historical fiction – The Worried Writer

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My guest today is Martin Lee who writes under the name M.J. Lee. He is a bestselling author of historical crime fiction and his books include the Jayne Sinclair genealogical mysteries, Samuel Pepys and The Stolen Diary, and the Inspector Danilov series which is set in 1920s Shanghai. Before turning to novel writing, Martin spent 25 years working for advertising companies in London, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai.

For more on M.J. Lee and his books, visit www.writermjlee.com or find him on Facebook or Twitter.

We talk about the skills he brings to novel-writing from his experience as a creative director, plotting versus ‘pantsing’ and Martin’s own process.

Apologies for the sound quality in the interview – we had some technical difficulties. I’ve done my best in post-production and I hope you can still enjoy it, as Martin and I had a really good chat!

In the intro I give a small update on my writing/life. I mention the ‘Goals Update’ post I did recently, and my guest spot on Paul Teague’s Self Publishing Journeys podcast: Episode 66: Sarah Painter

I also answer a listener question from Janine Swann.

Janine wrote:

I’m currently editing my first draft and am struggling to come to terms with the ‘taste gap’ (Ira Glass’s quote, in case you’re not familiar with it). I’ve been reading Jojo Moyes’s latest novel which is just fantastic, and returning to the editing afterwards is really rather difficult. I struggle to imagine my writing will ever be as good, and I so desperately want it to be. Do you have any advice?

You can read the Ira Glass on the ‘taste gap’ quote here.

I think the key to this lies in focusing on practice over product – something I talk about in detail in Stop Worrying; Start Writing!

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, do get in touch. You can email me, find me on Twitter or simply leave a comment on this post.

In the interview:

On getting stuck:

‘Read it through until you feel where you’ve gone wrong and then you rewrite it.’

On process:

‘Writing’s an exercise – the more you do it, the better you get.’

‘You need to be disciplined about your time, it’s a job, it’s work, and then let yourself enjoy life.’

The importance of getting into the zone:

‘I’m in that little world. Everything else vanishes around me…’

Thanks for listening!

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Also, if you have a question or a suggestion for the show – or just want to get in touch – I would love to hear from you! Email me or find me on Twitter or Facebook.

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My guest today is Cesca Major. Cesca is a fascinating interviewee as she writes in two genres under different names. Cesca’s debut historical novel, The Silent Hours, was published last year by Corvus, to great acclaim. However, Cesca also writes romantic comedy under the name Rosie Blake. The first Rosie Blake book, How To Get A (Love) Life, was originally published by Novelicious Books and was then picked up by Corvus, as part of a three book deal.

Rosie Blake’s latest novel is How to Find Your (First) Husband – out 2nd June, 2016!

The Silent Hours by Cesca Major
For more about Cesca Major or her alter ego, Rosie Blake, head to: cescamajor.com or rosieblake.co.uk or via

Twitter: @CescaWrites and @RosieBBooks

In the interview:

Writing during the holidays as a teacher and the value of chunks of time:

‘I do hour long chunks and I call them word races.’

On the difficulty of writing:

‘It’s hideous sometimes and the first five minutes can be awful…’

‘The hardest stage I find is that end of the first draft structural edit’.

On rejection and the journey to publication:

‘Frankly, being rejected is hideous and you have months at the start where you lost faith that it will ever happen.’

On bad writing days:

‘Don’t beat yourself up too much, have a cream egg.’

Recommendations:

Cesca very kindly recommends my ‘Write Your Novel’ column on Novelicious.

The Bookshop Café FB group: ‘It’s lovely to be part of a group where people are just constantly discussing novels.’

Cesca’s own vlogs on writing and editing on The Writers & Artists site.

The beat sheet described in Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need

The LOCK principle from James Scott Bell’s Write Great Fiction – Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting and Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish
On the importance of using primary sources for historical research: Nella Last’s diaries (Housewife, 49 etc)

Also in the show:

I give a small update on my own writing and reveal my plan to get The Language of Spells made into an audiobook!

I’m very excited to dip my toe in hybrid publishing. If all goes well, I will get The Secrets of Ghosts and The Garden Of Magic made, too. I’m using ACX which is a platform which connects people who own audio rights to books such as publishers and authors, with narrators and audiobook production companies.

I first heard about ACX via the wonderful Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn and I’ve also read Simon Whistler’s excellent guide to the subject Audiobooks for Indies.

I will keep you informed on the process as I go along!

Listener Question:

This month’s question comes from Jeanna Kunce (windhillbooks.com).

Do you feel it is important to be a part of any writers/artists associations? Aside from any conferences or networking benefits there may be, do you think you think it makes a difference simply having on your resume/submissions? Would it actually help someone get their foot in the door? Some people seem to feel it’s only your story that will get you published; others seem to feel that having that “badge” helps to make you seem more serious or professional. Thoughts?

If you have a writing (or publishing) question that you’d like me to tackle in a future episode, please get in touch via email or Twitter.

I’ll answer it on the show and credit you (unless, of course, you ask to remain anonymous).

Please spread the word and, if you can spare the time, leave a rating for the show on iTunes. I truly appreciate your support.

Thank you for listening!

Tag: historical fiction

The Worried Writer Episode #29: M. J. Lee ‘Let Yourself Enjoy Life’

The Worried Writer Episode #16: Cesca Major ‘Being rejected is hideous’