The Edge Hill Prize Long List

Well, that was a nice surprise – finding out earlier that Not So Perfect has made it onto the Edge Hill Prize’s long list.

Yes, very cool indeed. And I’m in some great company, as you’ll see.

The site says:
The unique accolade, now in its fifth year, is the UK’s only literary award that recognises a published collection of short stories and has attracted entries from a number of distinguished writers and newcomers all competing for the winning title.

which is true. And cool as well.

It’s not been a bad couple of weeks for me, really, all things considered.

Genius

I thought this post from Alison Bacon was most interesting and well worth recommending; it’s about Not So Perfect’s format which is something that’s been often mentioned but not really in this much detail. Interesting indeed. And pleasing. (And I must say that full credit absolutely must go to the wondrous Roast Books for that because it was all their idea.)

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I thought I’d mention too that there are still a handful of £25 edits left. Details of how (and what!!) here.

Guest Post – Talli Roland: In Defence of Chicklit

Another day, another guest post. I know, I’m so good to you! But only because you’re good to me. Thanks SO much to everyone who’s sent me nice things about my next book (see previous post).

So, over to the very lovely and very talented Talli Roland who, today, is in defence of Chicklit (which is just as well, because she writes it)…

In Defence of Chick Lit
‘What do you write, anyway?’ the academic asked, looking at me with interest (or a squinty eye, maybe?).
My hand slid across my mouth. ‘Um . . . chick lit,’ I mumbled.
‘Oh. All that pink, girly stuff with high heels and cupcakes.’ He backed away, as if curlicues would leap off me and contaminate his rigid Times New Roman.
As exaggerated as that scenario may seem, it’s one I’ve experienced in many forms over the past few years. While I can’t say I’m thrilled with others’ reactions to my chosen genre, what really gets me is my own apologetic stance when it comes to chick lit. I like cupcakes. I like high heels. And I love pink! And while chick lit – or romantic comedy, or light women’s fiction or whatever you want to call it – books may not be in the running for the next Nobel Prize, they are fast-paced and relevant reads.
So why do I sometimes mutter the phrase ‘chick lit’ as if I’m admitting to a STD?
Like many writers, I studied English Literature at school, slogging my way through the great tomes – and flying through authors such as Sophie Kinsella in my down time. I was supposed to be awed by the mastery of the world’s greatest writers, but instead I was just counting the minutes until I could get back to my chick lit.  In a way, it felt like my dirty little literary secret: I’d hide the covers on the tube and shove them under my bed, away from enquiring eyes.
Well, no more. From here on in, I’m dropping the repentant tone and standing strong. I’m Talli Roland, and I’m proud to write chick lit!


You see, chick lit can be fluffy and fun, sweetness and light – all those wonderful things that make it so entertaining. But it can also take on more serious issues with wit and understanding. From kick-ass heroines conquering the world to warm, emotional storylines, it tackles a wide range of topics relevant to women – and men. Beyond the pastel covers lies some seriously good writing by authors I’d pit against Dickens any day.
So give curlicues a chance. Or, at the very least, don’t back away from me at a party when I mention chick lit!


Talli Roland has three loves in her life: rom coms, coffee and wine. Born and raised in Canada, Talli now lives in London, where she savours the great cultural life (coffee and wine). Despite training as a journalist, Talli soon found she preferred making up her own stories — complete with happy endings.The Hating Game is her first novel and she is currently working on her second, Watching Willow Watts.

The Next Book: ‘FREAKS!’


The other day I signed the contract for my next book, and that’s something that never gets old, believe me. And that means that I’m finally able to tell you what it is.
I am delighted to say that ‘FREAKS!’ – a collection of short, short stories, co-written with the incredibly talented and very lovely Caroline Smailes, will be published early next year by The Friday Project (HarperCollins).
So, it’s co-authored. But that’s not the only thing that’s a little bit different about it. ‘FREAKS!’ is a collection of stories about people with superpowers, real or imagined – and each story (all 50 of them!) is illustrated, in the comic book style, by the supremely talented Darren Craske.
I am VERY excited about this, I really am.
I’ll post more details on here when I can.
But, in the meantime: hooray! I am excited!




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Guest Post – from Editor and Children’s Author Gary Smailes



I’m thrilled to welcome super talented editor AND author Gary Smailes back to the blog today (you can see our first chat here), to talk about his new series, BattleBooks and what lessons he’s learned from writing them. Over to you, Gary…





3 Writing Lessons BattleBooks Taught Me And How They Can Help You

I live a duel existence, in the day I am a mild mannered editor and
co-owner of BubbleCow, but at
night I don my writing hat and slave away trying to write kids’ books. Franklin Watts
recently released my latest book series called
BattleBooks
. The best way to think about BattleBooks is, “Fighting
Fantasy meets battles.” They are Interactive Fiction
with a choice driven narrative plotting out four battles in four
separate books – Hasting, Arnhem, Iwo Jima and Marathon.
I have been a writer for a number of years. However, BattleBooks
are like no other book I have written and they taught me three vital
writing lessons. In this post I will show you how you can apply these
lessons to your own writing, allowing you to avoid writing poorly
researched, bloated and boring event driven narratives.

You Can Never Do Too Much Research

Just last week I was standing in the cold on a wet Saturday morning
watching my eldest lad play football. I chatted ideally to one of the
other dads as the kids slugged it out in the mud. The subject of
Battlebooks came up and he asked just how much time I had spent
researching the Arnhem book. I looked at him, smiled and said, “Longer
than it did to write the book.” I am sure he thought I was joking – I
wasn’t.
Before I had even written a word I had watched A Bridge too
Far
through twice, read and re-read A Drop Too Many by
Major General John Frost, Arnhem by Lloyd Clark, Arnhem
1944
by Martin Middlebrook, 1951 Infantry Training
Handbook
and two chapters of Liddell Hart’s History Of The
Second World War.
I had also been on countless websites,
collected hundreds of digital photos and even used Google
Maps to accurately plot the landing zones and paths of advance,
so
I could use Street View to get a soldier’s eye view. That’s all before
I typed even a single word.
The reason for all this research was simple – I needed to know the
details so I could be free to write. That’s the irony of research,
when you don’t know the answer to a questions, when you can’t
visualise the world you write about, it’s then that the lack of
research becomes a burden, anchoring your brain and limiting your
vision. When you know every detail, it frees you to write. Do I know
how many British paratroopers dropped on the opening day of the battle
of Arnhem? Yeah. Have I read the pre-drop briefing issued to these
troops? Yeah. Did I use either of these facts in the book? No.
However, knowing that I knew was enough to allow me to begin to think
like a paratrooper and start to have a feel for what he would do and
how he would react to events. The research freed my writing, after all
I was writing about people not facts and events.
Here’s three tips to getting the most out of your research:

  • Know the difference between specific and general:
    These two types of research do two very different jobs. When you start
    to research, and are looking to get a feel for the world, then this is
    general research. Here films, novels and documentaries come
    into their own. Once you have the wider feel, specific
    research
    will allow you to form and then answer specific
    questions.
  • Keep good notes: It is essential that you get
    into the habit of keeping good notes. The key is to not only record
    important information you learn, but make note of the information you
    don’t know. This way you can move from the general to the specific
    research with a much more targeted approach.
  • Form VERY specific questions: When looking for
    the answer to a particular problem, it is essential you formulate very
    specific questions. For example, if you were writing a scene on a
    street in Victorian London and you wanted to know about lighting, the
    question, ‘What did a London street look like at night in Victorian
    Britain?’ is very difficult to answer. However, the question, ‘What
    did a London street look like at night in 1867?’ is a better question,
    but, ‘In what year was gas lighting introduced to London?’ is an even
    better question and allows you to find a precise answer.

You can find out more tips in this blog post I wrote about
Researching You Novel.

Events Are Boring, How People React To Them Is Interesting

I worked with Terry
Deary,
the writer of Horrible Histories, for many years. I would
often pester him for his secret to writing great kids’ books. On the
surface what he does seems so effortless, but having seen behind the
scenes I knew there was more going on. After one persistent exchange
of emails he finally divulged a nugget of information that has served
me well ever since. It was this, “Events are boring, how people react
to events is interesting.”
This advice has always stayed with me and when I started writing
BattleBooks I stuck a note on my computer monitor that said, ‘Write
about people.’ In Hastings, I worked hard to make William the
Conqueror, a real person. As you go through the battle, you are faced
with a stream of choices. As you react to these events, William moulds
and changes his character. One route sees him becoming more insane,
another has him heading for a nervous breakdown, a third sees him
puffing in confidence. The book is about how a leader will react in
battle, not the events of the battle.
Here are questions I consistently ask myself to ensure my writing
is about people not events:

  • How does the main character alter during each scene? What ‘state’
    are they in at the start of the scene, how has this changed at the
    end?
  • What conflict is the character facing in each scene (external or
    internal)? How can I portray this to the reader?
  • What is the internal dialogue in the character’s head? Do the
    character’s external actions follow the truth of their internal
    dialogue?

Words Are Precious, Don’t Waste Them

When I first signed my book deal for BattleBooks with Franklin
Watts, I naturally spoke to the editor. When the question of word
count arose he calmly informed me that I had very little room to
manoeuvre and the books were ‘set’ at 100 sections, each with no more
than 300 words. Crap! A whole battle, with multiple streams of action,
all in a set number of words!
Writing to such a tight word count taught me that words are
precious. It was not long before I was able to strip sentences down to
their bare essentials. I would search for the best possible word to
describe a situation. I would self-edit, cutting out whole sentences
without a thought. The surprise was that every time I revisited a
section and pummelled it into submission, the removal of these flabby,
un-needed words, left shaper and better prose.
Here’s two tips you can use to pummel your prose:

  • Name Things: By giving an object an exact name
    you, not only save words, but also sharpen the image in the reader’s
    head. For example, the lead character in BattleBooks: Arnhem doesn’t
    fire a sub-machine gun, he uses a Sten gun. His men fire, not rifles,
    but Lee Enfield rifles. Naming objects, events and actions (does he
    walk or shuffle), gives the writer the power to conjure images in the
    reader’s mind.
  • Keep The Plot Moving: Every single word in every
    BattleBooks does a job. It gives the reader important information
    about an event, the plot or a character. There is no excess. Every
    word that didn’t move the plot forward was killed and removed from the
    text. Thousands of words became the casualty of my delete key. When
    you write, don’t waste the reader’s attention, force the plot forward
    with every single word and phase.

Next Step

If you take nothing else from the post, I would urge you to
remember what Terry Deary told me, “Events are boring, how people
react to events is interesting.” Revisit some of your own writing and
look at it with a critical eye. Are you writing about events or
people. Are your characters actions and reactions to events true to
their own internal struggle and dialogue? A character is not judged on
their words, but on their actions.

Winning

A huge thanks to all who helped celebrate my blog’s 1,000th post earlier in the week. It was a lot of fun, wasn’t it? Thanks as well to all who recommended blogs – my google reader list has grown considerably. I especially loved this one, belonging to Katie Sokoler (watch the video and enjoy the ‘shadow project’ – wonderful).

So, as promised all the names of those who recommended blogs have been put into a hat. I have just pulled five out. And the five people who’ve won a signed copy of either of my books are:
Martin Reed 
DebutNovelist
Downith
Katie Saxon
and Clare (Words and Fixtures).
Congratulations! If you could go here and let me have your addresses and let me know which book you’d like and what you’d like me to write in it, it would be most helpful.

Guest Post – Helping Young Cancer Sufferers

Before we begin – just a note to say the 1000th blog post celebration is going here, so, you know, have a look if you fancy winning cool stuff. I’ll announce the winners tomorrow evening. Or Saturday. We’ll see.

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I’m delighted to hand the blog over to Katie Saxon today. What she’s doing is rather remarkable and I’m thrilled to be able to help in my own little way. I hope that, after reading this, you might too. So, over to you Katie…
“How Twitter is Helping Me to Support CLIC Sargent
A guest blog post from Katie Saxon, who is fundraising for CLIC Sargent, and blogging about it at www.TrekforHannah.co.uk
 nikperring 

Ooh. People are taking me up on my offer. I like it when a plan comes together. 

It started innocently enough.  I spotted a retweet on Twitter that was just begging to be clicked:
A mysterious tweet quoting The A Team, how could I resist?
And when I read the post in question, it just got better – in exchange for recommending a blog I like, I could win a Nik Perring story.  So I left my comment, safe in the knowledge that I was in with a chance of winning something awesome.
And then something entirely unexpected happened.
Nik Perring visited my blog – he read what I had to say and he liked it.  And he emailed me to see if I would like to write something for his blog.  Something to promote what I’m doing, to shine a light on my little blog.
You see, my blog is all about the work I’m doing to support CLIC Sargent.
Last year one of the most wonderful and special people I will ever meet died of a brain tumour.  Her name was Hannah, she was one of my best friends and I loved her to pieces. 
In early 2009 Hannah started to act a little strange.  At first we put it down to stress.  She had a job she hated, and worse – a boss who seemed to have it in for her.  Hannah suddenly seemed a little distant, complained of headaches and began to forget things.  Big things.  Like red traffic lights mean you have to stop driving.
We were worried, of course we were, but she was diagnosed with depression and was seeing a doctor regularly.  Looking back it seems crazy that we didn’t realise something worse was happening, but, well, you don’t like to think things like this can happen.
Then, on Tuesday 5 May 2009, I looked at my phone. 5 missed calls from Emma, Hannah’s best friend.  I had been in the shower for 10 minutes, what the hell was going on?  So I called her and was greeted by sobbing.  Hannah had had emergency surgery to remove a brain tumour.
The rest of the day was a blur of hospitals and waiting for what seemed like forever to see her.  When I finally did see her, I spoke to her for all of 5 minutes, but I’d seen she was alive, and that was all I wanted.
By the end of the week we had heard the earth shattering news – the tumour was malignant and Hannah was going to die.  The doctors gave her 6 months.
In the end she outlived their predictions, and lived for another 13 months.  She died the week after her 25th birthday – I still believe she was just too stubborn not to live til 25, just to prove those doctors wrong.
Throughout the 13 months all of her friends did all they could to help her enjoy life.  There were trips, and secret cake binges.  We pampered her, we went shopping with her, we tried to live life as if nothing had changed.
During this time Hannah always talked about a lady who would call her up to see how she was doing.  She was always a little vague about who she was – a nurse maybe, or some kind of social worker? 
She was clear that this lady was happy to gossip with her about life, whenever Hannah needed.  That the lady wanted to help her do incredible things and achieve all of her goals. 
One day, Hannah told us – absolutely horrified with herself – that she had asked the lady to arrange for her to jump out of a plane.  “It just sounded like the sort of thing you’re meant to say” she wailed “I don’t want to jump out of a plane.  Why didn’t I ask for tickets to London Fashion Week?!”
It was after Hannah died that we found out who this was.  A CLIC Sargent support worker who was assigned to help Hannah and her family in any way they needed. 
Whether it was arranging birthday treats for her in the hospice where she died, or simply talking to her parents, they were there.  It’s so clear when you talk to Hannah’s parents how much they value CLIC Sargent, and how much this charity helped them through this devastating time.
And that’s when I finally tell you what I’m doing – you’ve been patient with me so far.  CLIC Sargent is a charity that supports children and young adults with cancer.  They help young cancer sufferers to get the most from life, and to rebuild their lives if they’re lucky enough to survive.
In April 2011 I’m going to walk the Great Wall of China to raise money for this great charity.  Not all of it – just 35 miles (50km) over 5 days.  I want to raise as much money as possible for the wonderful people, who took care of someone so special without once asking for thanks or attention.
Every day 10 families in the UK are told that they have cancer.  CLIC Sargent helps each and every one, but they can only keep doing this with your support.  So please, go to www.justgiving.com/TrekforHannah and sponsor me – every penny helps. 
You might also like to read my blog www.TrekforHannah.co.uk if you want to follow my progress.   You’ll find rants on brain tumour research, which is grossly underfunded, fundraising stories and ideas.  And you’ll get an insight into the mind of a bereaved 20-something.
So without Twitter I would not be here sharing my story with you, spreading the word about CLIC Sargent and how I’m helping them.  It’s amazing where a tweet can lead you.”

1,000

So, we’re here. Finally. This is blog post number 1000!

(I warn you now, this post is a big one. But only because of all the free and discounted stuff I’m giving away!)

First off, thanks to all who’ve dropped by here to read, and an extra special thanks to those who’ve come back. I honestly wouldn’t have kept at this were it not for you.

So, to celebrate…

This blog, as far as I’m concerned has always been about two things: me burbling on about things I find interesting, and trying to spread the word about good books and fiction and stuff.

So, here’s what I would like you to do. Over this week, I’d like you to recommend a book/arts/writer’s blog here. Put it in the comments with a link so people can see and visit (and they’ll see your blogs too, of course).

And what do you get for doing this? I’ll tell you what. You’ll get the chance to win a signed copy of one of my books. Either my children’s one, ‘I Met a Roman Last Night, What Did You Do?‘ or my short story collection, ‘Not So Perfect‘. I’ll pop names into a tin and pick them out at random (ie when I feel the urge). There will be five winners and I’ll write whatever those winners would like me to in their books.

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In my other job, I edit and give feedback on short stories. This usually costs £45. If you send in a story and include the passcode ‘1000’ I’ll do it for £25 (limited to the first 10, with the first one being FREE).

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And here’s a first (well, two firsts, actually!). I never post my own stories here, but as today’s a little bit special I’ve decided to make an exception (well, two exceptions!).

Here’s a never seen before story. And it’s a love story. I think it’s the only love story I’ve ever written and it feels kind of appropriate.

I Have Never Kissed You in a Taxi
Nik Perring
I have never kissed you in a taxi. It’s true and I tell you that. You say, ‘What?’ so I say it again.
            I smile. Meet your eyes and I speak, all serious, like this really, really matters. I really think it does.
            I tell you a second time. But before I do I shift closer, put a hand on yours to make my words heavy.  
            ‘I have never kissed you in a taxi,’ I say.
            You frown and smile at me, both at the same time. You say, ‘Really?’ and when I nod you go on, you continue, you say, ‘Is that really important?’
            Important? Of course it’s important. It’s everything to me.
            I want to kiss you everywhere.
            I want to take you to Paris, take you up the Eifel Tower, right to the top and I want to kiss you there. I want to take you to Berlin and to Boston and to China – press my lips to yours by the Great Wall. I want to take you everywhere, to show the world that you’re mine, to them all just what we’ve got.
            Then I say, ‘I’ve ordered a cab.’
            ‘When for?’ you ask.
            I look at my watch and say, ‘About half an hour.’
            You ask me where we’re going.
            ‘I don’t know,’ I reply. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
            You do that smiling-frowning thing again. You look at me. ‘But I don’t know what to wear,’ you say, ‘and even if I did there isn’t enough time for me to get ready.’
            ‘That doesn’t matter either,’ I tell you, because what matters is kissing you in a taxi, because we’ve never done that before. Because I want to show you to the world.          
            And because I never want us to run out of places to kiss.

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So, what are you waiting for?

Once again, a really heartfelt THANK YOU for reading and for your support. It means an awful, awful lot.

Looking forward to your blog suggestions.

Much love, thanks and appreciation,

Nik.