Matt Edwards's Blog: Rumblings and Ramblings
June 1, 2012
The joys of children!
Well I shaved off my beard for the first time in a very, very long time. Most of the kids in my class have never seen me minus the beard, so as a writing activity the kids wrote pieces to persuade me to shave it off. So long story short, they did a really good job and I surprised them on the Friday by showing up clean shaven.
It was pretty funny, the first one of my kids I saw didn't recognise me until he saw the tattoos on my arm.
On a writng note, I have been working pretty hard on end of semester stuff and not got as much writing as I would have hoped done. But I have still been chipping away.
Oh almost forgot, my book Armoured is free for 24 hours on June 2nd, so grab it and have a read.
It was pretty funny, the first one of my kids I saw didn't recognise me until he saw the tattoos on my arm.
On a writng note, I have been working pretty hard on end of semester stuff and not got as much writing as I would have hoped done. But I have still been chipping away.
Oh almost forgot, my book Armoured is free for 24 hours on June 2nd, so grab it and have a read.
May 27, 2012
Not for the first time
So, it seems I am not the only Matt Edwards out there writing books. For the second time now a book has been added to my author profile which is not mine.
Apparently there is another Matt Edwards out there who writes Christian books. Good luck to him, but it doesn't really do it for me. Have sent an email to the helpful Goodreads crew to get it removed, not been able to find a way to do it myself.
On the writing side of things it has been a really up and down sort of week. One of the scariest things about putting work out there for people to read is the fear that no one else will like it and I have experienced both sides of that conundrum.
So I have had some very polarising experiences. Firstly I met some year 6 boys who had read my book. They were genuinely excited, like I was someone famous or something! asking when the next one was going to come out, listing characters and asking if they were going to be in the second one. Was an amazing feeling.
On the other hand I noticed in the book stats that one of the few people on Goodreads who had added it must have wiped it off their shelves. Can't be a good sign.
Oh well suck it up and continue on princess :s .
Apparently there is another Matt Edwards out there who writes Christian books. Good luck to him, but it doesn't really do it for me. Have sent an email to the helpful Goodreads crew to get it removed, not been able to find a way to do it myself.
On the writing side of things it has been a really up and down sort of week. One of the scariest things about putting work out there for people to read is the fear that no one else will like it and I have experienced both sides of that conundrum.
So I have had some very polarising experiences. Firstly I met some year 6 boys who had read my book. They were genuinely excited, like I was someone famous or something! asking when the next one was going to come out, listing characters and asking if they were going to be in the second one. Was an amazing feeling.
On the other hand I noticed in the book stats that one of the few people on Goodreads who had added it must have wiped it off their shelves. Can't be a good sign.
Oh well suck it up and continue on princess :s .
May 12, 2012
The Creative Process
Right, well the hints for keeping an authors blog suggest talking about your writing process. So I figured I would sit down and write a post detailing how I go about it.
Whether I am writing a short story or a novel I have always used the same process. Not because I think it is an amazing process or anything. It's simply one that works for me,and until someone shows me a way which works better I will probably continue doing it.
I usually start with some sort of concept monologue or a page of ideas, sentences, or sketches which form the idea I have for the story.
Then basically step out the major events or plot points in a flow chart down the centre of a piece of paper. I usually only get halfway through like this before hitting a block.
That's when I go back and start jotting notes off to the side of each plot points. This is where I ask my self, "Why did that happen" or "How does that work". I t nuts out the finer details and usually gives ideas on how to move the story on.
Once that plan is done I stick it up on the wall along with any character profiles I have written and start typing away. It gives me a structure build my writing off. I really need this because my mind wanders. A lot.
So that's how I do it, if anyone out there has a better or different way of writing I would love to hear it. I always say that life only really continues if you continue to learn.
Cheers
Matt
Whether I am writing a short story or a novel I have always used the same process. Not because I think it is an amazing process or anything. It's simply one that works for me,and until someone shows me a way which works better I will probably continue doing it.
I usually start with some sort of concept monologue or a page of ideas, sentences, or sketches which form the idea I have for the story.
Then basically step out the major events or plot points in a flow chart down the centre of a piece of paper. I usually only get halfway through like this before hitting a block.
That's when I go back and start jotting notes off to the side of each plot points. This is where I ask my self, "Why did that happen" or "How does that work". I t nuts out the finer details and usually gives ideas on how to move the story on.
Once that plan is done I stick it up on the wall along with any character profiles I have written and start typing away. It gives me a structure build my writing off. I really need this because my mind wanders. A lot.
So that's how I do it, if anyone out there has a better or different way of writing I would love to hear it. I always say that life only really continues if you continue to learn.
Cheers
Matt
May 7, 2012
The Runaways
So, I just posted a short story I have been writing. I hope people enjoy it, well actually I just hope someone will read it, enjoying it is a bonus.
Shortest story I have ever written. I tend to waffle and rave a lot so it was hard for me to keep under the 2,500 word limit the contest has in place. I did it but, with 4 words to spare.
I actually quite enjoyed writing it, It was one of those pieces where you have the idea in your head and it seems to just develop in real time as you write it. No writers block or frustration. Really, really nice when one of those comes along.
Well anyway I am rambling again, please have a read. It's called The Runaways.
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...
Shortest story I have ever written. I tend to waffle and rave a lot so it was hard for me to keep under the 2,500 word limit the contest has in place. I did it but, with 4 words to spare.
I actually quite enjoyed writing it, It was one of those pieces where you have the idea in your head and it seems to just develop in real time as you write it. No writers block or frustration. Really, really nice when one of those comes along.
Well anyway I am rambling again, please have a read. It's called The Runaways.
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...
May 6, 2012
The ravings of a madman
Well, hello and welcome to my first blog post.
I will attempt to keep this updated with what is happening with my writing, things that am reading and general things happening in my life.
I have just begun reading the first book in the Wheel of Time series which I am sure many of you are very familiar with. A friend has been encouraging me to read them for years, but I have never gotten around to it.
Writing wise I am currently bouncing between 3 projects. Yes that is how I generally write, not sure it is a smart way to do it, but when i get a block on one I simply jump to the next one for while.
The 3 projects are:
A follow on to my book Armoured
A time travel adventure
A sci fi short story which will probably end up as a concept or start of another novel
I will upload the short story as a free ebook in the next day or two for those who are interested.
Keep an eye on this blog, it will be updated every couple of days with ramblings and freebies.
Cheers
Matt
I will attempt to keep this updated with what is happening with my writing, things that am reading and general things happening in my life.
I have just begun reading the first book in the Wheel of Time series which I am sure many of you are very familiar with. A friend has been encouraging me to read them for years, but I have never gotten around to it.
Writing wise I am currently bouncing between 3 projects. Yes that is how I generally write, not sure it is a smart way to do it, but when i get a block on one I simply jump to the next one for while.
The 3 projects are:
A follow on to my book Armoured
A time travel adventure
A sci fi short story which will probably end up as a concept or start of another novel
I will upload the short story as a free ebook in the next day or two for those who are interested.
Keep an eye on this blog, it will be updated every couple of days with ramblings and freebies.
Cheers
Matt
