Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison SymeS, as was one scottish photo – spot the dog!
Hope you have had a good weekend. Had a lovely week on the north-east coast of Scotland last week. Now back to normal routines though Lady is pleased to be seeing her pals again.
Facebook – General
Apologies this is a day later but I’m now delighted to share my latest Authors Electric post on A Change of Scene (and yes I’m talking about the same topic for Chandler’s Ford Today this week too. There is plenty of think about on this one!).
For Authors Electric, I look at how our characters would have the change of scene which would do them good and act as a pivotal story point. I also look at whether such changes of scene need to be “dramatic” or not.
Hope you enjoy the post and find it useful.
Hope you’ve had a good start to your week. Lady was especially pleased to see her Hungarian Vizler chum and Coco, the lovely Labradoodle, for the first time in ten days or so. Great time had by all.
Pleased to share my latest story on Substack. Hope you enjoy I Wish. It also ties in with my YouTube story for this week. See further down. Both come in at the 50 word mark. Pleased to get back to the good old dribble writing again.
Have spent the last week on the fantastic north-east coast of Scotland, enjoying the breathtaking scene and the bracing air! Now it’s time to get back to “normal” though Lady was pleased to see one of our other regulars, the wonderful Stately Stanley, over at the park today.
Writing wise, I’ll be sharing A Change of Scene for Chandler’s Ford Today next week and will focus on how we handle changes of scene for our characters. More to come on Friday. After that, there will be a super interview with Esther Chilton about her latest children’s book, Myths and Magic, so plenty to look forward to on CFT.
Shortly, I’ll be cracking on with flash fiction Sunday. Later in the week I’ll have editing to return to and a PowerPoint to finish off. It’s just as well I like to be busy!
Hope your weekend has got off to a good start. Am on way home after a wonderful break in the north-east of Scotland. Seeing plenty of snow on the Cairngorms as we drive through the national park. Very impressive.
Writing wise, I’ll be back to my usual writing routine from tomorrow though it has been lovely doing some writing while away. Well, when you’re writing with views of mountains around you, it is a great encouragement to write. The creativity of the natural world can and does inspire writing.
I suspect some of the fantastic scenery I’ve seen this week will end up in my stories as settings.
Photos can make wonderful story prompts.
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
Hope the day has gone well. Lady caught up with her Hungarian Vizler pal again today and a nice time was had by both. I enjoyed resuming my swimming today though must admit it was hard work!
Writing wise, I’ll be working on presentations, blogs and editing for the rest of this week, which I’m looking forward to doing. Always pays to enjoy your work, generally and most of the time at least.
Also hope to book my train tickets for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick soon. I’ve found it pays to book ahead and have saved money doing that but it also means one of my favourite events of the year is getting nearer. That is always a cheerful thought, especially this year when I have my Seeing The Other Side with me too.
It’s Monday. Why is it the first Monday back after a holiday is even more hectic than normal? Oh well, it’s time to unwind with a story then.
Hope you like my latest on YouTube – Working Things Out. This ties in with my Substack story this week – I Wish. Both come in at 50 words. I like to mix up my word counts every now and then and writing to a specific word count is a great writing exercise.
Flash fiction is also good for those short moments which are a complete story in and of themselves but which could not be expanded into a standard length short story. Indeed, it is a great writing exercise to practice writing to 50, 100, 250 words etc because the art of flash fiction is to write what has to be written in as few words as possible.
This is why it helps you improve your editing skills because you learn to go for better turns of phrase, cut out repetitions (unless you’re using it for effect but then you’re doing this knowingly), and to kill most of those wretched adverbs.
Incidentally there are always exceptions to any writing rule but for adverbs, so often you could express something without using them so why not do so and save on the word count?
Flash fiction focuses on important moments in a character’s life but what is important varies from character to character. What matters is readers can see why the moment matters.
The lovely thing with flash is those moments can be funny, sad, or what have you. I love mixing up the moods of the tales I write but then I think fiction reflects all aspects of life.
Having said that, I especially love writing the lighter stories. Life is grim enough as it is and fiction can do much to give some much needed escapism.
Goodreads Author Blog – Light Reading
I love lighter reads. They bring much needed cheer and provide escapism. For me, lighter reads include Jane Austen. I love the thought of some of the classic novels being light reads too.
What a light read isn’t is a simple read. There are plenty of depths to Pride and Prejudice, for example. A light read, for me, is an easy read with plenty going on and which keeps you gripped to the end, but it should also make you smile.
The fiction world does need the darker books but I would like to see the “seesaw” going in favour of the lighter reads. I’ve never liked lighter/genre books being looked down for not being “worthy” enough.
Entertainment is just as valid a reason to read as anything else, after all.
