Dartington College of Arts

I’m still waiting for the editing report on my first novel.   In the meantime, I’ve been working on a different writing project detailing my student days at Dartington College of Arts, Totnes, Devon, where I took my music degree.   This account tells of my first visit to Totnes:

I liked Totnes immediately.  I spent a couple of nights in a bed and breakfast house in a steep lane tucked away from the main street.   On the day of the audition, I set off up the hill to the college, past fields and a river, knowing that this was where I would like to spend the next three years.  The air was fresh with the scent of the country and the unmistakable smell of animals and manure.  I savoured the feel of the mild winter chill against my cheeks, like I had done many times during my childhood rambles in the countryside in the north of England.              

The college stood near the top of the hill: three adjacent buildings for the dance, drama and music students;  a courtyard consisting of the Great Hall, the White Hart bar, admin offices, staff room, library and cinema, a central lawn.  An archway connected the library and cinema.  Further on was Higher Close, the student area overlooking the fields below. 

After attending an introductory talk in one of the studios with the other prospective students, I took another short walk to the front of the music department where the main offices were situated.  Mr Artherton had helped me prepare the first movement of a Haydn piano sonata and one of the pieces from Debussy’s Children’s Corner.  When I finished playing these, the lecturer at Dartington said, ‘you have an extremely musical ear.’

Editing Report

Still waiting for the report on my first novel…

A Musician’s Site

For promoting music, try the internet radio site  last.fm.   I placed a piano recording on the site and have found the site far more stable than others.

A Writing Tip

Always check carefully for spelling and grammatical errors, even if this means delaying presenting the piece of writing in question.  

• Copy the written passage and paste it into a different word processing programme to see if any problems show up
• Try viewing it on a handheld device
• View a newly written blog post from the main category/tag section instead of from the individual blog itself

Yesterday, I wrote a blurb style summary on my first novel.  (That’s the novel I sent for an editing report.)  After changing a few of the sentences and doing a spellcheck, I assumed I’d eradicated all typos.  However, when I read the summary on my mobile phone later that day, I noticed a couple of mistakes. 

“Barn” had become “bar” and “random, “randon”.   

So I made the neccesary corrections first thing this morning.

Some Better News

Today, I heard some news about the editing report on my first novel.   Apparently, all the people involved are busy struggling to survive in the recession, and will get back to me soon with the report.

Editing Report Update

The situation remains as before…the report has been completed but communication has broken down with the third party who made the initial contact with the editor.   It’s a complex situation.  There’s a strong chance I’ll lose the money I paid and not get the report.   I’m unsure of what step to take next.   

In the meantime, I can’t really face working on any novel until I know exactly what’s happening with the first. 

 

 

Obstacles Along The Way

Unfortunately, getting hold of the editor’s report on my first novel is proving much harder than I’d originally anticipated.   The problem has little to do with the editor who, apparently, has completed the editing.   The contact with the editor and agent came through a third party initially, and for some reason, communication with the third party has broken down completely.  This in effect means I’ve spent the money on the report but probably won’t get to see it.

I’m not sure what the next stage is.   At the moment, I’m still trying to get as much writing done as possible.  I’ve also developed a recent interest in web 2.0 and web design, and hope to do more in these areas.

An Ongoing Wait

The wait for the editor’s report goes on… It’s slightly complicated in that a third party arranged the report on my behalf, but pretty frustrating all the same.  In the meantime, I can’t really face working on the other novel until I know exactly what’s happening with the editing report, so I’ve been concentrating on writing about my student days at Dartington College of Arts, Totnes, Devon, where I once studied piano and composition.

A Long Wait

I’m still waiting for the editing report on my first novel, a psychological thriller set in the English countryside.   That’s one of the things in trying to get a book published  – you end up spending ages waiting each step of the way.  For me, the waiting is the worst bit.  It feels long and drawn out, and I tend to get impatient and worry about what might happen next.  

In the meantime, without having a definite time frame to work in, I don’t think I can continue with the most recent novel (another psychological thriller set near the Dorset coast), so I’ve made extensive backup copies of the first fourteen chapters and hope to return to the story sometime next year.  I’m working on something entirely different while I wait for the editor’s report - my student days at Dartington College of Arts in Totnes, Devon, where I studied music and classical piano.  

I’m also spending a lot of time at the piano, playing works by Beethoven, Chopin, Grieg and Liszt.

More Delays

A bit like the British transport system.   The editing report has been postponed again…

In the meantime, I’m spending a few days on a different writing project about my student days at Dartington College of Arts, Totnes, Devon, where I studied piano and composition.  I need a bit of space from novel writing.