| I'm delighted to be hosting a post by Tom Vowler as part of the blog tour for his new novel, That Dark Remembered Day, which I reviewed on Annecdotal last month. Over to you, Tom. Thanks for revealing the dark side of the literary life! |  |
1. Where before you had real-life, flesh and bone friends, 96% of your social life will now occur online.
2. Hemingway said in order to write you just need to sit at a desk and open a vein. When things are going badly, it’s important to remember this is a metaphor.
3. Most of the best ideas will surface at 4am, when you don’t have pen and paper on your bedside table, and you have a hangover.
4. Most of your family will be convinced a character is either based on them or actually them. Nothing you say will persuade them otherwise.
5. In the morning, yesterday’s words that you regarded sublime, will seem mediocre.
6. In the morning, yesterday’s words that you regarded mediocre, will seem the worst thing anyone has ever written.
7. Everyone you meet at parties (ha, like you get to go to parties) will be either writing a novel, be about to, or know someone who is. They will want to talk about this (see #2).
8. Nobody will notice or care if you grow a beard. Especially if you’re a man.
9. When you think you’ve finished the book, it’s time to start the real work on it. In other words you will write at least 4 novels’ worth of material for each book.
10. Coffee and biscuits are the other 4% of your friends (see #1).
11. Dividing money earned into hours spent will end badly (see #2).
12. There are some lovely and wonderful fellow writers out there. You will never meet them.
13. When you send your manuscript to your agent or editor after two years of blood, sweat and tears, a glorious, warm feeling rises within you. This lasts for ninety seconds. Move on to the next book.
14. Nobody understands what you really do. Except other writers (none of whom you will meet) and perhaps the cat.
15. That dull office job you once had, with regular income and holidays and colleagues and fixed hours and Christmas parties and a pension looks more appealing each year.
16. You know it’s a bad week when even your stalker emails to criticise your latest book.
2. Hemingway said in order to write you just need to sit at a desk and open a vein. When things are going badly, it’s important to remember this is a metaphor.
3. Most of the best ideas will surface at 4am, when you don’t have pen and paper on your bedside table, and you have a hangover.
4. Most of your family will be convinced a character is either based on them or actually them. Nothing you say will persuade them otherwise.
5. In the morning, yesterday’s words that you regarded sublime, will seem mediocre.
6. In the morning, yesterday’s words that you regarded mediocre, will seem the worst thing anyone has ever written.
7. Everyone you meet at parties (ha, like you get to go to parties) will be either writing a novel, be about to, or know someone who is. They will want to talk about this (see #2).
8. Nobody will notice or care if you grow a beard. Especially if you’re a man.
9. When you think you’ve finished the book, it’s time to start the real work on it. In other words you will write at least 4 novels’ worth of material for each book.
10. Coffee and biscuits are the other 4% of your friends (see #1).
11. Dividing money earned into hours spent will end badly (see #2).
12. There are some lovely and wonderful fellow writers out there. You will never meet them.
13. When you send your manuscript to your agent or editor after two years of blood, sweat and tears, a glorious, warm feeling rises within you. This lasts for ninety seconds. Move on to the next book.
14. Nobody understands what you really do. Except other writers (none of whom you will meet) and perhaps the cat.
15. That dull office job you once had, with regular income and holidays and colleagues and fixed hours and Christmas parties and a pension looks more appealing each year.
16. You know it’s a bad week when even your stalker emails to criticise your latest book.
Tom Vowler is a novelist and short story writer living in south west England. His debut collection, The Method, won the Scott Prize in 2010 and his novel What Lies Within received critical acclaim. He is co-editor of the literary journal Short Fiction and an associate lecturer in creative writing at Plymouth University, where he’s completing a PhD looking at the role of the editor in fiction.
That Dark Remembered Day is his second novel.
One family, one town, devastated by one tragic event. Can you ever know what those closest to you are really capable of?
That Dark Remembered Day is his second novel.
One family, one town, devastated by one tragic event. Can you ever know what those closest to you are really capable of?
When Stephen gets a phone call to say his mother isn’t well, he knows he must go to her straight away. But he dreads going back there. He has never been able to understand why his mother chose to stay in the town he grew up in, after everything that happened. One day’s tragic events years before had left no one living there untouched.
Stephen’s own dark memories are still poisoning his life, as well as his marriage. Perhaps now is the time to go back and confront the place and the people of his shattered childhood. But will he ever be able to understand the crime that punctured their lives so brutally? How can a community move on from such a terrible legacy?
Published by Headline on June 19th in Paperback and Ebook priced £8.99. The Annecdotal review is here.
Stephen’s own dark memories are still poisoning his life, as well as his marriage. Perhaps now is the time to go back and confront the place and the people of his shattered childhood. But will he ever be able to understand the crime that punctured their lives so brutally? How can a community move on from such a terrible legacy?
Published by Headline on June 19th in Paperback and Ebook priced £8.99. The Annecdotal review is here.
Thanks for sharing this insider view, Tom. I hope you can stick around to see what my blog readers think about these tips.
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