The Spell Tailors - James Nicol

 

Today it's my turn on The Spell Tailors blog tour and I am delighted to share James' 3 top tips for writing as well as my review of his book.

Three Top Tips For Writing.

I used to love reading these types of blog posts when I was an unpublished writer, hoping that I would glean something useful from those who were there, where I wanted to be. And there are so many bits and pieces of advice – but of course, not every piece of advice will work for everyone, so don’t worry if something doesn’t chime with you.

The other thing is that there are no quick fixes, no cheats to help you “level up”. Luck certainly plays a part in becoming published –  as it does in every aspect of life –  but putting in the hours, doing the hard work of writing is the real power that makes stuff happen and helps deliver when and if lady luck calls! 

So what are my top three pieces of advice?

 

Don’t start at the start!

The idea of my stories generally begins with a fairly clear scene or image in my head: something exciting or important that I know I want to explore or that needs to happen in the story somewhere. This is not necessarily the beginning of the story at all. We can put a whole lot of pressure on ourselves to write a compelling first chapter that grabs the reader’s attention and doesn’t let go – that’s important, of course, but it doesn’t just happen and can be quite a daunting prospect for any writer at any point in their career! I remember working with Bella Pearson when I was a member of The Golden Egg Academy, and she said that the beginnings and endings of books are the hardest to write and the parts that are changed the most so don’t fret too much over them when you are just starting your story. Hands down the best piece of advice I’ve ever had. It gives you the freedom to just get going. I often find my actual first chapter might be a few chapters in from where I start with my first draft, I write my way into the story. So give yourself space to discover and if you don’t know the start, write the bit you do know!

 

Give yourself space

We all come to that point – whether it’s when you’re writing an early draft of your book or editing it –   when you suddenly feel like all the ideas you ever had have fled from your mind like rats from a sinking ship! When this strikes I’ve discovered that for me there is no point sitting and staring helplessly at my notebook or computer screen. These are not the places where ideas burst into life, this is where I wrestle them to the ground and capture them. But for me ideas are more likely to make themselves known when I’m off doing something else. So in those moments I leave the desk and either take myself off for a walk with my dog or go and do something else in the house for half an hour or so – gardening or baking are good distractions – and I generally come back with an idea of how to get myself out of whatever corner I have written or edited myself into! And if that doesn’t work then at least sometimes I have the comfort of a nice cake to look forward to!

 

Read it out loud

If you do just one of these things I’ve suggested then let it be this. Reading your work out loud is invaluable. It can highlight repetitions or where punctuation has been missed and is needed. (I quite like to just forget full stops altogether sometimes!) It helps you make dialogue better and shows you the pattern and rhythm of your writing – I personally also like having a go at all the voices of the characters! I certainly try to read aloud the first draft I send to my editor or agent and then  when there have been major edits I read through the whole thing again. It takes time, but personally I think it’s worth every second! 

 

I do hope these have been helpful or interesting or both! Happy writing!

... and now here's my review of The Spell Tailors:

Hen has lived with his Nana in the shop owned by the Danelli family since they had arrived in Sparrow Down from the Scillian Islands years earlier.  The spell-tailor shop has been popular in the town, making clothing for everyone with stitches that can enhance garments, like a dress that will help you stay cool in the middle of summer or a jumper that will keep you warm on the coldest of days.  Hen dreams of becoming a spell tailor but things have been more difficult recently due to the rise in factories which are mass-producing magic clothing; then his uncle, aunt and cousin arrive at the shop and announce they have come to stay.  Things are changing for Hen but can his discovery of a stitch that can sew memories into clothing help to turn things around or will it just cause more trouble?

Hen is definitely a character who is unsure of himself.  With his parents away, his nana is his guiding light and he is determined to protect her and this creates a determination in him that drives him forwards.  He also, by default, seems to be driven by his uncle who hen feels is doing nothing but thwarting him.  It's a complex relationship they have and he cannot understand why his nana isn't backing him the way she usually does.  It's a difficult time for Hen.  The arrival of his cousin, Connie, isn't as straightforward as it may have been as she is very off-hand to begin with.  Whilst Hen doesn't understand why, Connie has had everything in her life change for her and just needs the time to get used to her new 'life'.  I also want to mention Mr Pepper, the mass manufacturer who sweeps in to destroy the lives of so many small businesses without thought or care - readers will enjoy hating him and everything he stands for.

I have to say that I was excited when I read the blurb for The Spell Tailors and so I was incredibly pleased when the book arrived just in time for me to take it to Venice with me and I'm so pleased I did.  

I adore everything about this book!  It was like a warm hug; it's a book that will make you smile, will warm you from the inside and will make everything feel better.  With an ending that surprised me, The Spell Tailors is an adorable book that brightened my days and was one my mind drifted to between reads.  

There is something special about books where you can picture yourself living in the village where the story is set and The Spell Tailors is absolutely a book that fell into that category for me - I am now desperate to visit Sparrow Down which sounds like a wonderful place to live: everybody knowing each other, people looking out for everybody... and Marjorie!  Please can I have my own shleep?  she was just adorable! (also, I would rather like to pay a visit to with Hen into that memory...).

The idea of a spell tailors is enchanting, harking back to the days when people had their clothes made for them instead of simply heading to the shops to buy off the rack.  It's the personal touch and the idea of being able to add a spell to a garment to enhance it which really got me thinking; but the memory stitch is by far my favourite and, when I visit Sparrow Down, I'm going to book myself an appointment at Danelli's so I can place my order!

 There is something very special about this book and I don't quite feel as though my words are doing the book justice, so I'm going to end by saying that The Spell Tailors is out now and is absolutely the book you need to keep you warm and put a cheer in your heart as the summer days grow chilly.