This Writing Life: Angela Britnell

Angela comes originally from Cornwall, but has enjoyed a peripatetic life thanks to her life as wife of an officer in the US Navy. She has lived in Denmark, Sicily, California, Maryland, London and now Tennessee. Angela has written novellas and more recently, novels, set in Nashville. Her latest book, Love Me For a Reason, is published by Choc Lit. It’s a classic ‘opposites attract’ romance: an uptight American accountant has to deal with a scatty British illustrator of children’s books…

Where and when do you enjoy writing most? What is your routine?

As soon as my oldest son left home, I converted his bedroom into my office and I absolutely love it! It’s painted my favourite shade of peach and I’ve made it a haven of things that are special to me. I have a desk and table that belonged to my father-in-law and several watercolour paintings by my father, giving me lovely memories of them both. You’ll also find rather a lot of Poldark related items – from Winston Graham’s wonderful Cornish set historical romances for those of you who haven’t discovered them yet. I’m sadly going to lower the tone by saying the favourite is my Ross Poldark Grass Cutting Service tea mug – trust me if you’ve seen the new BBC TV adaptation then the words “scything scene” will be all you need in the way of an explanation! (Can't imagine anyone wanting one of these, but if you are interested, the link will take you there, ed.)

Generally my writing routine is to do the business side of things in the morning and boring tasks like laundry and the occasional forced bit of house cleaning. After lunch is my preferred time to settle down to write. Of course like most people this often gets shifted around according to what else is going on in my life and pesky things like edits and deadlines! 

How do you start work on a particular book? Planner/Pantser or a bit of both?

I’m a complete Pantser and couldn’t plot if my life depended on it. When I first started to write I read lots of craft books and went to numerous workshops – coming away with other people’s ideas of the ‘preferred’ way until coming to the conclusion that worked for me was my ‘preferred’ way. Sometimes I have a vaguely formed character in mind or maybe a profession – when I wrote ‘Sugar and Spice’ I had the idea of writing about a celebrity chef – but it was only when I faced the blank page that Lily came to life. It scares some of my writing friends when I tell them this but hearing descriptions of their spreadsheets, post-it notes and story boards does the same to me in return. I often say I discover the bare bones of the plot and characters in the first draft and the second go through is when it really comes alive.

What tools do you use to write? Word processors, pens, paper, software preferences?

I started off writing in longhand but soon discovered it wasn’t fast enough to keep up with my thoughts and changed over to the computer – never to return! I don’t use any fancy software because I’m not very technical and probably wouldn’t understand how to use it. Each time I complete a draft I download the manuscript onto my Kindle and read it through because that somehow makes the story read more like a real book. While I’m doing that I do make notes by hand on a legal pad about changes I want to make before going back to the computer. I frequently scribble down story/character ideas in random notebooks but am not as organised as I should be and often can’t find them again later!

What other careers have you had in addition to writing?

Back in the Dark Ages I was a secretary in the Royal Navy for six years in the days when women didn’t go to sea which was probably just as well considering my tendency towards sea-sickness! After I left to get married I concentrated on raising our three sons but around 2001 I took a brief creative writing course to get away from the house for a few evenings and very quickly became hooked. By the time the youngest left home I started to take my writing more seriously and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else now.

Thank you, Angela, for a quick look at your writing life. 

For more info, please visit Angela's website www.angelabritnellromance.com, her Facebook page and her Twitter feed @AngelaBritnell.

Do I even have one?

Just over a week ago, I said goodbye to some of my students. We've spent a couple of years wrestling with coursework, Henry V, a selection of poems and Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. Although at times they've sent me potty with their desire to distract and take us all on a tangent, I will miss them very much. And looking at this particular picture, I know I will remember these six and their fellow students with affection and meanwhile, am busy crossing my fingers for them in their last few exams - including English Lit ones tomorrow and next Friday. 

For various reasons, I've been spending the last few weeks reading around issues of educational management and leadership, about what makes a good school and the ethics of education. One of the things I've been asked to do is to write a statement of my educational policy. Initially, I thought, do I have one? And the answer to that is of course I do. I've never previously had to quantify it, but it was certainly there. Thinking about it in such detail that I could actually shape it into a cogent, concise document has not been easy, but it has been useful. 

Whatever the future holds, wherever I am in a term, or a year, this thinking has been hugely rewarding and will shape my practice either at my current school or elsewhere. I feel more strongly than ever that teachers need time to think about what they are doing in and out of the classroom, how they are dealing with academic and pastoral challenges, whether their students are achieving their full potential or have still more to offer. 

The past couple of months are the first time since I finished a masters in education in 2009 that I've carried out sustained and focused research into educational developments. What strikes me, in relation to both the US and the UK, is the gulf between the best teaching practice and its underpinning ethos of serving students and the political masters who shape greater educational policy. It is becoming harder and harder to do the job of managing and leading schools, retention of staff is a major issue and high-stakes testing regimes are becoming ever more demanding of both staff and students. There is no point in going into full-on rant mode about this. Instead, as a teacher walking into a classroom five days a week for 30+ weeks of the year, I have to work out how to serve my students and colleagues to the best of my ability. 

My core philosophy is that school leaders are there to make the lives of their colleagues and students as straightforward and focused as possible. To remove the distractions and frustrations that might prevent teaching and learning. That sounds simple, but of course, you lift the bonnet on any school, and achieving the smooth-running Rolls-Royce effect is never easy. The best schools may make it look easy, which is how we end up with politicians and the general public jumping up and down saying "Why can't you do it like that?" But it is a process of continuous vigilance, support, co-operation and decision-making. 

That actually is the great incentive to become a senior leader in a school. It's not for everyone, but if you think about the people who are really terrific managers, in any sphere, we see the same characteristics emerging over and over: warmth, humility, humour, integrity, and a clear understanding that any organisation or institution is going to be a ceaseless source of fascination and complication. There will always be knotty issues to handle, difficult individuals to manage, moments of crisis and chaos. But a great leader takes those difficulties and has the ability to make the touch choices, balancing the interests of the various stakeholders. In a school's case, the priority has to be the happiness, engagement and commitment of our students. 

This Writing Life: Hunter S. Jones

I 'met' Deb Hunter through the Historical Novel Society, although we haven't physically pressed any flesh yet. Deb Hunter writes fiction as Hunter S. Jones, publishing as an indie author, as well as through MadeGlobal Publishing. Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, she graduated from a private university in Nashville and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her Scottish born husband. She is an active member in many writers' groups and societies.

Where and when do you enjoy writing most? What is your routine?

Unlike most authors, I don’t enjoy writing. I think it’s a compulsion and find it painful. I have to have complete solitude, which is rare for an extrovert like myself. I can’t listen to music or read anything else-it’s as if all the ‘wires’ get crossed. The work becomes my raison d'être.

Research is the backbone of anything I write. I want to completely immerse myself in the characters, much as an actor would. If I know what the characters experienced, I will better understand their story, and therefore better understand my own story telling process. This may derive in part from my study of literature and drama. It would be interesting to learn how other authors with a similar academic background go about formulating their craft.

How much use do you make of music or art as sources of inspiration – do you have a playlist for a work in progress, do you use collage, can you only work in total silence?

Music is my first love, but I love rock unlike the classical music that most authors are drawn to. I always have a ‘theme’ song for each story. There’s a cadence that sets the pace for a scene or chapter.

Then, much like the musicians I know, I garner a great deal from visuals. I keep a secret board on Pinterest for each WIP, then release the board when the story is published so that readers can ‘see’ the story as I have visualized the characters and plot as it unfolded in my mind’s eye.

How do you start work on a particular book? Planner/Pantser or a bit of both?

Each story appears on its own. Generally, the title reveals itself first, as does the ending. However, right now I’m working on a novel and it has a tentative title, so every work is different.

What tools do you use to write? Word processors, pens, paper, software preferences?

I use a laptop, but have my iPhone handy at all times. If inspiration strikes, the Notes App is invaluable.

What other careers have you had in addition to writing?

I’ve been an Executive Sales and Marketing Consultant for international corporations my entire career. My degrees were in Literature and History-I was supposed to be a professor, but a lucrative sales offer ended that plan very quickly. In 2012, I ruptured my Achilles tendon and was completely bedridden for 1 ½ years. During that time, I returned to writing, which had been my passion before the corporate years. 

What is the biggest myth about being a writer?

That we drink. That’s ridiculous. We don’t make enough money to pay for a round of drinks!

How have you been published? (self, mainstream, small press)

I publish independently and with MadeGlobal Publishing.

Phoenix Rising is the story of the last hour of Anne Boleyn's life. You can read an extract here. I have always been fascinated by the story of Anne Boleyn, thanks to Jean Plaidy's books The Young Elizabeth and Murder Most Royal, about the lives and execution of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Phoenix Rising is a great addition to the fiction accounts of Anne's life. 

Find out more from Deb/Hunter S.Jones author page on Facebook and Twitter feed.

This Writing Life: Lynne Shelby

The weeks are rolling round exceptionally fast, and I can't believe it is already time to welcome my next guest:

Lynne Shelby can’t remember a time when she wasn’t writing fiction, and it has always been her ambition to become a published author. She writes contemporary romance because that is what she most likes reading. She loves travelling, and is often inspired to write by the wonderful foreign cities that she’s explored with a camera and writer’s notebook in hand. Her debut novel, French Kissing, which won the Accent Press and Woman magazine Writing Competition, is set in London and Paris. She is currently working on her second novel, which is set in the world of the theatre. She lives in London with her tall, dark handsome husband and a lot of books. 

Where and when do you enjoy writing most? What is your routine?

For many years I wrote anywhere, everywhere and at any time – on a kitchen counter while cooking, in the car while waiting for daughters to come out of ballet lessons, in the canteen at work – but when our eldest moved into her own flat, I took over her bedroom as my writing room. I do still sometimes write in other places (I’m not averse to writing by the side of a swimming pool when on holiday!), but my writing room is definitely my favourite place to write. My desk is by a window with a view of our garden, which means even although I live in a town, I can look out at trees and flowers - and the occasional urban fox. I’d love to be able to say that my routine consisted of sitting down at my desk every day by 6.00 am and writing 2,000 words before breakfast, but if I’m honest, I have been known to check Facebook and Twitter before I do any writing! I aim to start actually working on the WIP by about 9.30. First of all I read over everything I wrote the day before to get back into the flow of my plot – and almost always find myself deleting some of the previous day’s output. Or rather, I cut and paste it into a new document, as I often find that a scene that is wrong for one story is ideal for another. I write all morning - and have been known to keep writing and forget to have lunch if a story is going really well – and hopefully manage to produce 800 – 1,000 words. I know a lot of authors prefer to write a first draft without editing, but I do edit to a certain extent as I go along, changing the odd word or moving paragraphs around the page. I tear myself away from my laptop late afternoon to catch-up on household chores and admin before my OH comes in from work. I admit that I do sometimes interrupt a relaxing evening to scribble a few notes if I suddenly get an idea for a twist in the plot of my WIP.

How do you start work on a particular book? Planner/Pantser or a bit of both? 

I guess I’m a bit of both. I know how my stories are going to start and I know how they end, but when I begin a new WIP, I usually have very little idea of what happens in the middle. I do, however, know my characters really well, not just their personalities, or their ages and what they look like, but things like the sort of school they went to, the car they drive and the places they’ve travelled, and I note all this down on index cards so that no-one’s eyes change colour half way through the ms! Then I start writing, introduce my hero to my heroine, and see what happens. Very often there comes a point when it feels as though the characters have taken over the plot, and are deciding how it’s going to develop! When I’m about two-thirds through my story, I read it from the beginning, making brief notes to keep track of things like which characters appear in each chapter, and the timescale over which the story is taking place. By this stage, I do have a clear idea of my plot’s twists and turns, so I now plan future chapters to keep the action on track.  

What tools do you use to write? Word processors, pens, paper, software preferences?

I’ve been writing stories since I was a child, and as I grew up in an era when not everyone had a manual typewriter let alone a pc, for many years I wrote in longhand on lined paper. It was only when I was working in an office and wordprocessors were introduced, that I changed to typing when I wrote fiction, at first on the family desktop computer that sat in a corner of the living room and then on my own laptop. Now, I can’t imagine writing except on a laptop and in Word. But I do still carry a notebook (it has to have a beautiful cover!) everywhere so that I can jot down sudden ideas for stories or research notes.

How have you been published? (self, mainstream, small press)

In 2015, my debut novel, ‘French Kissing,’ was published as a paperback and an e-book by Accent Press.

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/LynneShelbyWriter   

Twitter: @LynneB1