I am currently writing my 2nd novel with the goal to have the first draft completed by the summer of 2019. My 1st novel will be published in 2019. I hope you will join me on my journey as I share my thoughts with you over the coming months
Exciting times ahead. 1st novel is now being redrafted and will be ready for publication later this year.
My 2nd novel is now being written and it's 1st draft will be hopefully ready in the summer of 2019!
Hello everyone.
A week on annual leave does wonders for my writing it seems. Not only am I a step closer to completing the first draft, but I have also been researching publishers and I have found one that I really like. I really hope that you will be able to hold my novel in your hands soon and also obtain it as an e-book via Kindle!
This of course is happening in the next few months, so first I need to get the 1st draft finished.
That's where I sign off for now.
Thanks again for your interest and words of encouragement. They mean a lot.
Nik
...and the finish line is closer...
Hello everyone.
A week on annual leave does wonders for my writing it seems. Not only am I a step closer to completing the first draft, but I have also been researching publishers and I have found one that I really like. I really hope that you will be able to hold my novel in your hands soon and also obtain it as an e-book via Kindle!
This of course is happening in the next few months, so first I need to get the 1st draft finished.
That's where I sign off for now.
Thanks again for your interest and words of encouragement. They mean a lot.
Nik
...and the finish line is closer...
1
Good evening.
A quick update for you all.
The finish line is closer.
I'm going to just give you this snippet of a passage that means a LOT to me. I poured my soul into this seemingly simple paragraph last year, but I hope this gives you all a taste of my style and also makes you think who this person could be and where in the novel this occurs...
His knees sank into the sodden earth. His shoulders slumped and his head bowed; chin resting on his chest. He was utterly spent, physically and emotionally. The rain incessantly beat down all around him and his face and body were awash with the deluge from the leaden sky. His eyes began to sting; it was a combination of the rain and his tears. An onlooker wouldn't have seen the tears, just a sad downtrodden figure not at ease with the world. He summoned up all his strength and reached forward. His hand caressed the marble of the gravestone and he muttered, ‘I'm sorry I couldn't help you. Please forgive me.’
His hand fell down; his last ounce of strength was spent and the rain carried on. It never washed away or cleansed his pleas for absolution though.
Thanks as always for your interest. My estimate of 100000 words may be revised upwards soon... !
and the finish line is closer...
Nik
Evening all!
It's been a while since my last update - many apologies! I've got my head down and am nearing finishing the tricky penultimate part of the book. I have the majority of the final part written anyway, so it will be worth the time linking these two parts.
I'm off on my travels soon, so will be armed with a pen, notebook and bottles of cerveza while the sun shines and I relax at the side of a pool in Majorca :-)
Then in a couple of weeks I'll be updating you again. By my reckoning I will be at 100,000 words when I complete this first draft (plus or minus a couple of hundred words maybe).
Exciting times ahead !
Keep your eyes peeled to this site and also my Facebook and Twitter for more news.
Thanks again for your interest - it is much appreciated.
Until next time:
...and the finish line is closer...
Nik
Good evening all!
I've just finished another session of writing. My novel is back on track and March will definitely be an exciting month to iron out some of the challenges I have faced with completing the first draft. The scenes I am writing at the moment (which make up part 8 of the novel) have been particularly challenging as there is so much going on that I have had to keep track of. Added to this is quite a complicated back story that I want to keep in the novel, but I don't want it to distract the reader from the thrust of the main story. Nonetheless I believe it to be an important, integral part to the overall story. After I complete this section of the novel I will be going back to part 7 of the novel to complete it. There are a few characters in part 7 that ultimately will be appearing in part 8 of the novel, but not just yet!
It sounds cryptic and complicated and I've drunk more coffee and red wine than I should have, but I think that it will make for an amazing story for you all to read.
Well back to it and I hope to update you all again soon.
Thanks for the constant interest...
... and the finish line is closer.
Nik
Good evening readers!
The last 1000 words that I have written this evening were intense...
I've basically taken one of my minor characters and constructed a whole back story for him.
It was one of the most rewarding yet harrowing writing experiences I have had to date, but it now fits in perfectly with the plot and the conclusion of the novel !
I can't believe I missed the "obvious" before tonight, but hey sometimes one has wade through the quicksand before an escape route can be seen...
Hope to update you more soon with this plot development as I write it.
and the finish line is closer...
Nik
I hope you had a nice Christmas and 2015 will be a good year for all of you.
I apologise for the lack of recent updates.
December was somewhat of a challenging month and quite a lot of things happened which threw me off track for a while.
Nonetheless, I am writing again and the challenges and experiences of the past few weeks have given me added impetus to complete the novel.
I hope to have a newsletter for my subscribers to read by this weekend and I will give you some more information on the progress of the novel in that.
I've written a few hundred words this evening and am excited about the next few weeks of writing once again.
Thanks for all your support and interest, and thanks for your messages of support over the past few weeks, when my dad was ill in hospital. They are appreciated and have helped him immensely.
Until next time...
...and the finish line is closer...
Nik
Barnes walked to the bridge and descended the slope to the stream bank. The path under the bridge was on one side of the stream and he walked slowly under the bridge. He fished into his pocket and produced a small pocket torch which he clicked on. The path was a mess. There were newspapers scattered everywhere. Most were damp and sodden, but a few were bone dry. Barnes noted that the newspapers were spewing forth from a myriad of plastic carrier bags that lay close to the wall of the bridge. Barnes surveyed the bricks. There were hundreds if not thousands of them. He had no idea where to start...
excerpt from Nik Measures new novel (coming soon...!)
“One of the things I tell the writers with whom I work is, man, when you finish a draft of a poem, or short story or novel, you make sure you go out and celebrate all night long because whether the world ever notices or not, whether you get it published or not, you did something most people never do: You started, stuck with, and finished a creative work. And that is a triumph. That is something to celebrate. All the stuff that I'm talking about is really from the point of view of trying to create art—and I don't mean to sound highfalutin when I bring the word "art" in. All I mean is, a work that seeks to illuminate truth in whatever way possible.”
Andre Dubus III
Morning all,
just thought I'd give you a quick update on the progress of my novel.
I'm still busy writing and am having to do most of my work in my lunch hour during the day, or for a couple of hours at night. It's not ideal, but I will get there eventually!
Just wrote a really great scene which now links three characters and has set up what should be a great set-piece in the novel.
As well as writing, I've just started to read The Liars' Club by Mary Karr
On another note, I'm really looking forward to Stephen King's latest novel, Revival, which is published on 11th November.
Well that's all for now. Hope to blog more later.
Have a great day and thanks for your interest and support. It is truly appreciated!
Nik
Good afternoon everyone!
I've been quiet for a couple of weeks on the blog front. I've been writing but my new day job "got in the way" somewhat.... :-( Have to pay the bills and all those excuses, etc...
Part 8 of the novel is coming along nicely and I'm having to track the movements and actions of every character, just so I don't make a monumental continuity error!
Just a quick congratulatory message to the five winners of my newsletter competition who will receive a signed copy of the novel once it goes into print!
I've decided to publish future newsletters once every quarter now, but I will publish ad-hoc ones and have more competitions for you to enter into for free.
To subscribe to my free newsletter, just click on the image below:
Have a great day everyone!
Hope to blog more later.
Nik
Good afternoon everyone,
Just a quick reminder that edition #6 of my newsletter, has just been published. Remember that your free subscription will immediately enter you into a draw (which will be made on 30th September 2014) to receive a signed copy of the novel once it goes into print!
Have a great day everyone!
Hope to blog more later.
Nik
and the finish line is closer...
Click on the image below to subscribe to my FREE newsletter:
Good evening everyone.
I've been writing edition #6 of my newsletter, which will be published on Sunday 28th September. Remember that your free subscription will immediately enter you into a draw (which will be made on 30th September 2014) to receive a signed copy of the novel once it goes into print!
Have a nice evening everyone!
Nik
Hello everyone!
first of all let me apologise for the lack of information this week!
To say it's been a hectic one for me would be an understatement.
Not only have I been trying to write this week, but I have only landed myself another job, which I start tomorrow ! I'm looking forward to it of course and it will mean that my writing is done during lunch breaks and in the evening. But that's how I was doing it anyway up until the past 7 weeks.
These last couple of months have been amazingly productive for me as a writer. I've been inspired and hopefully the end results will show how much this time has assisted me to pour my whole soul into the project. In that space of time I have written nearly 50,000 words and now taken the word count to 71,000 words.
The goal of the first draft in October still is my priority.
Well that's all for this evening apart to remind you that Newsletter 6 will be published on Sunday 28th September.
Thanks for all your amazing support and interest.
Nik
and the finish line is closer...
Click on the image below to subscribe to my FREE newsletter:
Good morning everyone,
Just a quick reminder that edition #5 of my newsletter, will be published at midday today (Sunday 21st September). Remember that your free subscription will immediately enter you into a draw (which will be made on 30th September 2014) to receive a signed copy of the novel once it goes into print!
I was writing late last night and have also been writing some more this morning.
Have a great day everyone!
Hope to blog more later.
Nik
and the finish line is closer...
Click on the image below to subscribe to my FREE newsletter:
