Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today
My latest CFT post is an alliterative one! As Autumn Approaches is a reflective look at the season, I share some thoughts about how the season is for writers.
I also discuss the importance of taking time out to look back, as my church has recently done for its 200th anniversary, but equally how vital it is to move on from periods of reflection, given what stays static dies eventually.
My CFT post this week is a reflective one on autumn. I share what I like about it, why it is an interesting season for writers, and also discuss my church’s recent exhibition to celebrate its 200th anniversary where we took stock of our history and recalled friends past, present, and no longer with us. Oral storytelling and local history are so important.
Facebook – General – and Association of Christian Writers’ More than Writers – The Highs and the Lows
Many thanks to all who commented on my More Than Writers blog earlier. You really can’t underestimate how much persistence, determination, and ability to work hard you will need as a writer. The great comfort is ups and downs are a normal part of the writing life so you’re definitely not alone here.
The Highs and the Lows – Allison Symes
What would you say were the writing highs?
Your first piece of writing (aka “the I did it” moment!)?
Your first publication credit (the “family start to take you seriously” moment!)?
Your first book acceptance (the “some of the rest of the world start to take you seriously” moment!)? Sadly, it always is some of the rest of the world…
What would you say were your writing lows?
That first rejection?
Having your novel come back for the umpteenth time?
Countless short stories turned down?
The great irony, of course, is, with the right spirit and attitude, a writer can use those rejections and set backs to (a) fill them with determination to keep going, (b) to improve on what they do so the turn downs don’t arrive so often as they once did, and (c) recognise all writers go through this.
There are no shortcuts to publication. Also, even when published, the learning curve goes on and you have to be open to it. The writer that doesn’t learn is the one who remains static. What is static dies, eventually.
So then it is a question of relishing the highs and getting through the lows, which is where the support of understanding writing friends is crucial. One of the things I love about social media is the fact it makes it easier to stay in contact with said writing friends, especially when you can only meet up face to face once or twice a year.Writing forums such as the one we have on the ACW website are also useful for this kind of contact (and for sharing helpful advice and tips too). Going to a good writing conference is invaluable too given that for most of the year we are at our desks, working alone.
Peter, of course, literally had his mountain top experience but his low was clearly his denial of Christ. (What I love about Peter’s story is his redemption – it offers hope for us all). So this pattern of highs and lows then is a reflection of life as it is lived and not just the writing life.
Our characters must have their highs and lows. Without them, there is no conflict yet alone a story. The highs and lows are not just the story events but what is in those characters. No villain should be all evil (there must be a decent reason for them acting the way they are, decent to them at least). No hero should be a goody two shoes. Much as I loved Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, I found it easier to identify with Amy or Jo rather than the saintly Beth. Identifying with your characters is the goal. The moment a reader does that, the more likely it is they will read on and find out what happens.
Show the flaws. Show the vulnerabilities. Show the things the character does well. Enjoy the process. And good luck.
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
Don’t forget if you subscribe to Writing Magazine, you can put your book on their Subscribers’ Showcase. It’s free for a while but after that you pay a small amount per month to have it on there. My own plans later, once hopefully I have more books out, is to switch which ones I put up there to keep things fresh.
n a novel, you would have the space for different moods. Moods in the story itself. Moods of the characters. In flash fiction, you have to focus on one mood (and often on one character). But the advantage of putting a collection together is over the space of the entire book, you can have a range of moods and therefore of stories.
This was one aspect of putting From Light to Dark and Back Again together that I really enjoyed. Themes and moods became apparent and it was so easy to group these together.
Time for some more one-line stories, though one I admit is also useful wildlife advice!
1. The dragon, determined not to be fobbed off with false gold coinage, destroyed the Royal Mint with two blasts of flame.
2. Glass slippers, how the hell did that happen, thought the fairy godmother as she hung up her wand in disgust.
3. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog only to find the canine could bite in places no male animal would ever wish bitten.
4. When the red, red robin comes bob bob bobbing along, it’s looking for food in the winter months, not the chance to be the star of a song.
5. The girl in the red hooded coat took one look at the Big Bad Wolf in her granny’s bed and said, “That gingham really doesn’t suit you, try silk next time.”
Any story, no matter what its length, should create an impact on a reader, whether it is to make them laugh or cry. I concede though No. 3 will probably make a few of you wince!
Goodreads Author Programme – Blog – Where Do You Turn First?
So you have limited time to read (it is ever so!) and you can choose between reading one hardback, one paperback, or pick one option from your Kindle? Which would you automatically plump for over the others?
I’d go for the paperback every time (partly because while I have some hardbacks, my paperback collection is far greater). There is still the element of the “go for the real book” here, much as I love the Kindle.
Where the Kindle does come into its own is when I’m away anywhere and the last thing I want to do is lug a lot of books along with me (unless they’re by me and I’m trying to sell them of course!).
The other reason I’d go for the paperback first is I’d want the experience of the “whole book”. You can’t smell a Kindle’s “pages” but you can do it with a paper book – and I have and will continue to do so.
I do like the smell of a book. I like the look of a well designed cover. I like the feel of a paperback in my hands. So there is the whole tactile experience going on here.
I do know I’m not the only reader/writer to feel that way so if I’m weird, I know I’ve got company. Very well read company, I should add!
So what would you pick then and why? Comments welcome.
Fairytales with Bite – Fairytales A to Z Part 4
J = Jealousy. Such a powerful emotion and an excellent trait to exploit in your characters given it is understandable as a motivation for action. People do strange things, motivated by this, in real life. Your characters can do so too in fiction. You don’t have to like jealousy as a trait or the character to be able to identify with where the character is coming from here. It can also act as a kind of shorthand. If you say someone is the jealous type, it conjures up an immediate image of what that person is likely to be like, doesn’t it?
K = Killer Instinct. Do your characters have this? Do you?! Firstly your characters, particularly your villains, need this (and often in the literal sense), but even the “goodies” need this to keep them going in the face of opposition etc. They need to know when to “go” for a course of action and it will be their instinct here that will ignite the spark which drives them on. As for you as a writer, do you have the killer instinct when it comes to editing your work? Will you take out anything that is really not working (and be open to the idea it isn’t)? You need to learn to be ruthless about taking out anything that is not pushing your story on. The “kill your darlings” expression has a lot of truth behind it.
L = Learning and Laughter. Do your characters learn from their mistakes? A good story and great characters will have that as a major factor. Some of my favourite series novels have shown the lead character developing over time and I love that. It makes the character far more real to me. As for laughter, even in darker stories, there can be room for this. In the classic fairytales, for me, the Emperor’s New Clothes is a great example of laughing at those who supposedly are superior but are taken in by conmen (and you do have to hand it to those tailors for sheer nerve). So where can laughter fit into your stories?
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- Gorgeous covers. Image via Pexels.
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- Always good advice. Image via Pixabay.
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- Let the words flow! Image via Pixabay.
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- Great characters = great books. Image via Pixabay.
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- Writing is rewriting. Image via Pixabay.
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- Social media has made the world a smaller place. Image via Pixabay.
This World and Others – Reflections
Reflection is a major theme of my latest Chandler’s Ford Today post called As Autumn Approaches. (Well, this is true for the UK and Europe anyway!).
What would make your characters reflect on their actions to date/their attitudes to life? Being made to confront the consequences of what you are doing would be one major reason to take time out to reflect, especially if there was time to reverse matters or limit any damage done. Love, as they say, changes everything and can be a major influence in making people change their behaviour (usually for the better, but this isn’t always the case).
Sometimes a character will take time out to reflect before heading out on their adventure/quest etc. What is interesting here is how that period of reflection influences what the character then does. If your characters do this, how do they reflect? On their own or do they have a mentor? Do they look up books (especially history) to find out how others in their world’s past handled certain situations? If the characters themselves will be setting a precedent, are there general guidelines to give them pointers as to what they should be doing?
Last but not least, are the characters themselves willing to learn from the reflections of others?
Allison Symes: Collected Works 