Whose Voice is it Anyway?

In the last couple of weeks I have come across an interesting conundrum. Part of my novel is set in another era which suits my own voice. The remainder is set in the 1990's and told from the point of view of a character who is nothing like me. That's part of writing, I hear you cry; convincingly taking on various voices but always with your own style. The problem is I keep imaging an agent (I never dare to imagine getting as far as publisher) reading my MS and thinking badly of the vocabulary etc, i.e. that it is not very advanced. I am comforting myself with the fact that I have concentrated on getting the story down, focussing on pace and particularly dialogue and not on description. Hopefully I will feel better when I edit and can add to the latter.

Fire Station Bookswap

I had a great night out at the Fire Station Bookswap this week. It is a monthly event and was established a year ago by Scott Pack and Marie Phillips. The guests this month were Emma Darwin and Edward Vallance. The 'stage' is set up with a sofa and table complete with kettle and cake (the latter is passed around the audience during the evening). The audience put written questions in a pot at the start of the evening and these are used by Scott and Marie during their chats with the guests. Questions on subjects other than writing are encouraged which lends even more of a relaxed feel. Perodically, audience members are asked to pitch the books they have brought along and those who are interested try and pitch their book and get the swap. I was rather shy of using the mic so Scott kindly did it for me. I can now honestly say Scott Pack pitched my book (alright I'm strteching it a bit but hey). Anyway, back to writing my book; nearly at 20,000 words.

Positive Feedback

I had my tutorial yesterday and it went well. I honestly didn't know what to expect as the first 8,000 words that I submitted were two standalone chapters in the form of diary entries. I submitted a basic draft and then needed advice as to which areas needed emphasis. Only two elements need to be drawn out so that is good. In addition, my tutor was positive about the voice and the fact that although the draft sits on solid research it doesn't scream "I've researched this you know". I am glad that the first review is done and now feel a lot more confident.