{"id":765,"date":"2015-04-30T07:14:37","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T07:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=765"},"modified":"2019-01-24T13:10:33","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T13:10:33","slug":"mst-alumna-bette-adriaanse-on-writing-the-course-and-getting-published","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=765","title":{"rendered":"MSt alumna Bette Adriaanse on writing, the course and getting published"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bette Adriaanse on writing, the course and getting published<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the second year of the Master in Creative Writing, I started writing what would become my first novel, Rus Like Everyone Else<\/em>. There was no plan, I only had a few characters that had slowly emerged from my experience living in Amsterdam and London. Those characters had been wandering around inside my head for a while and their stories seemed to be connected somehow. There was a lonely secretary waiting for her life to start, an elderly man with agoraphobia, a granny with a soap-opera addiction, a young immigrant trying to make it, and Rus, a young man who had to start taking part in society after living the first twenty five years of his life under the radar.<\/p>\n

I was living on a small farm in Devon when I began writing the novel, where I helped with the horses in the morning and tuned into the city-life of my characters in the afternoon. At first I was worried that being in the countryside I would only get ideas for stories about fields and horses, but the distance to my everyday life gave me the space to fantasize and create a fictional city.
\n
\nTrying to sell the book was a story in itself. The first rejection I received was charmingly addressed to \u2018Dear Adrian\u2019, which is a good indication of how important you are as a new writer to people who receive hundreds of manuscripts a week.<\/p>\n

The help I got from people I knew from the course made a big difference: tutors offered advice and encouragement, fellow-students were willing to proofread the novel, edit my cover letter and recommend my book. We celebrated small milestones, like readings, good reviews, publications in literary magazines, and eventually the big ones, finding a great agent, and now, a brilliant publisher.<\/p>\n

Rus Like Everyone Else<\/em> will be published by Unnamed Press in December 2015 .\"Rus\"<\/a>http:\/\/www.unnamedpress.com\/books\/book?title=Rus+Like+Everyone+Else <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bette Adriaanse on writing, the course and getting published In the second year of the Master in Creative Writing, I started writing what would become my first novel, Rus Like Everyone Else. There was no plan, I only had a few characters that had slowly emerged from my experience living in Amsterdam and London. Those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15,4,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni_news","category-publications","category-tutor_news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p40Qhf-cl","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":929,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=929","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":0},"title":"MSt alumna Bette Adriaanse interviewed in Structo Magazine","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"December 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Structo Magazine's interview with MSt alumna Bette Adriaanse about her novel Rus Like Everyone Else is now available online. Rus and the writing of Bette Adriaanse","rel":"","context":"In "Alumni News"","block_context":{"text":"Alumni News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/structomagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/BetteAdriaanse-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1831,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=1831","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":1},"title":"MSt alumna Bette Adriaanse nominated for biennial Victorie Fonds Cultuur Prize","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"July 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt alumna Bette Adriaanse has been nominated for the Netherland's biennial Victorie Fonds Cultuur Prize in the category Writing. 'Her imaginative and mysterious prose immediately intrigued the jury.' https:\/\/www.victoriefondscultuurprijs.nl","rel":"","context":"In "Alumni News"","block_context":{"text":"Alumni News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2020-07-10-at-10.10.11.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2020-07-10-at-10.10.11.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2020-07-10-at-10.10.11.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2020-07-10-at-10.10.11.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2020-07-10-at-10.10.11.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":935,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=935","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":2},"title":"MSt alumna Bette Adriaanse to tour US cities with her novel","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"December 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"With the support of Dutch Culture USA and her publisher, Unnamed Press, MSt alumna Bette Adriaanse is to tour several US cities.","rel":"","context":"In "Alumni News"","block_context":{"text":"Alumni News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 18.22.41","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Screen-Shot-2015-12-02-at-18.22.41-178x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":620,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=620","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":3},"title":"MSt alumni reading by Bette Adriaanse, James Benmore and Jeremy Hughes, Albion Beatnik Bookshop, 15 Dec 2013","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"November 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt alumni Bette Adriaanse, James Benmore and Jeremy Hughes will be reading from their latest and forthcoming novels. 5pm - 7pm, Sunday 15 December, the Albion Beatnik Bookstore, Oxford.","rel":"","context":"In "Alumni News"","block_context":{"text":"Alumni News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2209,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=2209","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":4},"title":"MSt alum Bette Adriaanse\u2019s new novel, What\u2019s Mine, is coming out with US publisher Unnamed Press this August.","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"August 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt alum Bette Adriaanse\u2019s new novel, What\u2019s Mine, is coming out with US publisher Unnamed Press this August. \u00a0 There will be several launch events, as follows: AUGUST 15, 6PM UK time, ONLINE: Bette joins Caoilinn in Conversation for Chicago bookstore Exile in Bookville. Details: https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/caoilinn-in-conversation-with-bette-adriaanse-tickets-686659987507?aff=oddtdtcreator AUGUST 16, 7PM, LOS\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Alumni News"","block_context":{"text":"Alumni News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Whatsmine-197x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2242,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=2242","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":5},"title":"Bette Adriaanse’s new collaboration with Brian Eno published by Faber","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"January 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt alumnus Bette Adriaanse has co-written the newly published What Arts Does with Brian Eno. What Art Does is a chance to understand how art is made by all of us. How it creates communities, opens our worlds, and can transform us. You can get your copy here.","rel":"","context":"In "Alumni News"","block_context":{"text":"Alumni News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"9780571395514","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.faber.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/9780571395514-474x690.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=765"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":768,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions\/768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}