Brainstorm . . . in a D cup

Neat title, eh?
Not a clue to my identity. Jordan has far better things to do with her time let me assure you.

The trip to WHS this morning was a great success. I bought loads of things that look pretty on my desk (and probably will never use). Still, I remembered to bag the essentials. And pay for them, of course. "Bag" makes me sound too much like a pilferer. The coffee stop was nice too. They do nice flapjacks in . . . oops, mustn't give too much away.

I have my good friend Jurgen Wolff with me this afternoon, to assist me with my brainstorm. Not actually with me in person (Mr Wolff also has better things to do with his time I'm pretty certain). Instead, I have his book: Your Writing Coach, which I bought three months ago and thus far, have only got round to perusing the blurb on the back page, which makes me wonder if I have the stamina and inclination for this "experiment," let alone the talent. The other thing that occurs to me, is that I might spend way too long with this bloody blogging lark, I won't actually produce much in the way of serious writing. Or should I concentrate on humour? Is humorous writing ever taken seriously? So many questions!

Be positive, Anu. You can do this.

A manuscript of 100,000 words starts with a mere first sentence. I'm not ready for that yet.

I need to come up with a premise for my novel. So, Mr Wolff, what do you suggest?

Jurgen's brainstorming guidelines are:

'Go for quantity'
'No judging' - love that one!
'Write everything down - no matter how crazy or off topic it may seem'
'Build on other ideas. Don't get hung up on trying to develop something completely new, because in reality there is almost nothing totally new in the world. Even the most amazing breakthroughs tend to be combinations of existing elements.'

How very reassuring. And to brainstorm effectively apparently it helps to limit your time. Phew - result. So I'm giving myself twenty minutes from now to see what I can come up with.

See ya later!

Oh, one more thing. I had a chuckle when I saw Geri Halliwell's kiddies' book practically being given away in WHS. What with that and poor Jerry Hall having to pay back her half million quid advance on her tome that never was. Even celebs are being whacked by the CC it seems.

What am I doing???

Hi.

And welcome to my humble abode. Thanks for visiting.

Something I don't yet fully understand prompted me to do this. Because something inside me believes it will work. Yes, really! Already I can hear you whispering in corners.

This is my first attempt at blogging. You won't find me on Facebook, or My Space, or any of those sites, because I don't do that kind of thing. Unless I can be persuaded . . .

So here's what it's all about:

Today I read an article in The Self-Publishing Magazine by Chris Holifield, the co-founder of www.writersservices.com which boasts the largest and most visited website in the UK, apparently. Quick plug for you there, Chris, - hoping you can return the favour sometime!

The article, 'Publishing in a Recession', was about, how in these lean and uncertain times, it's more difficult than ever to get an agent to back your novel, let alone a publisher.

Which got me thinking. Is it possible for an unknown writer to achieve superstar status with their first novel? I do hope so. Because I plan to invest a bit of time in striving for that seemingly elusive goal. I'm going to bag myself an agent - and with it, that all-important six-figure publishing deal. OK, I'll settle for five figures. We are in a recession after all.

Right now, I have no outline for my novel, no title, no word count and no preferred genre, which means I can begin with a completely open mind. Hey, we all have to start somewhere . . .

Your feedback/advice would be appreciated.