Writing is a Marathon

Many students on my writing courses think that only three rewrites of a piece of work are necessary: the first draft which gets the story down, the second draft which then tidies and tightens the story then the third draft which is essentially an edit. However, most professional writers know that if you can get away with three drafts, you’re lucky!

I’m currently working on the seventh draft of my play Marathon. This is not because I don’t know when to stop – I thought I had ‘cracked’ it with draft six – but after feedback from a theatre group at a staged reading I realised the story of my heroine Stamata Revithi needed to start earlier and take a slightly different direction.

I know this seventh rewrite will not be the last as now that the story is being reshaped it will need further work. However, I’m encouraged to keep going with it as there is talk that it might actually get presented on the day the Olympic Torch passes through the North East of England.

Writing is a marathon, not a sprint.

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How can you give an e-book for Christmas?

I’m wondering how many people are going to get Kindles for Christmas this year? Word on the web is that Amazon will be selling Kindles for under $100 by the end of the year. So are people waiting for the price drop before they buy? If so, does that mean Kindle sales will also plateau for a while? I’m hoping that the big post-Christmas buying rush will result in huge sales of my e-book The Peace Garden – can’t blame a girl for optimism, can you?

I was also wondering what will happen to the book in the stocking now that e-books have taken over print in the novel stakes? I have recently discovered you can buy a Kindle gift card for your e-book loving family member. Still haven’t found out yet if you can actually buy a book, like say, oh I don’t know, The Peace Garden? 🙂 And put it on the card. Otherwise how do you actually buy a book of your choice for someone these days?

Ideas anyone?

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Myro the Microlight on the silver screen

Well, TV anyway … hopefully …

Readers of my ‘old’ website www.thecraftywriter.com will know all about my work as a writer on the Myro the Microlight picture book series. I’m very happy to be working again with the genius creator of the series, Nick Rose, as a screenwriter for a potential TV series. If you’re not familiar with the books they’re about the adventures of a little microlight and his friends Down Under, complete with a singalong CD by talented children’s composer Mike Roberts, why not buy some as Christmas presents?

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Bestselling RS Downie reviews Peace Garden

I’ve been reading my own reviews again. Sorry, bad habit. But this one’s a good’n:

“There’s much to enjoy in Fiona Veitch Smith’s debut adult novel, The Peace Garden, where the hopes and fears of modern South Africa disrupt the
neatly-ordered flowerbeds of suburban Newcastle. Natalie Porter, twelve years old and insatiably curious, starts to uncover the stories that have shaped the adults around her, and progresses from catching a plant thief to beginning to understand some of the complexities of life and love in a post-Apartheid society. The novel ratchets up to thriller pace and with a nice twist on the traditional ‘follow-that-car’scene as Natalie, older but not much wiser, realises she may be the only person who can thwart a potential murderer.The Peace Garden is a cleverly-plotted novel with nice comic touches, and the author’s personal background produces both a convincing setting for the Newcastle characters, and some telling insights into South African life.”

RS Downie is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ruso series of Roman mysteries.

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