Mission Impossible?

What an amazing bird! Could you write a haiku or other short poem or story inspired by this? Have you read a book with a strong animal character? What did you love about that character?

Mission Impossible?

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Flooded Street - Writing Inspiration

Watch the whole video. There is peril, courage and heroism, comedy, frivolity, anticipation. If you write, how can you use this in your writing? Otherwise, what books or films have best captured these traits for you?

Flooded Street - Writing Inspiration

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AWE INSPIRING: Why you have no Excuse not to Write

I experienced this for a very short time whilst in a coma, and it was horrific. How this amazing girl has coped I have no idea but what an inspiring story. What do you think of this?

AWE INSPIRING: Why you have no Excuse not to Write

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Atlas of Universe

Does this inspire you? Does it make you feel small, or immensely privileged? How do you feel? 

Atlas of Universe

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Blind Dog Plays Fetch

Isn't this dog amazing? I love how such a massive disability has not stood in the way of it enjoying its favourite game. Both the dog and the owner have found a way to negotiate obstacles and have great fun. 

When have you done that? What book have you read that inspires you to conquer obstacles?

By the way, I just reached 10,000 followers on Twitter. As is the tradition, I sang a song to celebrate becoming a 'twitter whale' - you can hear it in the last post

Blind Dog Plays Fetch

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The Writer Who Could Not Read (This Happened to Me)

I'm a coma survivor, and I had this experience too. In my case, though, I couldn't write either. However, I had to learn each word a particular way: picture it first, then hear it spoken, then see it written, then write it myself, then read it back. I did that with every word in my vocabulary. The brain is complicated, isn't it? Have you had an experience like this? Has it changed your view of language?

I've been through a lot to get to the point where I can write a book. It has taken 26 years to get this far. My final hurdle is getting it published. If you can help with funds - doesn't have to be much - please make a donation. If not, that's cool too. Look around, play PacMan, and have fun.  :)

If you do decide to donate, please leave a quotable comment under this post. A UK magazine has asked me to write an article on all this when my book comes out, and many, many blogs have asked to interview me. I'll need some good quotes from the people who made it possible. 


Update: Already have a stack of donations on only two days! Thanks guys. Go to the post that follows this, about the Smiley Face of (Indie) Publication , to see how the donations are piling up. I'm impressed by the number of authors and journalists who've backed me too. What a great group of people. I can't wait until I'm in the position where I can pay it forward for other writers. I do what I can with my blogs and twitter, but I'd love to help out financially too. When I'm a best selling author, track me down and ask me how I'm doing this. If I'm not, I'll need reminding. 


None of us is an island. It's a cliché for a reason. It's true. When my book comes out, it won't just be a triumph for me, it'll be a triumph for my supporters as well. The publishing industry may be in shreds, but the Word Nerd Army is kicking butt - just like always. 

Thanks. 

The Writer Who Could Not Read (This Happened to Me)

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Old Spice Ad Parody, and the State of Publishing

Love this parody of the Old Spice Man library vid. I saw it a while back and forgot to put it up, but it's on the blog of amazing agent Nathan Bransford today, so get over there to see the other vid too, as well as Nathan's take on the current state of publishing, then hop back here and leave a comment. I'm not a nut. I know you'll leave a comment there first. He's an agent, after all. Go on. Scarper! 

Old Spice Ad Parody, and the State of Publishing

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A Lesson from a Woman in her 90s

Writing Inspiration 

This remarkable American lady talks about the Great Depression as she shares her recipe from that time. Without those circumstances, this recipe may never have been part of her life. Now, though, it is a way to connect with new generations - and technologies - and share her story. 

What foods came into your life by chance, and how have they coloured your life? If you are a writer, how important is food to your characters? If you are a reader, how much do you connect characters and food?

Even if you're not much of a reader, what about characters in other places, such as television and film. Have you noticed how writers work food into the scripts? Which FRIENDS character won't share his food, loves pizza and lasagne, and tries to eat a whole turkey? Which one is obsessed with gourmet food? Which one is vegetarian? If any of these were switched, how would that affect your perception of the character, or are they so bound into the characters that they could never be switched? Share your thoughts below, after you've watched Clara...

A Lesson from a Woman in her 90s

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10 Easy Steps to Becoming a Published Writer

If you like this, please tell your friends.  Thanks.  :)

10 Easy Steps to Becoming a Published Writer

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The Book Trailer for my First Novel - ALMOST

Palaces and Calluses by Rebecca Woodhead

UPDATE - If you arrived here from the short URL, sorry, nothing to see here. Everything below is the 'first draft' madness of my first vid. The polished book trailer you seek is in the post above. The short URL for it is http://tiny.cc/RWbookvid Thanks for your interest. Hope you like it. :)


*edit* (21st) Video removed for polishing :) Thanks for all the feedback. There have been many DMs on Twitter about this trailer. People seem split over whether they find it intriguing and want to buy my book (a satisfying number said this) or are just confused (a smaller, but still significant group.) Confusion's not the best response, so I've pulled the vid and am putting together a less confusing one. It will be less of a 'teaser' and have more of the plot in it - which worries some - but I'll try to keep spoilers out as much as possible. Not an easy task. As ever, thanks for all your feedback. Every day's a school day!


*edit* (22nd) After 10 hours work on a vid formatted to the specifications required by the criticisers of the last vid, I asked my husband's opinion on the new creation. His laughter nearly burst my eardrums. I protested that it is absolutely the kind of trailer the big publishers are putting out (it was - I got proper images and everything) and he said it was sterile and, whilst all trailers are cheesy by nature, it was cheesy in a bad way. Idiosyncratic cheese is good. Processed cheese is bad. The processed cheese has been binned. I daren't put it up here in case anyone likes it and I'm forced to keep it here. It's very polished. It's not very 'me' though. *Sigh* Back to the cheese board.

*edit* This is confusing. Going to start a new blog post and... put up the next 'first' book trailer (hopefully The One).

The Book Trailer for my First Novel - ALMOST

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