THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

October 4, 2016Leave a comment

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly are all found in classic fairytales, probably the best example is Beauty and the Beast. The good is Beauty, the bad is the witch who cursed the prince and Beast is the ugly one, though I’ve always loved this tale for its message that what you look like should not be the be all and end all. (A side message is be careful when offending someone who looks harmless as they might not be and turning someone else into a monstrous being is one of their specialities!). How can you use these elements? I have a look at that in this post.

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

I look at rituals and habits in At the End of the Day and ask what do your characters do at the end of their day? Do they follow their own habits or is everyone expected to follow a set routine? (If the latter, you know the world you’ve created is run by a control freak!). How your characters wind down for the night (or day as appropriate) can reveal much about them and how they differ from others in stories.

FACEBOOK PAGE

Today saw one of those lovely moments in the life of a writer: that moment when you open a parcel of books you’ve ordered but your story is in them! My flash fiction piece, Telling the Time, is in The Best of Cafelit 5 (available in print and electronically). The link takes you to the Amazon page. My story is one of my 100 word stories but there’s a lovely mix of very short stories like that and longer ones so there should be something to suit all tastes in short story length!

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The old way of writing a story! Image via Pixabay

Writing the first drafts! Image via Pixabay.

GOING BACK IN TIME

October 3, 2016Leave a comment

One of my heroes, Doctor Who, is of course renowned for this but my posts tonight are on the topic of the past and how this could affect your characters and plot.

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

I talk about a magical education in tonight’s post and how that affects your characters. Are they getting an education now to make up for lost time in their past? What happened to make them need to do this? How does the education they’ve had affect the decisions they’re making now? After all someone who is illiterate would be very dependent on someone else for interpreting any written documents they come across. Can they trust the ones helping them?

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

Going Back is tonight’s post and looks at how revisiting places can affect your characters. I love visiting places of historical interest and always come away from them having learned something new. I also come away with a deeper appreciation I can read and write. This has not always been universal, especially for women. The past has a deep impact on now and at least in terms of general education in the developed world this has been a major improvement. (And yes I wish this was true everywhere).

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I talk about revisiting the past and education again here. This topic came to mind as I reblogged a post (first time ever!) from Tales From the Notepad’s Sunday Sojourn series where their post was about Fotheringay Castle. I would love to visit what remains here given it is the birthplace of Richard III (and I must try and get to Leicester at some point too).

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OTHER NEWS

Have sent off a new fairytale for a writing competition. I’m currently developing a flash fiction tale into a longer piece of work given the initial idea has sparked other ideas. I love that when it happens and of course I can hopefully place the flash fiction piece in one place and the longer work somewhere else should it all work out okay.

Am also currently working my way through some fantastic interview questions put to me by short story author, Jacci Gooding, who I met at Winchester Writers’ Festival. Will post details of when the interview will appear when I know more but am enjoying being on the other side of the fence. I love carrying out writer interviews and indeed reading them, as I always learn something (one of the great joys of writing at all for me), but it has felt a bit odd having questions put to me! It is a very good “odd” though!!

Blogging via diaries and tablets – ancient and modern technology! Image via Pixabay.

Sunday Sojourn – Fotheringhay Castle

October 2, 2016Leave a comment

Loved this piece. Would still like to walk around the place one day.

Jennifer C. Wilson

Hello! This week, I’m your tour guide, for a visit to a place which has plenty of interesting historical links for me, but which I’ve never managed to visit. Don’t get me wrong – I was all set to go. I’d already found a hotel nearby, checked bus routes, confirmed train times and then… Discovered there was nothing there. So, something of a ‘non site’ this week, but never mind – there is a reason. We’re off to Fotheringhay Castle!

800px-fotheringhaycastlenene Fotheringhay Castle: By Smb1001 – Own work, GFDL, from Wikipedia

As you can see, limited opportunities to explore, and not much of a chance to get a sense of the place…

Ownership of the land can be traced back to a gift from William the Conqueror to Judith of Lens, the wife of the Earl of Northumbria, with their daughter and her husband founding the castle around 1100. Through her second…

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WHAT NOT TO DO AT A SOCIAL GATHERING IN A MAGICAL WORLD

October 1, 2016Leave a comment

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

I look at what not to do at a social gathering in a magical world in tonight’s post. This kind of advice is always useful I feel!

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

Having had a family event today where lots of wonderful conversations took place (always a sign of a good event that!), I thought I would write about this topic for tonight’s post. What kind of events are celebrated in your fictional world, especially if you write fantasy and/or science fiction? Are there groups in/on/under your world who are forbidden to talk to one another and does anyone break that taboo? You can see where the Romeo and Juliet plot could come from here but there are other stories to be had from this. Over to you!

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I discuss the joys of being interviewed on my author page tonight! I am currently working my way through some wonderful questions put to me by fellow scribe, Jacci Gooding, and am really enjoying doing this. I love reading and indeed conducting writer interviews. (See Chandler’s Ford Today for some posts where I’ve interviewed local writers, writers known to me through local conferences which is where I met Jacci, and other writers who have become small publishers). Why do I love writer interviews regardless of what side of the fence I am on? I always learn something that either encourages me with my own writing or I pick up tips to help me improve said writing. And that can only be a good thing.

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Working out ideas. Image via Pixabay.

Part of the Reception Area at the Roman Baths, Bath. Image taken by me. Easily the most beautiful place I've ever queued!

AWAY DAYS AND TECHNICAL ISSUES

October 1, 2016Leave a comment

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

In Away Days, I link to my latest Chandler’s Ford Today post (more below), but also ask what magical beings would do and where would they go when they fancied a jolly outing. This post was particularly fun to write and I hope you like it.

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

Aptly, as I have had technical issues tonight sharing my website posts on Facebook (Weebly are looking into it), tonight’s post is on Technical Issues. I focus on what these are for writers – spelling, grammar, presentation of work and so on – and give one or two tips. I like the technical side of writing. While the creative side, that imaginative spark that gets you going with a story or whatever, is obviously more fun, I love having a piece to work with that I know a good edit will improve. (I’ve yet to come across any work of mine that isn’t vastly improved by a darned good edit!).

ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN WRITERS – MORE THAN WRITERS

I write a post for ACW once a month now. For my fellow Christians who are part of this, my latest post (which appeared yesterday) is on The Joy of Hymns and I share some thoughts about my favourites and why I love them. It is generally down to the imagery the words create (much the same would go for poetry in general I should imagine).

Tonight’s theme is the joy of outlining. I also share which Scrivener tools I use to help with this process, which I find particularly helpful for the standard short story. For flash fiction, I give myself one line and the “mood” of the story as the outline and away I go but Scrivener has some useful templates short story writers might find useful. I do anyway.

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Have notebook. Will jot down ideas for how to drop my characters right in it and work out how they get out of it again. Image via Pixabay.