Making Connections

It has been a hugely busy week. I’ve been killing the data on my phone replying to emails, reading blog comments, visiting blog websites because my time on public transport has been the only free time I’ve had for social networking. But that’s not a complaint. It’s also been an awesome week thanks to Melissa Maygrove’s Follow Fest ’14.

For the longest time I’ve been thinking how great it would be to widen my circle of writer friends, get more involved in online communities, get back into the habit of beta-ing and being beta-d. But finding these new friends seemed like a time-consuming task and there was never the time to spare.

Post Follow Fest ’14 I’m suddenly on the radar of a ton of writers and everyday I have all these fab blog posts popping into my inbox with tales of my fellow writers’ exploits. It’s very exciting and a great example of doing a small thing and reaping a big reward.

NaNoWriMo is right around the corner and I’m looking forward to tackling it alongside some of my new-found friends.

Follow Fest 2014

Name:

Shadé

Fiction or nonfiction?

Fiction

What genres do you write?

YA, Adventure, Fantasy and Romance

Are you published?

Yes, you can find my romantic thriller, Survivor here.

Do you do anything in addition to writing?

I blog about other writers at Coffee Bookshelves.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a Nigerian-British and (now) new Canadian. I blog too much, own too many books and plan to be a prolific writer some day.

What are you reading right now?

I’m one of those people who reads 10 books at once. I’m reading Rose Petal Beach by Dorothy Koomson. It’s freaking me out so much I’ve had to take a time-out with Every Day Is For The Thief by Teju Cole.

Which authors influenced you the most?

Jane Austen for her smart humour, strong heroines and Mr Knightly (who doesn’t get enough love), Nora Roberts for introducing fearless, independent women to the romance world, Meg Cabot for keeping it fun and frothy and Joss Whedon for turning the tiny, blonde victim trope on its head with Buffy.

Where can people connect with you?

Blog: www.shadewrites.com

Twitter: @TheShadyFiles

Goodreads Shadé

Amazon Survivor

Barnes and Noble Survivor

Do you have a newsletter?

Not yet.
Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

I LOVE meeting other writers (virtually and IRL). I’m totally open to hosting release day blog tours, posting about new releases or beta-ing for people so don’t be a stranger, get in touch.

Thanks for stopping by! And please hop over to http://melissamaygrove.blogspot.com to meet some of the other authors participating in Follow Fest this week.

Adios!

Developing Writing Discipline

I have just returned from a two week holiday break. I had promised myself I’d take the opportunity to finish a swathe of my current novel. Instead I wrote about 400 words. 300 of which was a blog post. Clearly I lack discipline. I’m always looking for new ways to improve my writing habits, I envy writers like Meg Cabot, Nora Roberts and Stephen King who seem to breathe words. I yearn to write as consistently and prolifically as they do.

This autumn I’m trying out a new technique. I call it, 20:200. Everyday I must either write for 20minutes or produce 200 words. Whichever comes first. I’m on day three and it’s going well. The hidden bonus is that once you’ve sat your butt in the chair and started writing you’ll probably do more than 200 words. It’s just getting into that productive zone that’s difficult.

Do you have any tips or techniques that help you write regularly?

Book shop

If you want to write well you have to read well. I like to dust off this maxim whenever I need to justify a book shopping spree. Since I’m in England where book prices are far more affordable than North America I’ve been adding to my bookshelves like mad. Here’s today’s haul.