The Z Files: Heather Burnside ~ Virgo

Astrology ~ a bit of fun, a load of rubbish, or something to take seriously?

I invited around 70 writers/bloggers to write a piece about how typical they are of their sign, and how its traits affect their writing life ~ if at all...

Has your favourite writer been featured yet?  Links to all previous posts at the end of this one :)

Okay, everyone mind your Ps and Qs...it's another Virgo, gritty northern crime writer Heather Burnside!!  Heather's two Manchester based crime novels are steaming up the Amazon chart, and she is is happy to offer her multi-genre short story collection, Crime, Conflict and Consquences, free ~ please click HERE if you're interested. 

Heather's piece is another one of those that says so much about her sign that it's just one big celebration of Virgo ~ let her tell you all about her sixth sign self

"I think the way in which I approached this article says a lot about whether I am a typical Virgo. I asked Terry for some pointers on Virgo characteristics and copied these down along with some information I gleaned from the Internet. I then highlighted those characteristics that I identified in myself, and which I believed influenced the way I work. There were a few words that cropped up repeatedly, and I recognised these all too well. 

A bit of a methodical approach, you might say. Perhaps a bit too meticulous and pedantic, bordering on the anally-retentive, in fact. Yes, that’s me; I’m definitely a typical Virgo so the following words also apply:

Exacting, organised, worrier, overcritical, indecisive, obsessive, compulsive, mentally astute, perfectionist and reserved."

"But before I send you running for the hills at my description of a neurotic bore, I should add that I also have a great sense of humour, which I sometimes incorporate into my writing. Other positives are that I’m loyal, loving, kind, helpful and reliable." 

So how does all of this affect my writing life? 

It can have its advantages but it can drive me to distraction as well. I’m incredibly organised so I have lists for everything – character lists, lists of place names for each novel, To Do lists, marketing lists etc. The pluses are that it helps me to keep track of everything. I also find character lists and lists of place names invaluable for ensuring consistency, especially with a trilogy. On the negative side, because I’m self-critical and obsess about things, I am always thinking there is something I have left out.  

I draw up an outline for each novel, which acts like a framework that I build onto. Despite my exacting nature, I’m not totally inflexible and my compulsions mean that I often get an idea for a scene much later on in the novel. It’s usually something that’s really impactful, and I know that I have to write it as soon as possible before it becomes diluted. Because I’ve kept a detailed outline, I can write out of sequence without losing track of where I’m up to."

"As regards book promotion, I’m reserved so I find promotion the hardest thing of all. I hate pushing myself on people and am constantly preoccupied that I’m not doing enough to sell my books. As I’m loyal I always try to support other authors and bloggers who I’ve befriended."

Yes, yes, I had to stop myself doing the whole thing in bold, a bit like I did with another lady of this sign HERE! ~ you agree about the ultra-Virgo-ness, I am sure!  If you would like to know more about Heather's books, you can read about them HERE, and also follow her on Twitter.

I must admit, it's getting a bit hard to find suitable famous writers according to sign, so, although she has nothing to do with the sort of books Heather writes, I've chosen one of my all time favourite historical novelists, simply because I can't do this whole series without giving her a mention....

....the late and wonderful Norah Lofts ~ if you haven't read The Wayside Tavern 

and The House At Old Vine trilogy, your life is not complete :)

and a crime novelist of a different Virgo kind ~ Agatha Christie!

Previous Posts:

Leo and Aries: Terry Tyler and Julia Proofreader

Leo: Rose Edmunds, Anne Goodwin, Alex Johnson,

Aries: Joanne Phillips, Trisha Ashley, Cynthia Harrison

Gemini: Haydn Lee, Norah Colvin, Jerome Dumont, John Privilege, Shelley Wilson,

Aquarius and Capricorn: Nicky Black

Aquarius: Lynda Renham, Cathy Ryan,

Capricorn: Georgia Rose, Wendy Janes, Annie Lyons, Steffany R

Sagittarius: Jan Ruth, Adrienne Vaughan, Rachel Amphlett, Wendy J Lennox, Katrina Mountfort,

Cancer: Emma Gray, June Kearns, Sarah Boucher, Katie Oliver, Mark Barry

Virgo: Louise Marley, Elizabeth Ducie, Barb Taub,

Pisces: Lizzie Lamb, Julie Haiselden, Maria Savva, Sacha Black,

Scorpio: Judith Barrow Gen Gannon, Stacey Garrity, Gemma Lawrence, Robert Leigh, Catherine Hokin, Jenny Twist,

Taurus: Valerie-Anne Baglietto, Val Poore,

Libra: Marcia Carrington Tom Hocknell, Jen Ammoscato, Joanne B

The Z Files: Louise Marley ~ Virgo

Astrology ~ a bit of fun, a load of rubbish, or something to take seriously?

I invited around 70 writers/bloggers to write a piece about whether or not they're typical of their zodiac sign, and how its traits affect their writing life ~ if at all...

Has your favourite writer been featured yet?  Links to all previous posts at the end of this one :)

 A thirteenth part of the Novelistas, Louise Marley is also a very helpful Virgo!  She writes romantic comedy and romantic suspense, sometimes a combination of the two, and is lucky enough to live in Wales with a view of Snowdon from her window - that'll be me with the green face:)  As we're getting near Hallowe'en I'd like to make a special mention of Louise's ghostly book, Something Wicked (click for Amazon link).

Please do tell us about your Virgo-ness, Louise :)

"Sometimes I feel being born under the sign of Virgo was some kind of cosmic joke. You see, I don’t think I’m a typical Virgo at all. Virgos are supposed to be organised and I’m the most disorganised person I know. I’ve never been on time in my entire life, including to my own wedding. But I’ve never missed a deadline either – although there was that one manuscript which went off at two minutes before midnight … So I suppose you could say being conscientious was a typical Virgo trait."

(nb: my experience of Virgos is that they are either very tidy and organised or the complete opposite!)

"Then there’s the whole ‘Virgos are tidy’ thing. My study looks like a tornado blew through it*, possibly because my idea of filing is to dump everything into a pile on the floor and just keep stepping over it. Virgos don’t mind repetitive and nitty-gritty tasks? Ha! I find repetition boring, and when I’m bored my attention wanders and I begin to dream in plots – resulting in missed appointments and burnt dinners."

"Are there any Virgo traits I will admit to? Well, there’s likes to be of service to others, because I do love to offer help and advice (whether people want it or not) and I’m very loyal. It might take me forever to decide whether I like you, but when I do I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. I’m also very honest. Um, too honest, actually. Don’t ever ask me what I ‘really’ think, unless you really, really want the answer. It’s a wonder I have any friends at all. Curiously enough though, none of them are Virgos … 

Famous Virgos? Two of my favourite singers, Beyoncé and Pink, and one of my all-time author heroes, Stephen King!"

Louise is very Virgoan on Twitter where she retweets and shares the posts of others generously.  She is a frequent blogger, and posts lots of articles about castles and places she visits, in Wales and around, with luverly pictures!  See her blog HERE.

I've already used Stephen King for a previous Virgo; instead, I'll make up the Virgo light women's fiction trio with Louise :)

Here is many chick lit lovers' favourite, Marian Keyes....

....and author of that 1980s classic, Lace, amongst others ~ Shirley Conran

Who's next?  A blogging Capricorn :)

Previous Posts:

Leo and Aries: Terry Tyler and Julia Proofreader

Leo: Anne Goodwin, Alex Johnson

Aries: Cynthia Harrison

Gemini: John Privilege, Shelley Wilson

Aquarius and Capricorn: Nicky Black

Aquarius: Cathy Ryan, Lynda Renham

Sagittarius: Rachel Amphlett, Wendy J Lennox, Katrina Mountfort

Virgo: Elizabeth Ducie, Barb Taub

Pisces: Maria Savva, Sacha Black

Scorpio: Robert Leigh, Catherine Hokin, Jenny Twist
Taurus: Valerie Poore

Cancer: Katie Oliver, Mark Barry,

Libra: Joanne B

The Z Files: Elizabeth Ducie: Virgo

Welcome to The Z Files!  I invited a selection of writers and bloggers to show how the characteristics of their star sign influence their work, and asked them to treat the subject as seriously, cynically or lightly as they liked.  Links to all previous posts can be found at the end of this one.

The second Virgo of the series ~ and this one, unlike the last (HERE!), is in no doubt how typical she is of this sign.  Welcome meticulous business systems writer turned fiction author, Elizabeth Ducie.  Okay, Elizabeth, I'll admit it - I've just removed the justification from the right hand margin of your piece.  It's a test.  See how long you can resist emailing me to request rejustification!

"As a scientist and technical author for a long time before I turned to creative writing, I have always dismissed astrology as superstitious nonsense—but I have to admit I am a typical Virgo. I spend far more time than I should working on newsletters, updating websites or formatting anthologies for my writing groups; I prepare detailed ‘To’Do’ lists on an annual, monthly and daily basis—and sometimes, I even stick to them. I find the process of editing to be engaging and can sit for hours trawling through text for stray commas."

"I use correct punctuation in texts. I scream at the TV if someone uses ‘less than’ instead of ‘fewer’ and am far more likely to judge a piece of writing by the accuracy of the apostrophes than the message of the words. My writing is carefully catalogued in duplicate on my laptop, and my desk is generally clean and empty at the end of the day; however, in the rest of my life, I am very untidy, scattering shoes, bags and books all over the house!"

 

★.:*´`*:.☆

As followers of this series will have noticed, I change to 'bold' the phrases, words and sentences which typify the sign of the writer ~ with this one I felt I might as well give up and 'bold' the whole lot!  Even the way it was written is super-Virgo; it's also typical of the sign to be messy around the house, actually.  (Elizabeth, I have four planets in this sign in my natal chart, and am meticulous and ordered in all work, hardly do any housework and use correct punctuation in texts, too).

I must add that Elizabeth is also modest, kind and helpful - other positive traits of the sign :)

 

You can follow Elizabeth on Twitter and have a look at her website, on which you will find her most interesting pieces on the business of writing, and details about her own work, including her short story collections and first full length novel, Gorgito's Ice Rink.

Now, Ms Ducie, here are two more Virgos with whom you might like to discuss the infuriating misuse of semicolons...

As Gorgito's Ice Rink is set in Russia, I've chosen Virgo Leo Tolstoy 

- perhaps he just wrote such long books for the joy of editing them!

...and as you've written so many short stories, 

here's a Virgo who has written a few himself - Roald Dahl :)

Coming next: at last, the first Libra!

Previous Posts (click name to see article):

Leo and Aries: Terry Tyler and Proofreader Julia

Leo: Anne Goodwin, Alex Johnson

Aries: Cynthia Harrison

Gemini: John Privilege, Shelley Wilson

Aquarius and Capricorn: Nicky Black

Aquarius: Cathy Ryan, Lynda Renham

Sagittarius: Wendy J Lennox, Katrina Mountfort

Virgo: Barb Taub

Pisces: Sacha Black

Scorpio: Catherine Hokin, Jenny Twist

Taurus: Valerie Poore

Cancer: Katie Oliver, Mark Barry

 

The Z Files: Barb Taub ~ Virgo

Welcome to The Z Files, in which writers show how the characteristics of their star sign influence their work; contributors were invited to treat the subject as seriously, cynically, or lightly as they liked.  For links to all previous posts, please go to the end of the article.

On my original instructions to the writers, I specified the amount of words required; knowing writers as I do, I thought it best to err on the side of too short, in order to get something about the right length ~ like when you tell your husband you have to be somewhere at 7, so that you've got a chance of getting there for 8; if you say to a writer 'give me 200 words', you get 350-400.  Which was about what I wanted.  My artful plan worked.... until...

 ....Barb Taub

 ...who gave me 537.  In other words, more than twice the amount I asked for.  Look at her, she's laughing at me, isn't she?  Surely she can't be a Virgo at all?  Surely that blatant disregard for the rules (um, it's mean to be about your writing, Barb..), the inability to rein herself in, the verbal diarrhoea, is more like that of a fire sign, or an Aquarius or Gemini?

Let's see what Barb has to say for her Virgo self, shall we?

Virgo ~ it's not all bad...

"I was worried. I'd agreed to take part in Terry Tyler's feature on writers and their star signs, but when I got her list of top traits for Virgos, I realized that my mother must have been off by several months in her recollection of my birth date. Since I have four kids and a sincere and ongoing interest in the process that produced them in the first place, it seemed like a stretch that my sign's symbol would be The Virgin.

I decided to talk it over with someone who knows me well—my daughter. (Chosen because she and the dog were the only ones around, and the dog is a Taurus so she had zoned out and was snoring, all four paws waving gently in the air.)  (Note: my husband is a Taurus, too, Barb; the similarities are amazing!)

 Virgo ~ it's not all good, either...

Me: This says that Virgos can be “nit-picking, critical, and calculating”.

Daughter: You used to send our teacher's notes back with the grammar and spelling mistakes corrected. In red marker.

Me: The list does say “likes to be of service to others”.

Daughter: You sent Ms. B's note back clipped to the help-wanted section of the classifieds, along with a suggestion that she look for a more suitable job.

Me: That was one time. And she didn't know the difference between there, their, and they're. Personally, I'm amazed the woman managed to dress herself.

Daughter: How about the time you told the School Board to get their act together because it was going to be hard for you to find places to hide that many bodies?

Me: You're right. The list does say “doesn't mind repetitive and nitty gritty tasks to get the job done” so I probably should have spent more time researching body disposal.

Daughter: Or when you told the people at the mani-pedi stand not to give you the massage because you don't like people touching you?

Me: Do you think that comes under “modest”?

Daughter: If that's what you call it when you yell, “Don't touch anything but my fingers or toes, you damn perverts.”

Me: Okay, maybe a little bit of it applies. Like the part about how Virgos are dutiful and meticulous.

Daughter: I think the term we're going for here is OCD. Like your thing with schedules. You make us go to airports four hours before flights take off. And remember that first time you took us to Paris? You had an entire binder with itineraries at 5-minute intervals, along with maps, and annotations. There were tabs. Daddy waited until you weren't looking and threw it away. He said it had to be done in the name of international relations.

Me: Sigh. I miss the tabs."

A wanton Virgo, especially for Barb

"So yeah, Terry. I am a Virgo after all. At any given time, I'm worrying about at least fifty separate problems, all but about three of which are completely made up. Being a writer is a form of recycling that lets me use the other forty-seven of them. Fuelled on coffee, I can race through the house, putting every couch pillow and picture frame exactly straight, cook dinner (cleaning up as I go, of course), invent overly-complicated plot sequences, and completely ignore world news because...I'm a Virgo: I just don't have to give a damn."

Yes, Barb, you're a Virgo, and I hope it has amused all readers as much as it did me!  I still think you've got something Sagittarian or Aquarian hidden in there somewhere, though.....

Barb is always worth reading, I love her blog, which is HERE if you would like to read it ~ I suggest this post, If Adam and Eve sent texts, which is one of my favourites and will give you an idea of the laughs to be had within!  Barb also writes urban fantasy; I have read her hilarious book Don't Touch, review HERE.  You follow her on Twitter at your own risk....

Here are your other Virgo writers...  

Another Virgo who writes of fantastical things ~ 
GRR Martin (The Game of Thrones dude, in case anyone doesn't know!)

.....and Stephen King, who I would imagine 

 owns a binder with tabs or two, himself!

Next up: a super-dooper chick lit bestselling Aquarius!!

Previous Posts:
Leo and Aries: Terry Tyler and Julia Proofreader
Leo: Anne Goodwin
Gemini: Shelley Wilson
Aquarius and Capricorn: Nicky Black
Sagittarius: Katrina Mountfort
Cancer: Mark Barry