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My guest today is Rachel Burton, author of contemporary women’s fiction. Her two novels, The Many Colours of Us and The Things We Need To Say, have been called thought-provoking and emotional.
Rachel and I first connected as she was a listener of the show, and I was delighted to chat to her about her writing success. Rachel suffers from chronic illness, M.E and Fibromyalgia, and we talk about writing books under challenging circumstances.
For more information on Rachel and her books – and for tips on writing with a chronic illness – visit RachelBurtonWrites.
Or you can find Rachel on Twitter and Instagram.
IN THE INTRODUCTION
I give an update on the launch of The Night Raven. Short version – it went really well and I’m a very happy author!
If you are interested in London-set paranormal mystery which has been called:
‘My favourite new urban fantasy series, clever and twisty and deliciously magical, with a shivery sense of wonder that feels utterly grounded in its London setting. Perfect for fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Genevieve Cogman or Robert Galbraith!’
You can click here for shopping options – thank you!
And I give a shout-out to new patrons supporting me via Patreon. Thank you so much!
You can support the show for as little as $1 per month and, for supporters at the $2 and above level, there is an exclusive mini-episode released in the middle of every month.
There are eight ‘extras’ already available and another one will go up mid-November. So far, I’ve answered patron-questions and given writing craft tips, but I’m also open to suggestions…
To become a Worried Writer insider and to support the podcast head to The Worried Writer on Patreon.
THANK YOU!
LISTENER QUESTION
I answer a couple of listener questions this month.
One from Karen Heenan (via Twitter) about writing a synopsis. I run through the differences between a synopsis, blurb and pitch, and recommend a book I found very helpful back when I was submitting to agents:
How To Write A Great Synopsis by Nicola Morgan
And one from Catherine Barbey. Catherine has published her first novel – congratulations, Catherine! And is getting fabulous reviews, but is finding it really difficult to write the next book in the series.
Catherine wrote:
‘How did you know, after you got your first book published (which I know wasn’t the first you’d written) that you wanted to carry on and keep writing? How did you know that you weren’t just a ‘one-hit wonder’? And how did you get over ‘second book syndrome?’
If you have a question you would like answered on the show
contact me via email or Twitter or leave a comment on this post.
IN THE INTERVIEW
On publishing:
‘It felt very like I had no idea what I was doing… It felt very overwhelming, like I was totally out of my depth.’
On writing her first book:
‘The last few chapters of that book seemed to take a hundred years.’
Rachel’s writing process:
‘I write the end first. So when I plan a book, I know how it opens and I know the ending… When the going gets tough which, for me, is usually around 40,000 words in, I go and write the end. I write the last 5000 words, and then I’ve got something to aim for.’
‘I’m not a huge believer in necessarily writing the book in order. Some scenes require more research, some are harder than others… So just leave it and move on… Don’t just sit there hoping they will miraculously write themselves, just move on and write the next bit; keep it flowing, keep going.’
‘Little and often is the key because it gets you in the habit of putting words on the page.’
‘It is hard to get to the end so make your end somewhere you want to get to.’
‘There are days when I will do anything rather than write.’
On writing with a chronic illness:
‘I do suffer from chronic pain issues… I do have to make sure I’m sitting in the right chair. I also have to take very regular breaks and I can only write for a little bit of time and then I have to get up and walk around the room or I will get stuck in a chair shape for the rest of the day.’
‘In terms of energy levels, that has been hard. It’s hard to work out when you can and can’t write. With M.E one of the biggest problems is brain fog and when your brain is foggy, concentrating is hard, focusing on something for a long time is difficult.’
‘There are times when I’m not well enough to work at all, but I do find that even if I’m just writing a few notes about a character… I find that really does help my illness and helps me find a bit of energy and joy.’
‘Creativity does energise me.’
‘With chronic illness than can be a lot of feeling bad about yourself, feeling that you’re not adequate enough. You compare yourself to other people who aren’t ill and the word counts that they do…’
‘You can’t compare yourself to someone who doesn’t have the same setbacks as you.’
‘Be honest with everyone. I think we want to hide our chronic illness sometimes, we think people will judge us… Think we’re not capable. But I found when I was honest with my editor and my agent, they were absolutely fine with it.’
Thanks for listening!
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