Writing – Page 7 – Natalie K. Martin

Casting Call!

June 2, 2014June 1, 2014by Natalie2 Comments

Things are well underway with Heart Shaped Bruise (working title) – book number two. It’s been an interesting journey so far. It actually started out as a story with just one main character and I’d clocked up 50k words on it…until I had a brainwave which went something along the lines of ‘Oh, I know! Why don’t I scrap it all and start again!’ Only to then revert back to the original plan. Sigh. I don’t make things easy for myself now, do I? I have to say though, I’m loving this new version and I love this photo, which sums it up so far:

As usual, it means lots of research, some of which is huge amounts of fun and some of which is horrifically humbling, inspiring and scary. And, I need some help. If you or anyone you know has ever been a victim and/or perpetrator of domestic violence, then please get in touch.

Pretty heavy huh? Well, yes. That’s because I like to write about real things, issues that affect people everyday, and I want to do them justice by portraying them well. So any help would be hugely, massively, enormously appreciated! It goes without saying that any info given would be strictly confidential and changed in a way to make it non-obvious as to identities and such in the book.

Thanks guys, and have an awesome week!

Self-publishing, Writing

SOS from the depths of formatting hell

May 26, 2014May 23, 2014by NatalieLeave a Comment

I love writing. It’s not always easy, though. I’m not someone who wakes up in the middle of the night with a eureka storyline, oh no. More likely, an idea pops into my head at the most random of times, like buying tomatoes. I love creating scenarios where people can do whatever I want them to do (control freak? moi?). I love the endless possibilities of it all. What I don’t love, is formatting.

I mean, honestly. Who ever heard of using ‘styles’ in Word to format a document? Seemingly everyone else apart from me – that’s who. It was a right royal pain in the backside, but it wasn’t too tricky in the end. I almost had a celebratory glass of wine – until it came to paperback formatting.

I honestly don’t think there’s a better form of torture. For 3 days, I stayed up until way, way past my bed-time, trying to figure it all out. Page breaks, section breaks, blank pages, and page numbering…God, the page numbering.

Is it just me? Did anyone else find this insanely difficult? Maybe its because I break out in hives whenever I have to use footers in Word, but I just couldn’t get my head around it at all. Well, okay, I couldn’t get my head around it until I realised I was doing it wrong.

Facepalm.

What made it worse, was that I was following instructions written in a way that anyone could understand. Maybe I just have a penchant for overthinking things to the point of them making no sense at all, whatsoever.

There is one consolation though. At least when it comes to my next book, I’ll be a dab hand. Or at least, I hope so, otherwise I’ll have no hair left. Maybe there’s some kind of support group for formatting-scarred writers. If there isn’t one, there should be.

But, I guess it’s not all bad. I’m a step closer to my goal of getting it out in paperback. It’ll all be worth it in the end.

Right?

Music, Writing

Midweek Meltdown – George Ezra, Coat of Armour

May 21, 2014June 16, 2014by NatalieLeave a Comment

Artist: George Ezra

Track: Coat of Armour

I can’t write without music. Well, I can but it has to be a particular circumstance, like the zombie apocalypse or something equally drastic. Anyway, I was watching Later…with Jools Holland at the weekend and my ears melted when I heard George Ezra sing. This isn’t the song he played, it’s another that I’ve found and can I just say, it’s bee-yoo-tiful. I want to wrap it around myself like a blanket.

If you’ve got any music recommendations, please send them my way! You can also check out my previous weeks’ tracks by going to the Midweek Meltdown tab above, follow the playlist on YouTube or follow me on Spotify

Enjoy!

Travel, Writing

Sab Kuch Milega – Anything is Possible #travel #writing #goa #india

May 19, 2014May 17, 2014by Natalie9 Comments

Sab Kuch Milega – Hindi. Translates to English as ‘Anything is possible.’

When I decided to publish Together Apart, I had a little fantasy of having a glass of bubbly substitute (because I don’t like the real thing) with a friend or two in a bar somewhere to celebrate. It didn’t quite work out like that in reality. What happened was, I pressed the big, yellow publish button from a cafe in Arambol, Goa in my own company with a latte and a slice of almond buckwheat cake at 7am while waiting for my friend to arrive from London. Rock and Roll.

It was just one of many things that have come to sum up the process of self-publishing that I’ve seen so far. Always expect the unexpected because anything is possible.

I did have some reservations before I left England. I really wasn’t sure what the internet situation would be like over there so I was pleasantly surprised to find that wifi was literally everywhere. Except, it always seemed to crash when I needed it the most. Like the very day I was to push the button after having announced the released date to my family and friends. Even still, it was a small price to pay for being here.

Photo taken by me on Arambol Beach

Photo sourced on Google

I should say, I’m not a travel writer. I made two diary entries in the 4 months I was away and they were on occassions where it was write or cry. I must admit, I do regret not spending a little time each day writing in my notepad but hey ho. In any case, I am a writer, and I chose to publish my book while travelling. And this meant trying to sort out all the technical stuff, liaising with my editor and cover designer, tweeting, Facebooking etc etc etc while also trying to experience one of the the most diverse, crazy places on earth. I’ll get round to blogging about those in the near future.

My book has been out for 3 months now. There were times when I said I would never publish a book while travelling again. Which is funny, because I said the same thing after being in India for 3 months. Never again.

And yet…

I know I’ll go back. I feel I have to. I want to. I barely scratched the surface of Goa and Rajasthan, let alone India as a whole and as cliched as it sounds, it really is a special place. And the same goes for my book (not the special bit, although to me it is. Obvs.) I think – no, I know – that I’ll be somewhere else when Book 2 comes out next year. I don’t know where yet, but I will. I’ve always loved writing and now I’ve had a dalliance with travelling, I’ve decided I love that too. It can be done. There are a great many people doing all kinds of things as they travel – I don’t see why I shouldn’t be one of them.

Is anyone else a travel writer or a writer who travels? I’d love to hear how others found the process!