Damn, are we really already in May?! It’s my favourite month consequently, when the weather really has shed the winter bite that still lingers some days in April. We haven’t yet reached the dizzying heights of June and July temperatures and the spring feel remains. We Brits love the spring – we love it so much we effectively celebrate it three times. Arguably, Easter is the start of spring and when Easter falls in late April (as it did this year) that means we have four bank holidays in the space of about five weeks.
Continue reading
fiction writing
More Six Word Stories
Seeing this post reminded me that quite some time ago I wrote a handful of six word stories. Yes, they are exactly what they sound like: stories that have just six words. Here is my previous collection if you want to go back to the depths of August 2011 to see how I fared then! So, the challenge has come up again. Let’s see what I can manage this time.
Snippet Sunday 27/4/14
Following on from yesterday’s post about inspiring places, and the parts of the country that I really adore, I’ve decided to write a short snippet about Exmoor and what it means to me – from the perspective of one of its inhabitants.
I lift, lift, lift far above Bossington Beach.
Deserted as it is, I hear not the cries of children here as I do at Minehead with its golden sand. Here there is only a rattle of water drawing off pebbles and the calls of the other gulls circling the quiet headland. Continue reading
Snippet Sunday 20/4/14
I’ve not done much fiction writing the last few weeks and I don’t really want to post any more of my novel in progress unless I end up giving too much away. So for the next few weeks I am going to write some flash fiction, a set of spin offs to one of my works in progress. If I like playing around with this idea, I may very well work them into the novel. Continue reading
Snippet Sunday 13/4/14
Obsession is the theme of today’s postaday and it’s apt for the snippet I want to post today. Obsession can drive us to experience some powerful emotions and often there is no greater obsession than what the heart wants and cannot have. I’m sure most if not all of us have been there at some stage in our lives. My character Valens whom so far I have portrayed as lovable rogue, womaniser and playboy has an obsession – and it is going to surprise you. Continue reading
Snippet Sunday 6/4/14
I came to the internet in 1999 and one of the biggest fiction writing sites back then was fanfiction.net. I’ve just visited and surprised to see that it is still going – even if its format hasn’t changed in some 15 years or more. I always had a problem with writing fan fic, I always preferred exploring the limits of my own imagination without being bound by somebody else’s rules. I understand that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I did try it – it just wasn’t for me. I produced three works of fan fic and this one was my favourite. Continue reading
Take a Look out the Window…
Writing descriptively isn’t just about merely describing what you see around you. Anybody can look out of a window, or a door and describe the surroundings but that is rarely very exciting. As writers we are obsessed with visual imagery and effectively conveying what we are seeing. Readers demand it and we use description to test the boundaries of our craft. Continue reading
Snippet Sunday 30/3/14
It’s Mothering Sunday today and as I thought a few days ago about parents in my fiction, I realise how many of my characters are childless. There are a few exceptions though, probably not enough, and my favourite interaction is between a minor villain and his mother from Dieu et Mon Droit. Gervaise is a 19 year old boy recently elevated to the throne of France. He is sly but easily-manipulated, has bravado that will become his downfall and has a very high opinion of himself. It is down to his mother to attempt to make him see sense. This is my favourite interaction. Continue reading
My Favourite Plot Devices: Foreshadowing
Some of the paid work I do has given me some interesting inspiration for this here blog. One of these was examples of foreshadowing in fiction. What is foreshadowing?
Wikipedia defines it as:
a literary device by which an author explains certain plot developments that may come later in the story. It is used to arouse and mentally prepare the reader or listener for how the story will proceed and unfold.
Snippet Sunday 23/3/14
I’ve decided I want to write a Christmas story for children this year, perhaps even a novelette if I can get enough distance out of what I have in mind. I have one specific idea associated with Christmas that I want to write about and already have a fair idea of what will happen and how it is going to end. I’ve written nothing of it yet so I’m using this snippet to begin that story. The following snippet is the literary equivalent of improv… unedited and presented as is. Continue reading