was away, I was in that wonderful in-between stage of golden hope, knowing that they liked what they'd read so far, and that this could actually be something. Now I'm back in England and the rest of the manuscript has been sent off to them. I sat for a long time at the lap-top, not quite bringing myself to be able to push the 'send' button because that in-between dreaming stage will be lost to me forever. It's a bizarre feeling but once I pressed it, it's out of my hands again and now all I can do is sit tight and wait.

Kenya

I spent last week in Kenya and it was...well...heavenly.

Here's me in our lodge near to Lake Navaisha. I managed to read 2 books during the week (when did I last do that?), write some haiku, organise cover letters for the different agents I'm going to send my manuscript out to, eat far too much, sleep more than I've slept in months, do some yoga overlooking the lake and also spend proper time with my hubby (the longest alone since our honeymoon!). I also found out whilst I was away that a short story of mine is going to be published soon in What the Dickens magazine :)

Without even going on safari, we saw some incredible wildlife and I'm so excited to share this with the children when we move out in 6 weeks (yikes, 6 weeks, is that all?!!). It feels like a bit of a tick-tock countdown now I'm back in the UK, so much to do, so many people to see. I don't think we're going to be back here for at least a year and admittedly, everyone is so busy these days with work and family lives that quite often a year goes by anyway without seeing people. But even so, our move to Africa is feeling nearer and more real and I'm feeling a mixture of dizzy excitement on how our lives in Kenya will unfold and sadness at this chapter ending here in Twickenham.

I spent the morning in a frenzy of printing and by the end of this week I'm going to send out my manuscript to ten more agents. Then next week (or the week after), the final ten. A friend on saturday made the point to me that it takes a mere half hour to upload one's ebook on to amazon (really?) and yes, that may be what I'm looking at in a few months time and if that's the case, I shall endeavour (!) to embrace it. But until then, I'm fighting till the death for the analogue / acoustic version of my book ;)

Here's me getting to know a wild fig tree!

This is it!

Someone else seeking inspiration from glorious Granada

So, this is it. I have about 20 final agents to send my manuscript to.  I have a killer cover letter which cannot possibly get any better, I have an enticing (I think!) synopsis and at the moment, I'm going through the first few chapters with a fine tooth comb, making little tweaks here and there, tightening it all up. Then before I leave for Nairobi, I want to send it out again and if this bears no fruit, I need to bow out gracefully (as opposed to wailing and tearing at my hair!) and explore digital publishing avenues. As I keep telling myself (I'm trying to convince myself here), digital publishing is still publishing and the possibilities are very exciting. Plus it's potentially more lucrative these days if you tap into the right market.

I have spent far too long on this book to just shove it in a (metaphorical) drawer and put it down to experience. And more than that, I do still believe in it, I really, really do! I want this book to be read. I want my family to read it, I want my friends to read it, after all, what are words if not to be read? So whether on screen or paper, by the time this year is out, I am more determined than ever that In the shade of the orange tree will stop being just 'my' book and people can understand more what I've had my nose buried in for the past several years!

Snakes and little green pigs

The other day, my son came back from nursery with a snake he had made to celebrate Chinese new year. When my eldest daughter asked me what animals we all were and I wasn't sure, she was horrified! So I've hastily rectified this situation and it turns out that this year is my year, the year of the snake. With this in mind, we joined the throngs yesterday in China Town in the bitterly cold rain to celebrate, ate some noodles, bought some firecrackers and paper dragons and finally warmed up in a cafe with hot chocolate.

Since this is 'my' year (and I didn't make any new years resolutions the first time round!), my Chinese new year resolution is to try to be more pro-active with my writing and writing-related activities. To kickstart this, on saturday I went to Brighton to help out with a creative writing workshop for teenagers. A friend of a friend has created Little Green Pig, an organisation that celebrates the power and joy of the written word with both primary and secondary age children - fantastic, so inspiring. In four years, she's built this up out of nothing and it really got me thinking, I could do something similar in Kenya. It's not enough to just have ideas, we have to get off our butts and follow them through. Let's hope this year of the snake momentum is behind me.

Melting snow and melting down

Wow, who was I trying to kid that I'd have time to work on my cover letter this month?? We've been trying to move from our old house into our new (temporary) place, navigating through snow and ice and sorting our accumulated belongings into various piles, all the while attempting to keep tears / arguments / confusion / meltdowns and hair-tearing episodes to a minimum...sometimes winning, but quite often not. We had one of those nights last night when all the children were in hysterics about something different, none of them wanted to go to bed, and clearly they were sensing my need to get them there and open a bottle of wine as their resistance to the land of nod was at an all time high!

It's an unsettling time for the children, and I know I need to be sensitive to this. No amount of promises of seeing baby elephants and keeping chickens in Kenya (yes really, this would be my eldest's dream come true) will detract from the fact that the landscape of the world as they know it is in the process of dramatically changing. Children are incredible the way they live in the present moment and yet, the walls of security and comfort that they pencil around themselves are held up by their parents and if they see their parents in a flap - which I have been recently, more than I would have liked - then these walls wobble a little, and these insecurities are played out in feuding and words rashly spoken. Honestly, I'm not saying my kids don't ever fight, but this past week has been ridiculous.

So, back to my cover letter. Hmmm. At least I could reap the benefit of a past creative endeavour this week by a very short piece of work going up on a the flash fiction website, London Lit Project. The idea is that you write a vignette in exactly 60 words, focussing on a particular place in London at an exact time. I love the micro-detail of this, and since I'm starting to think about the next novel (which I'll write in Kenya, yes indeed, if it's the last thing I do!), the piece I wrote was inspired by an element of the novel. I also took the picture (same picture as above) and was pleased with how it turned out. It was one of those bitterly cold days, so freezing that I could hardly bear to take my hands from my gloves for fear of frostbite, but I did finally coax them out and took the picture of the bridge leading over to the Eel Pie Island, an infamous Twickenham landmark. Click here to have a read of my words.

My January goal

17 days in to January and a belated happy new year! So much change afoot it makes my head spin slightly, but in short, here's what's going on in my world:

My wonderful creative thursdays that I've treasured for the past few years since living round the corner from my mother are coming to an end because tomorrow she flies to Australia for a fun romp around the country in a camper van....

...BUT...they would be coming to an end anyway come april because...

WE ARE MOVING TO NAIROBI!!!

Yes, Nairobi! I went to Kenya once on safari when I was about nine and here's a little tapestry of memories:

keeping my malaria pills stashed in a corner of my mouth and spitting them out when my mum wasn't looking....seeing people with leprosy for the first time...a leopard climbing up a tree...drinking beer on safari because we ran out of water...warmth...a drunk old man asking if I could be his wife and me crying hysterically because I thought I was about to be sold off!!

Anyway, I will at some stage be starting a blog for my middle child as that's what I did for my eldest during our year in India (you can see the original one here), but in the meantime, how to not lose my head and keep the creativity flowing during these weeks of packing, freecycling, ebaying, to-ing, fro-ing and frenzying???

As far as the novel goes, there's nothing like the start of a new year to help one take stock and set a few new goals. I've had a crazy number of rejections now (my skin has grown as tough a rhino's!) and what I am wondering is: Am I falling at the first hurdle? Is my cover letter making agents yawn rather than sit up and dive straight for the manuscript? With this in mind, I met up with a writer friend earlier this week who has a published novel to her name and she gave me some brilliant advice, namely that she felt my cover letter has too much of a sense of me and not enough sense of why this book is the most amazing thing the agent is likely to read this year. It is a sales pitch, pure and simple. I think she's got a really good point. After all, the person writing a novel may well be the most fascinating person imaginable but they could still have written a terrible book. I need an agent to read my letter and literally be chomping at the bit to reach for the manuscript. A challenge? Yes. Insurmountable? No.

So this is what my January is about. If I don't do another single useful thing this month, I am determined to write the mother of all cover letters!