Literary Style

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Things I ♥

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♥The Gilmore Girls - I've started watching this wonderful t.v. show from the beginning again. I love when I actually get one of the many obscure references.

♥Charade - this blog is just fabulous. It is written by a very wise and stylish creative writing student called Megan. It is full of advice that I wish I had read when I was in college. I recently ordered the Charade annual, a collection of the best articles from the blog, and found it totally inspiring.

♥Valentine's Day movie - lots of big names, eye candy, romance and fun.  And Taylor Swift!

♥My Macbook - my old one was slowly dying and would have cost an insane amount to get fixed, so I got a new one and it arrived last week.  And it was a refurbished one so I saved some money. So fast. So shiny. *Stares lovingly at MacBook*.

and some extra love for...
♥Potato Waffles - I have recently become addicted to them.  I gave up sweets and biscuits so waffles and cheese are the only comfort food I have left.  I imagine this combination is quite bad for you...but tastes oh so good!

Writing Dialogue

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Dialogue can be tricky. I actually find writing conversations kinda fun (All those years of talking much less than the average person have finally payed off!)  Here are some tips that I've picked up along the way.
♥Read plays - Script reading is great for brushing up on dialogue skills. For snappy, compelling dialogue try something like Oleanna by David Mamet.  Simply listening to conversations doesn't always work. People often talk in such a way that an eavesdropper has no real idea what they are discussing.  Plays are great for finding a balance between what is realistic and what is readable.
♥Use contractions - As my editor will tell you,  I am guilty of using too few contractions.  My style is quite formal and while this is fine for description, not so much for dialogue. Less 'I am not going in there until I am ready.' More 'I'm not going in there 'til I'm ready.'
♥Make it relevant - Ideally your characters should talk about things that are relavant to the plot. Use dialogue to progress the story.  I generally don't let my characters discuss things that have nothing to do with the plot or that are never mentioned again. 

♥She said is okay! -  Not 'she said enthusiastically', not 'he said quietly'. I prefer to just write she said and then put a full stop. It's unfussy and professional. 
♥Say it out loud - If it sounds weird when read aloud then it probably needs some work.  Remember that people rarely let other people talk for more than a sentence or two without interrupting, so don't let your characters prattle on for ages.  There are exceptions of course, for example if  a character is recounting an incident that the other characters know nothing about.
♥ Don't panic - The more you stress about a certain aspect of writing, the more impossible it becomes.  Don't worry. Once you get into the swing of it dialogue is pretty easy. You can do it! 

We've Come a Long Way Baby

My blog is one today! Happy Birthday First Three Chapters.

I wrote my first blog post on Feb 16th 2009. Since then so much has happened, including one amazingly fabulous jump up and down thing (book deal baby!).

I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who has followed/read/commented on my blog this past year. I love you guys.  When I started this blog I never would have guessed the amount of people I'd get to share thoughts and opinions with or the amount of brilliant blogs I'd come across.

The first birthday of my own that I can remember is my 3rd.  We had a party in my house with all my cousins and family and other little friends. Somebody (I'm not sure who) got me a Mr. Men activity book.  This is also my earliest memory ever.  I love that it includes a book!  If my blog was having a birthday party I think she's wear a polka-dot cocktail dress and converse. She just strikes me as that kind!

Links You Might Like

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♥Hannah Deacon talks teen fiction over on the cbi website - a superbly detailed and honest account of what teens want to read, by a teenage reader and writer. If you are writing teen fiction then you should definitely check this out.

♥Puffin Books (my publisher!) celebrate their 70th Birthday this year. Over on their blog some Puffin authors share their favourite birthday memories.

♥The Dublin Book Festival program was announced this weekend. Some interesting events lined up (all free!)

♥ Sarah Webb talks about the best books on writing she's ever read. 

A little update...

I finished the rewrites (thanks so much for the good luck comments.)  The rewrites were difficult, but totally worth it.  The word 'dramatic' was used to describe me by at least 4 different people over the last month. I don't think I was that dramatic (although at one stage I was curled up in a ball on the floor of my brother's bedroom, fake crying and saying 'I can't do this chapter!!'). I am reading over my manuscript a few times today, and also getting someone else to proofread it before I send it to my editor. 


So here's what I'm up to at the moment.
reading: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides.  I'm only on the first chapter but already love the style of writing. I haven't seen the movie, which is good because I much prefer to read the book first. 
listening to: Jamie T.  When it comes to songs, lyrics are really important to me.  I think Jamie T's ones are really clever. I love the song Emily's Heart. 
eating: as a family we are all making an effort to eat more healthily.  My brother has been cooking recipes from Donal Skehan's Good Mood Food cookbook so I have been eating some very yummy things recently.  
wearing: my Mum bought me this coat back at New Year's and it is the comfiest, warmest coat i have ever owned.   
looking forward to: my first book being completely and totally finished. I've been working on it for three years now, so I'm looking forward to the day I can say 'It's done!'. 

An Inspiration

When did you decide to become a writer?  Somebody asked me this question recently. Although I can't recall the exact moment I decided to become a writer, I do remember when the possibility first entered my head. It was a Friday night in 2004 and I was sitting on my couch doing homework and watching The Late Late Show. Cecelia Ahern was talking about her debut novel, P.S. I Love You. She was only 22. Before this I had always thought of writing as something you turned to later in life. Even though I loved English and adored reading it never even occurred to me to try writing a novel at such a young age. But Cecelia was fresh out of college and writing full-time. She totally changed my perception of writing as a career.

I think it's amazing how one person can have such an impact on your direction in life.

One Word

I saw this on Notebook Doodles  and thought I'd give it a go. All the questions have to be answered in one word.

Your Cell Phone? iPhone
Your Hair? cut
Your Mother? Pretty
Your Father? Funny
Your Favorite Food? Chinese
Your Dream Last Night? Scary
Your Favorite Drink? Tea
Your Dream/Goal? Books
What Room Are You In? Mine
Your Hobby? Reading
Your Fear? Terrifying
Where Do You See Yourself In Six Years? NY
Where Were You Last Night? Writing
Something That You Aren’t? Loud
Muffins? Meh
Wish List Item? House
Where Did You Grow Up? Country
Last Thing You Did? Smile
What Are You Wearing? Hoodie
Your TV? On
Your Pets? Cute
Friends? Perfect
Your Life? Happy
Your Mood? Excited
Missing Someone? Yep
Vehicle? Red
Something You Aren’t Wearing? Shoes
Your Favorite Store? Forever21
Your Favorite Color? Purple
When Was The Last Time You Laughed? Bandslam
Last Time You Cried? Embarrassing
Your Best Friend? Plural
One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? Waterstones
Facebook? Yawn
Favorite Place To Eat? Charlies


Wanna Try?

Favourite Actresses

Awards season is in full swing, and movie news is all around, so I thought I'd post some pictures of my favourite actresses.

Zooey Deschanel

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(I want Zooey's hair. She gets really great roles and she can sing too!)

Emily Blunt

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(She is so talented! I loved her in Sunshine Cleaning, an awesome movie about two sisters who start up their own crime scene cleaning business.)

Reese Witherspoon

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(Walk the Line, Legally Blonde....need I say more!)