Granny Rainbow - although published under the name of Panda Eyes - was essentially a self-published book; I paid for everything except the ISBN number.
Which is fine.
I was willing to invest the money, see where it took me and my little book. I knew it would be a long time until I sold enough copies to break even. Assuming, of course, I could even sell enough to break even.
And then came More Granny Rainbow. Published in the same way, with my own spondoolies, but less attractive it seemed to the reader as sales of this book didn't go as well as the first. Add the two sets of costs together and it would take me even longer to break even...
The other day I was doing my 'author accounts', ready to see how much I'd earned from author talks and the like to disclose to the tax man.
And - incredibly - I discovered that I have sold enough copies of both Granny Rainbow books to cover all their costs. It's taken three years, but I have finally broken even. Hooray!
Having said that, it was never about the money...I published Granny Rainbow simply to see whether my stories would be enjoyed by young readers, and they are. Making a little bit of money on them is nice, but it wasn't why I decided to write.
Reading is important. If I can, through my books, encourage even one reluctant reader to discover the joy of burying themselves in a book - be it fiction or non-fiction - then I consider myself to be one of the richest authors alive.
So hooray! for breaking even, but hooray times ten! if my writing opened a door that would've remained closed otherwise.
Showing posts with label Random Writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Random Writers. Show all posts
Wednesday, 15 February 2017
Friday, 7 October 2016
Monsters and mermaids
I'm proud to belong to the Random Writers. And immensely proud of the stories I've had published in the first two Random Writers anthologies - A Seeming Glass and Something Rich and Strange - The Past is Prologue.
When the third anthology was announced earlier this year, my heart leapt. Then it sank a bit. What the heck was a cryptid? And I'd never heard of some of the mythical beasts that were suggested as potential story material... Never one to resist a challenge, I did some research to find a creature I could write about.
I quite fancied mermaids...and discovered the Inuit legend of Sedna, which is told throughout the Arctic. She is the goddess of the sea and lives on the bottom of the ocean, appearing with the top half of a woman and the tail of a fish.
I started to write a story based around Sedna. However, in spite of best laid plans, life interfered - big time. I knew I wouldn't be able to do the story justice before the deadline and reluctantly decided not to offer anything.
Whilst I was disappointed - very disappointed - not to be included this time, I did have the honour of proofreading the dozen short stories in the finished book.
In it, there were cryptids and monsters and mythical beasts galore, all wrapped in the kind of wonderful wordiness that the Randoms seem to be able to generate with ease. The kind of wonderful wordiness that makes me wish I could write that way. There were times, during my reading, that I forgot to check the n-dashes and spellings, so carried away was I by the standard and beauty and poeticness (I don't think that's a real word, but you know what I mean!) of the writing. There were stories that unsettled, that made me begin to wonder exactly who - or what - the monster really is. And, most worryingly, could it actually be me?
Today, the Randoms are having a Book Blast because Stalking Leviathan - A Bestiary of Tales was published last week, and I'm doing my bit to encourage as many people as possible to buy and read it.
It's worth the investment, I promise. And fingers crossed, there'll be a fourth anthology sometime...and life might give me the chance to be in it.
Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Stalking Leviathan
Behold! The amazing cover of the soon-to-be-published third anthology from The Random Writers!
If you like mythical beasties, you're going to love this one; twelve tales that go in search of creatures of myth, legend and the spaces between the real and imagined. From the overwhelming confusion of the Irish Civil War to the eerie expanse of modern day Bodmin Moor; from Elizabethan England to the skies above Persia, the Random Writers quest for an answer to the question - What is the nature of the beast?
Unfortunately, I don't have a story in this anthology - it's been such a busy year, I simply didn't feel I had the time to do it justice - but I have proofread the anthology and it is stunning. I wish I could write even half as poetically as some of the guys whose stories ARE in here.
Stalking Leviathan, a Bestiary of Tales is due for publication at the end of this month.
Friday, 13 May 2016
Three little words...and none of them 'I Love You'
Wednesday last was NIBS: the Nanpantan Improving Body of Scribblers. We meet monthly, and our theme this month was 'Three Little Words.'
If I'm honest, I was a little fearful for this meeting. I've not been writing much lately, being uninspired and a bit parched on the word front. I couldn't be sure I'd be able to write anything at all...but I did, thank goodness.
We started off with three words, pulled at random from a random word generator. Combinations included 'defeat, necklace, lion' and 'confidence, rabbit, clown'. The idea was, we'd spend ten minutes pulling out new combos from the pile of paper slips and write a sentence to include all three words. Then we chose our favourite to share with the rest of the group (random words in bold);
The eagle's flight resembled a dance, choreographed to the phone's ring tone.
The wolf that had somehow found itself in the tower of evil was howling.
When I go to the dance at the Liberty Club on Wednesday, I always have to make sure I've have enough money to phone home and enough for a pint of Eagle gin with a cherry in.
Frustrated at the anger shown by the visitors to the planet, her shoes clipped briskly down the corridor.
There were many people killed and in pain when the train collided with the lighthouse that had inexplicably appeared on the track.
The third bunch of grapes down on the left hand side of the fireplace is thought by the castle's servants to bring them luck if they touch it.
Next step was to pick one of those sentences - not your own - and write a short piece using it. Well. As a result of that, we were introduced to the lovely ladies who drink at the Liberty Club on a Wednesday night (fabulous character sketches); a sci-fi birthday gift that hadn't been planned (His Pompous Ass, the Pompadour, did not expect THAT!); Malevolence, who actually never got round to including the two sentences the author wanted to use, but it was a flippin' atmospheric build up(!); a beautiful poem about an eagle's flight by a member of our group with a gift for poetry, and a poor wolf, trapped after an earthquake in a theme park called Armageddon...
The group found it quite hard to take someone else's sentence, because as one person pointed out "when you write your own sentence, you have a picture in your head of what the story looks like. All of a sudden, you have to build on someone elses's." Nevertheless, everyone rose to the challenge.
I took the eagle sentence as my inspiration. Here's what I wrote:
The eagle's flight resembled a dance, choreographed to the phone's ring tone. I ignored the caller, letting the notes of Fleetwood Mac's Albatross accompany its darker coloured Highland cousin as the bird soared above me. I shaded my eyes against the glare, following the silhouette. Dark against a cloudless sky, wings stretched wide to catch the warm and lift the eagle higher and higher, turning in wide circles until the dot became too small to see and the phone fell silent, the caller no doubt frustrated by my lack of response.
Oh, for a wind to take me to higher things, to move me on. Instead I'm grounded, stuck where I don't want to be.
I glance at the phone. Missed call. Matt's number.
The eagle calls - once - from the lofty heights and suddenly I know, deep in my heart, that I've made my decision and I feel lighter than I have for months, years maybe.
I'm leaving him.
The next part of the evening took a different list of three little words, which, when put together in a specific order, gave a possible title. Now if you try this yourself, then be prepared for some combinations to work better than others - only choose the ones that give you something real, however wacky that reality may be. And be prepared to add 'A' or 'The' to fill it out.
We had a laugh over some of them, even more so when the pieces were written. There was the poignant tale of a family reunion: The Last Apple Alliance. The conversation of night time insects on a balmy summer evening Lantern Light Conversation. An end of term show and a beach paradise with singing trees, both featuring the Dazzling Humming Bananas, and then there was Gwendoline's Magnificent Momentary Revolt.
Now the author of that piece deserves special mention. She's a lady whose writing often tends towards the darkly humourous, and it has become a standing joke that someone always gets killed off in her writing. We said that perhaps we ought to have a night where we challenge ourselves to write in a genre we didn't usually attempt - in this author's case, it would have to be romance. She took us at our word, and Lady Chatterley had nothing on Gwendoline, watching the gardener wipe beads of sweat from his brow...admiring his manly chest covered in fine hair...and enjoying the sight of him clenching his...biceps (yes, we all thought it was going to be something else beginning with 'b'!) etc, etc, etc. You had to be there, really, to appreciate it, but I was crying with laughter by the end.
(The author has sworn never to attempt romance again!)
I managed to bring the mood down after that with my offering of The Sacred Tooth Ceremony...
Oh my son, do not go to the Picking, I beg you! You have a paltry three hands of summers, when there are others who have five six - even ten! Do not follow them to the cave where the Red-Handed Man resides, for if you do, you will have to Pick.
Oh, my son, I know you are tall and strong and have worked hard since your father passed into the realm of darkness, but there is no reason for you to follow him, not yet!
Of course the Picking won't kill you - but what comes after will! Oh, my son, if only your father were here to explain, it breaks my heart that I must...
If you are Picked...if you select the burnt crust from the basket of bread...then the Red-Handed Man will pull every tooth from your head to offer to the Old Ones so they can eat again.
What do they eat? Oh, my son...they eat the flesh of the one who was Picked.
It was great to get the wordy juices flowing again. It just goes to show how something simple can spark an idea and get the bones of a little bit of a story fleshed out. Actually, I have a little mermaidy project that I've been struggling with, ready to submit for a third Random Writers Anthology. I think I'm ready to tackle it again.
Right, where's my pen? Catch you later, Scribblers! I'm off to write...
If I'm honest, I was a little fearful for this meeting. I've not been writing much lately, being uninspired and a bit parched on the word front. I couldn't be sure I'd be able to write anything at all...but I did, thank goodness.
We started off with three words, pulled at random from a random word generator. Combinations included 'defeat, necklace, lion' and 'confidence, rabbit, clown'. The idea was, we'd spend ten minutes pulling out new combos from the pile of paper slips and write a sentence to include all three words. Then we chose our favourite to share with the rest of the group (random words in bold);
The eagle's flight resembled a dance, choreographed to the phone's ring tone.
The wolf that had somehow found itself in the tower of evil was howling.
When I go to the dance at the Liberty Club on Wednesday, I always have to make sure I've have enough money to phone home and enough for a pint of Eagle gin with a cherry in.
Frustrated at the anger shown by the visitors to the planet, her shoes clipped briskly down the corridor.
There were many people killed and in pain when the train collided with the lighthouse that had inexplicably appeared on the track.
The third bunch of grapes down on the left hand side of the fireplace is thought by the castle's servants to bring them luck if they touch it.
Next step was to pick one of those sentences - not your own - and write a short piece using it. Well. As a result of that, we were introduced to the lovely ladies who drink at the Liberty Club on a Wednesday night (fabulous character sketches); a sci-fi birthday gift that hadn't been planned (His Pompous Ass, the Pompadour, did not expect THAT!); Malevolence, who actually never got round to including the two sentences the author wanted to use, but it was a flippin' atmospheric build up(!); a beautiful poem about an eagle's flight by a member of our group with a gift for poetry, and a poor wolf, trapped after an earthquake in a theme park called Armageddon...
The group found it quite hard to take someone else's sentence, because as one person pointed out "when you write your own sentence, you have a picture in your head of what the story looks like. All of a sudden, you have to build on someone elses's." Nevertheless, everyone rose to the challenge.
I took the eagle sentence as my inspiration. Here's what I wrote:
The eagle's flight resembled a dance, choreographed to the phone's ring tone. I ignored the caller, letting the notes of Fleetwood Mac's Albatross accompany its darker coloured Highland cousin as the bird soared above me. I shaded my eyes against the glare, following the silhouette. Dark against a cloudless sky, wings stretched wide to catch the warm and lift the eagle higher and higher, turning in wide circles until the dot became too small to see and the phone fell silent, the caller no doubt frustrated by my lack of response.
Oh, for a wind to take me to higher things, to move me on. Instead I'm grounded, stuck where I don't want to be.
I glance at the phone. Missed call. Matt's number.
The eagle calls - once - from the lofty heights and suddenly I know, deep in my heart, that I've made my decision and I feel lighter than I have for months, years maybe.
I'm leaving him.
The next part of the evening took a different list of three little words, which, when put together in a specific order, gave a possible title. Now if you try this yourself, then be prepared for some combinations to work better than others - only choose the ones that give you something real, however wacky that reality may be. And be prepared to add 'A' or 'The' to fill it out.
We had a laugh over some of them, even more so when the pieces were written. There was the poignant tale of a family reunion: The Last Apple Alliance. The conversation of night time insects on a balmy summer evening Lantern Light Conversation. An end of term show and a beach paradise with singing trees, both featuring the Dazzling Humming Bananas, and then there was Gwendoline's Magnificent Momentary Revolt.
Now the author of that piece deserves special mention. She's a lady whose writing often tends towards the darkly humourous, and it has become a standing joke that someone always gets killed off in her writing. We said that perhaps we ought to have a night where we challenge ourselves to write in a genre we didn't usually attempt - in this author's case, it would have to be romance. She took us at our word, and Lady Chatterley had nothing on Gwendoline, watching the gardener wipe beads of sweat from his brow...admiring his manly chest covered in fine hair...and enjoying the sight of him clenching his...biceps (yes, we all thought it was going to be something else beginning with 'b'!) etc, etc, etc. You had to be there, really, to appreciate it, but I was crying with laughter by the end.
(The author has sworn never to attempt romance again!)
I managed to bring the mood down after that with my offering of The Sacred Tooth Ceremony...
Oh my son, do not go to the Picking, I beg you! You have a paltry three hands of summers, when there are others who have five six - even ten! Do not follow them to the cave where the Red-Handed Man resides, for if you do, you will have to Pick.
Oh, my son, I know you are tall and strong and have worked hard since your father passed into the realm of darkness, but there is no reason for you to follow him, not yet!
Of course the Picking won't kill you - but what comes after will! Oh, my son, if only your father were here to explain, it breaks my heart that I must...
If you are Picked...if you select the burnt crust from the basket of bread...then the Red-Handed Man will pull every tooth from your head to offer to the Old Ones so they can eat again.
What do they eat? Oh, my son...they eat the flesh of the one who was Picked.
It was great to get the wordy juices flowing again. It just goes to show how something simple can spark an idea and get the bones of a little bit of a story fleshed out. Actually, I have a little mermaidy project that I've been struggling with, ready to submit for a third Random Writers Anthology. I think I'm ready to tackle it again.
Right, where's my pen? Catch you later, Scribblers! I'm off to write...
Thursday, 21 January 2016
A little piece of flash - The letter
Today, I'm cheating a bit here, because The Letter is being published over on the Randoms' website, not here on the Scribbles, to help promote our latest anthology: Something Rich and Strange.
It's a prequel or scene setter, I suppose, for the events you'll read about in my anthology story - Gold - which combines what might have happened after Ali Baba discovered his fortune around the time of the Gold Rush with legends of American Indian gold mines...
Enjoy.
Tuesday, 12 January 2016
A new anthology
Just before Christmas, Something Rich and Strange was published, the second anthology from the Random Writers.
It's been well received so far - there are some stunning stories, written by both published and unpublished (as yet. Watch this space) authors. To raise awareness of the anthology, the Randoms have written short pieces of flash or blogs, which will appear on the website over the next few weeks.
My own flash, The Letter, is a kind of scene setter for the events you'll read about in Gold, my contribution to the anthology. It'll be posted up on the Randoms' website on the 21st January, but there will be other juicy morsels before and after. Today, you can read a fascinating encounter with wolves by L Wilson for example. I'll make sure a reminder pops up here during my absence...
It's been well received so far - there are some stunning stories, written by both published and unpublished (as yet. Watch this space) authors. To raise awareness of the anthology, the Randoms have written short pieces of flash or blogs, which will appear on the website over the next few weeks.
My own flash, The Letter, is a kind of scene setter for the events you'll read about in Gold, my contribution to the anthology. It'll be posted up on the Randoms' website on the 21st January, but there will be other juicy morsels before and after. Today, you can read a fascinating encounter with wolves by L Wilson for example. I'll make sure a reminder pops up here during my absence...
Tuesday, 17 November 2015
A bit quiet on the blogging front
I'm still here. *waves at readers*
I've not been blogging much over the last few weeks, I know...but there doesn't seem to be much to write about.
Actually, there's plenty; NIBS had a thought provoking meeting on the theme of November (who knew that we packed so much into this month?) plans for the India trip are ongoing (visa arrived last week, yay!), house feels more settled after the building work (still letting the dust settle - literally), proof reading Something Rich and Strange (to be published by the Random Writers later this month, a little later than intended, but life happens to the best laid plans...) and Christmas services and events are coming together for church.
But I've not felt the urge to write about any of it.
I have a theory; I'm focussing so much on Kingstone edits at the moment, it's using up all of my writing energy.
Sounds daft, doesn't it? But I'm getting through a chapter or two of Kingstone a day and I'm loathe to break off from it while I'm on a roll. I want to get it done, want to get a complete MS that feels like a proper story, want to have something to offer BInk for after StarMark...
*whispers* Want to prove I'm not a one-hit wonder...
So forgive me if I'm a bit quiet on here for another week or so? I'll soon be back to normal.
I've not been blogging much over the last few weeks, I know...but there doesn't seem to be much to write about.
Actually, there's plenty; NIBS had a thought provoking meeting on the theme of November (who knew that we packed so much into this month?) plans for the India trip are ongoing (visa arrived last week, yay!), house feels more settled after the building work (still letting the dust settle - literally), proof reading Something Rich and Strange (to be published by the Random Writers later this month, a little later than intended, but life happens to the best laid plans...) and Christmas services and events are coming together for church.
But I've not felt the urge to write about any of it.
I have a theory; I'm focussing so much on Kingstone edits at the moment, it's using up all of my writing energy.
Sounds daft, doesn't it? But I'm getting through a chapter or two of Kingstone a day and I'm loathe to break off from it while I'm on a roll. I want to get it done, want to get a complete MS that feels like a proper story, want to have something to offer BInk for after StarMark...
*whispers* Want to prove I'm not a one-hit wonder...
So forgive me if I'm a bit quiet on here for another week or so? I'll soon be back to normal.
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
The Random Writers - Anthology the Second!
The Random Writers have done it again...
They enjoyed writing the stories for A Seeming Glass so much, they decided to put together another collection, Something Rich and Strange: the Past is Prologue. Fourteen surprising, moving and compelling tales, weaving the next steps in the telling of famous events and stories from Greek myth to English folktale, via fairy tales and real historical events.
Here's a taste of what you can expect...
A group of researchers open a door in the present day that has been closed for centuries - and should have stayed that way. In 1840s Ireland, starving children face desperate measures to avoid the crisis consuming the land. A visitor to 19th Century Japan learns what it takes to fan love to life. A girl struggles to rise above the walls that surround her in Georgian England. In 7th Century Britain, a scribe translates the true value of a legend.
The cover artwork is by Mat Sadler, a fabulous illustrator, and features a scene from Shell Bromley's story, Walls.
I've a story in this anthology too - it's called Gold, and builds on a rather familiar Arabian folk tale, shifted thousands of miles to the West. The Wild West, to be precise...
As with the previous launch, there will be blogs and flash fiction on the Randoms' site leading up to publication date, which is hoped to be around the end of this month.
Keep your eyes peeled!
Thursday, 30 July 2015
Aaand...back to writing
The King Stone. My latest WIP.
It's coming on...slowly. I'm test-running the first draft by a few cloudie friends at the moment, trying to see whether the story's holding together. They seem to think so...
(It's also helping me to keep busy before I receive the edits of both StarMark and a second Random Writer's anthology. Had I told you that there's going to be another Random anthology, by the way? And that I've got another story in it? No? Oops... well, there is. Soon. Stories about what happened after the 'happily ever after' of the fairytale/myth/legend. And being a Random project, they all had to have a twist, so they're set in a historical time and event that is significantly different to the original...)
Anyway - back to King Stone.
What I'm finding interesting in the editing process at the moment is that I had a really naff first draft. Yes, I'd thrashed the story out, knew where it was going, but in itself, it's a pretty dire example of a novel. But allowing myself the luxury of a naff first draft gave me the chance to identify where I needed to tweak the start of the story to backfill some gaping holes that only became apparent as the story developed.
The officially-draft-two chapters are looking more like officially-draft-one-and-a-half in some cases. They're still incredibly rough and the readers are picking up, for example, that Katia (my MC) is not coming across very strongly in them. Yet in some of the earlier chapters where there weren't so many plot holes, the testers could tell I was in my stride and the writing was more confident.
At this stage, the chapters are also very fluid; it's good to be able to test where I feel the chapter break should be with the readers, even if it's actually sitting somewhere slightly different when I present the chapter to them.
And I'm skipping around as I deal with draft 2. I missed out chapter 4 as that needed building from scratch, presented chapter 5, went back to make notes for chap 4, posted chap 6... Next stop will probably be to tighten the notes and make Chap 4 something that actually looks a bit more like a chapter than my deranged thoughts for an outline. It's quite liberating, actually!
What's really good about this whole process is that it's still within my 100 days of writing challenge. I'm up to 87 days now - not all of them consecutive - but it's a great way to track my progress and remind myself to write. In fact, due to visitors recently, I've had the longest non-writing period (three days) since I started! I was itching to get back to the WIP and colour in another box...
I'd like to be able to put stats to this novel - to show myself exactly how long it took to produce a first draft (74 writing days), how long to do a second, a third...and so on.
But in the meantime, draft one-and-a-half-and-sometimes-two beckons...
It's coming on...slowly. I'm test-running the first draft by a few cloudie friends at the moment, trying to see whether the story's holding together. They seem to think so...
(It's also helping me to keep busy before I receive the edits of both StarMark and a second Random Writer's anthology. Had I told you that there's going to be another Random anthology, by the way? And that I've got another story in it? No? Oops... well, there is. Soon. Stories about what happened after the 'happily ever after' of the fairytale/myth/legend. And being a Random project, they all had to have a twist, so they're set in a historical time and event that is significantly different to the original...)
Anyway - back to King Stone.
What I'm finding interesting in the editing process at the moment is that I had a really naff first draft. Yes, I'd thrashed the story out, knew where it was going, but in itself, it's a pretty dire example of a novel. But allowing myself the luxury of a naff first draft gave me the chance to identify where I needed to tweak the start of the story to backfill some gaping holes that only became apparent as the story developed.
The officially-draft-two chapters are looking more like officially-draft-one-and-a-half in some cases. They're still incredibly rough and the readers are picking up, for example, that Katia (my MC) is not coming across very strongly in them. Yet in some of the earlier chapters where there weren't so many plot holes, the testers could tell I was in my stride and the writing was more confident.
At this stage, the chapters are also very fluid; it's good to be able to test where I feel the chapter break should be with the readers, even if it's actually sitting somewhere slightly different when I present the chapter to them.
And I'm skipping around as I deal with draft 2. I missed out chapter 4 as that needed building from scratch, presented chapter 5, went back to make notes for chap 4, posted chap 6... Next stop will probably be to tighten the notes and make Chap 4 something that actually looks a bit more like a chapter than my deranged thoughts for an outline. It's quite liberating, actually!
What's really good about this whole process is that it's still within my 100 days of writing challenge. I'm up to 87 days now - not all of them consecutive - but it's a great way to track my progress and remind myself to write. In fact, due to visitors recently, I've had the longest non-writing period (three days) since I started! I was itching to get back to the WIP and colour in another box...
I'd like to be able to put stats to this novel - to show myself exactly how long it took to produce a first draft (74 writing days), how long to do a second, a third...and so on.
But in the meantime, draft one-and-a-half-and-sometimes-two beckons...
Thursday, 7 May 2015
The Scribbles get their first award!
The Scribbles have been nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award by Loretta Milan, of the Literary Lightbox! Thank you SO much Loretta - it's always good to know that folk enjoy visiting this little digital corner to see what I'm sharing, and to know that you think it's 'lovely' is...well...rather lovely!
The One Lovely Blog Award nomination is the award, if that makes sense - the nominations are chosen by fellow bloggers for newer or up-and-coming bloggers, the goal being to help give recognition and to also help the new blogger reach more viewers. It also recognizes blogs that are considered to be “lovely” by the fellow-blogger who chose them.
So I have great pleasure in 'accepting' the award - which means I've got to follow a few rules. I have to;
1. Thank the person who nominated me (see above!)
2. Add the One Lovely Blog Award logo to my post and/or blog (ditto!)
3. Share seven facts about myself.
4. Nominate 15 bloggers I admire and inform them by commenting on their blog.
Numbers 1 and 2 are done, 3 is coming up...but can I say up front that I have a problem with number 4? Because I don't follow that many blogs! So I have picked rather less than 15 (15! If I kept up with 15 blogs I'd never have time to write my own or work on my WIP!) but they are ones I like visiting because they are easy to read, easy on the eye (I'm having problems with varifocals and computer screens for some setups), and often have something to say that touches my soul. I hope you'll check them out for yourself.
Anyhoo - back to number 3. Consider this my acceptance speech, if you will. All About Me. Seven things you might not know...
1. When I was a child, family holidays were spent in North Wales. Same house, same town, same beaches every year - and we loved it! For many years, the holiday was timed for the week of my birthday in June (yes, you were allowed to take your children out of school in term time then. Didn't seem to do me any harm, but hey-ho). My abiding memory of those holidays is therefore having shop-bought Victoria sandwich cake (a real treat!) on the beach, on my birthday.
2. I have been a cover girl. Admittedly, it could have been more glamorous; I was photographed working in an isolator during my pharmaceutical microbiologist days. And the magazine was one aimed at local businesses, but hey - beggars can't be choosers. (The same photo is also displayed in the Charnwood Museum...)
3. I have cycled the Alps on a tandem. Well, the foothills of the Alps. Mr Squidge sold the cycling holiday to me by emphasising they were foothills and wouldn't be too hilly; there was even a tunnel we could cycle through instead of going up and over the worst one. Which sounded fine until we realised that we had no lights, there was only a very narrow walkway through the tunnel (suspended about five feet above the road) and we were on the main trade route to Italy which meant that literally hundreds of artics were using the same tunnel. That day, we cycled 40 odd miles, of which I reckon at least twenty were either vertically up or vertically down the mountain - MOUNTAIN - that the tunnel went through, in 43 degree heat. Mr Squidge was not very popular that day.
4. I have worked as an egg pickler. This rather wonderful job (taken while waiting for my first lot of A level results) entailed mixing up baths full of vinegar (white or brown), counting 20 eggs into a glass jar (checking that the yolks weren't too close to the surface or the vinegar would eat through the white, making the yolk burst out which turned the vinegar cloudy), topping up the jar with said vinegar and screwing the lids on by hand. When my mum picked me up after work, she would drive with the windows open because the smell of vinegar clung...and to this day, I cannot eat salt and vinegar crisps.
5. I have only ever played Dungeons and Dragons once in my life. I was at uni, and a friend made me a character - a tiny painted cheetah woman - to play with. I have to admit going to bed sometime around midnight while the lads played on...
6. I love an excuse to get dressed up. I don't mean posh frock - I'm talking fancy dress. There's something really weird yet wonderful about being able to put on a disguise and become something or someone different. I have been many things over the years...
 |
| Celebrating the 70's at my 40th |
 |
| Am Dram days - old lady and tea lady |
 |
| We're in the Money! West Side Story... |
 |
| Yes, this really IS me. |
7. I am a huge Muse fan. I love the theatricality of their music, the harmonies that are created, and the stories behind quite a few of their albums. They are my music of choice when writing - my muse is actually Muse!
And now, to blogs... I'm nominating these for a One Lovely Blog Award because it's in them I find most of my inspiration, determination, good sense and creativity in abundance!
terrible minds - Chuck Wendig's unique, no punches pulled, blog about writing and life.
Jody Klaire - one of the most inspirational authors I know, and someone I'm proud to call my friend.
The Random Ramblings - a wacky bunch of writers who write fabulous stories (keep an eye out, as there's going to be another anthology by them soon!)
So there you go. Thanks again to Loretta, and thank you for reading. The blog wouldn't be the same without you. x
Tuesday, 17 February 2015
FREE FICTION!
The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that I've recently added an extra page to the Scribbles. It's called, unoriginally, free fiction.
(On the right hand side of the screen if you've missed it.)
As I sometimes post bits and pieces of my writing, I decided that to allow visitors to enjoy my writing without looking back through years' worth of posts to find them, I'd collect all the links in one place for your convenience. No doubt the list will grow as time moves on...
So, if you fancy a read, head on over and take a peek. They are there for your pleasure.
Squidge x
Just one word of caution - I often write for children, but not all of these pieces will be suitable for younger readers. If in doubt, please read them through before sharing.
(On the right hand side of the screen if you've missed it.)
As I sometimes post bits and pieces of my writing, I decided that to allow visitors to enjoy my writing without looking back through years' worth of posts to find them, I'd collect all the links in one place for your convenience. No doubt the list will grow as time moves on...
So, if you fancy a read, head on over and take a peek. They are there for your pleasure.
Squidge x
Just one word of caution - I often write for children, but not all of these pieces will be suitable for younger readers. If in doubt, please read them through before sharing.
Thursday, 22 January 2015
Highs...and lows
Things are a bit weird at the moment.
On the one hand, I'm on an incredible high; I've had the very exciting news about StarMark, am prepping More Granny Rainbow for publication, and I've got four author events lined up over the next month or so. (Harry Potter Book Night on the 5th Feb at The Reading Shop, celebrating National Library Day on the 7th Feb, and two school visits, if you were interested.)
Writing-wise, I'm not feeling the same. I've got an idea bubbling away for a short story for the second Random Writers anthology, but otherwise things are a bit stuck. I've got Rurik, who is written but I'm not sure what to do with him - edit, like I did StarMark, or self-pub as is?
And then I've got a half-written novel which has stalled, big-time.
'Ani's story' (working title!) has a broad theme. It has characters who are beginning to make themselves known to me, and it has an animal POV popping up ocassionally. I know what's going to happen to my MC and how to resolve her issues. BUT - and it's a big but - I cannot make the storyline believable. I can't pull everything I want to include together enough to make a credible story. I've got about 18,000 words down so far of a s****y first draft, but when I sit down to flesh it out, I get tied up in knots and stop writing. Pantsing just isn't working this time...
So today, I concentrated on firming up the plot. I spent hours on it, the result of which is a good dozen pages of A4 filled with what-ifs and questions, that have not supplied a single satisfactory solution in any of them. I tried writing out the characters a la Ally Spencer and still can't discover certain characters' motivations for their actions. I've even tried to run the ideas past the kids..."Sorry Mum, got homework to do."
And that's when you realise this writing lark's a pain in the proverbial. On the one hand, it promises the highs of publication, of creating something other-wordly and unique, of talking to your readers, (I won't say fans, but if they like your writing enough...). And just when you're riding the crest, it slams you with a wall that you have to break through in order to create that which might be published or enjoyed by readers.
Today, it's felt like an impossible task. Some would say keep going - get the words down and you can polish them later. Others would tell me to keep mulling - let the ideas percolate and something will come... Today, neither are working, and the writing demon at my shoulder is telling me I need to get it right before I go any further.
Tomorrow, things might feel different. I flippin' well hope so.
On the one hand, I'm on an incredible high; I've had the very exciting news about StarMark, am prepping More Granny Rainbow for publication, and I've got four author events lined up over the next month or so. (Harry Potter Book Night on the 5th Feb at The Reading Shop, celebrating National Library Day on the 7th Feb, and two school visits, if you were interested.)
Writing-wise, I'm not feeling the same. I've got an idea bubbling away for a short story for the second Random Writers anthology, but otherwise things are a bit stuck. I've got Rurik, who is written but I'm not sure what to do with him - edit, like I did StarMark, or self-pub as is?
And then I've got a half-written novel which has stalled, big-time.
'Ani's story' (working title!) has a broad theme. It has characters who are beginning to make themselves known to me, and it has an animal POV popping up ocassionally. I know what's going to happen to my MC and how to resolve her issues. BUT - and it's a big but - I cannot make the storyline believable. I can't pull everything I want to include together enough to make a credible story. I've got about 18,000 words down so far of a s****y first draft, but when I sit down to flesh it out, I get tied up in knots and stop writing. Pantsing just isn't working this time...
So today, I concentrated on firming up the plot. I spent hours on it, the result of which is a good dozen pages of A4 filled with what-ifs and questions, that have not supplied a single satisfactory solution in any of them. I tried writing out the characters a la Ally Spencer and still can't discover certain characters' motivations for their actions. I've even tried to run the ideas past the kids..."Sorry Mum, got homework to do."
And that's when you realise this writing lark's a pain in the proverbial. On the one hand, it promises the highs of publication, of creating something other-wordly and unique, of talking to your readers, (I won't say fans, but if they like your writing enough...). And just when you're riding the crest, it slams you with a wall that you have to break through in order to create that which might be published or enjoyed by readers.
Today, it's felt like an impossible task. Some would say keep going - get the words down and you can polish them later. Others would tell me to keep mulling - let the ideas percolate and something will come... Today, neither are working, and the writing demon at my shoulder is telling me I need to get it right before I go any further.
Tomorrow, things might feel different. I flippin' well hope so.
 |
| The roller coaster of writing... |
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
On writing 'nasty' instead of 'nice'
So I experimented, writing a couple of very dark (for me) pieces, where I deliberately set out to view the story from the character's head, rather than my storyteller one.
One of the characters I created while I was experimenting, Lord Baraat, is violent and ruthless. In my head, he looks a bit like this....
And I say 'he is violent and ruthless', because he's now appeared in two short stories and a piece of flash. (You can read about him in Thread (published in A Seeming Glass) and Blood on His Hands. on the Random Writers website)
Several readers have commented about Baraat - here are just two examples of what's been said:
"Highly imaginative and with a deep understanding of the worst of human nature."
"I am starting to worry that you enjoy inhabiting his head a bit too much..."
Others have pointed out that in real life, I am nothing like Baraat - I'm pretty normal! I am not cruel or sadistic, I hate violence, and I don't like reading horror. So where the heck does he and his violent life spring from? Because - guilty secret - I really enjoy writing as him.
Is it that because I'm nothing like him, I can allow myself the freedom - in words only - to 'be' nasty? Is it a bit of a throwback to my am-dram days, when I could throw on a persona with a wig, a costume and dialogue for a two-hour performance, except this time it's a written performance? Or is it, and I think this might be key, I have immersed myself so completely in my character and become so familiar with his world, that I become him while I'm writing, so he's easy to write?
To be honest, I'm not sure, but whichever it is, it seems to be working. Baraat creates strong feelings in readers. He's definitely not a character fit for a children's book, but he has helped me to go inside the heads of characters I've written in stories aimed at children, improving them no end.
It takes time to get to know your characters; it doesn't just happen overnight. But like any real relationship, the more time you spend with them, the more you find out about them.
Now that I know Baraat so well, I may write more about him and the world he inhabits. Perhaps one day, there'll be a collection of Baraat's stories, just like Granny Rainbow's? They'll be just as colourful, but nowhere near as nice...and DEFINITELY only for grown-ups.
Monday, 5 January 2015
2015 - the Year of the House Project with a Bit of Writing Stuff on the Side..
I spent some time today trying to order my thoughts as to which projects to work on this year. And I don't just mean writing...
Mr Squidge and I decided to have a multi-fuel stove installed into our yellow room. (So called because our dining room faces north and is always cold - I painted it bright yellow to warm it up.) As a result, we will have a shallower hearth than we currently have with the 50's tiled fireplace, so we'll need new flooring. And the walls will need repainting. And the curtains will have to be replaced. And the dining room chairs will need recovering because the seats have the old curtain fabric on them...
 |
| It'll look something like this to start with... |
 |
| ...and something like this afterwards. Except this pic doesn't have shelves. Or a dining room table and chairs. Or a computer table. Or a 3D printer... |
You know the old thing about starting one job and finding loads more? That's us.
We're also hoping to repoint the external gable end of the house and insulate the same wall internally. Mr Squidge has done the maths and it will apparently take only a thin insulated plasterboard to drastically cut the heat we're losing over the vast expanse of double-brick-with-no-cavity wall.
 |
| This is what I'm expecting...along the length of my hall and up the height of two floors... |
Then we'll have to redecorate the hall, landings and stairs - might even end up with stair carpet up to the loft. We've only been up there eight years. Throw in a couple of replacement stained glass windows (currently still the original 1930's metal frames, but we're hoping to get the design copied into double-glazed units) and we'll be done.
We might even have to tackle the lounge - the carpet is threadbare in places and the paintwork needs freshening up. That one might have to wait 'til 2016...
In between all this redecorating and inevitable furniture shifting, there's the writing stuff.
I've said before that Granny Rainbow 2 will be published this year. There'll also be another Random Writer's Anthology, but I don't know yet whether I'll have anything to offer for submission or if my involvement will stop at proofreading.
I need to work on my website, get it up to date. In fact, I'm wondering whether I even need a website... Decided I need a website fairy to do it for me. (Applications in writing please. *winks*)
I've got one school author visit lined up for March, with three other potential visits. I'm hoping that this year I can make more connections with local schools.
Oh yes...and there'll be writing. New stuff and old-to-be-revamped. But Granny remains my priority at the moment, so I'll pencil in the rest for later.
So what projects have you got lined up this year? I'd love to know. Drop me a line in the comments below and share what you're planning...
Thursday, 25 September 2014
Workshop a novel in a Day (FOW14)
One of the mini-workshops on offer at the Festival of Writing was 'How to Workshop a novel in a day', with the author Allie Spencer.
Why pick this session? Well, I tend to be a pantser rather than a planner...that is, I get an idea for a story and happily set to writing it - without any real planning of its structure. I have a start point, I have an end in mind; I just need to get my main character from A to B: job done.
Ahem. Not so. This session reinforced the fact that actually, I do need to plan more - especially with respect to the characters.
It was a small group, only half a dozen ladies, but that meant there was plenty of opportunity to input to the discussions and ideas. Allie's method should 'be used as a support, not a cage', and aims to build a nicely proportioned and structured novel. Well, by the end of the session, we'd certainly mapped out a complete new story...whether any of us goes on to write it is another matter!
Let me take you through the technique. At each point, we were encouraged to input our own ideas, then the group as a whole picked the characteristics etc that we wanted to use in this new, emerging storyline.
Step 1: Define your leading character.
Memorable characters have strong, definable personality traits. They are complex and open to change - even if they choose not to. They have strong goals or perceived goals. They have a strong physical presence, though it's often not described. The reader reacts strongly to them and the situations the character faces challenge the reader with events beyond their normal experience. The character is conflicted. They are human enough for the reader to connect with them, and they dictate plot elements because of their characteristics.
Armed with that list, we each wrote a description of a leading character. Mine was based on Lord Baraat, who appears in the flash fiction prequel to Thread, (which you can read on the Random Writers site.) We shared our descriptions and amalgamated them into one character.
Now at this point, my brain started to turn to spaghetti. I never - NEVER - plan my characters out in this level of detail. Before long, our new character had his own backstory, a career, a family history, favourite food, goals, flaws... Mine usually just get 'a look' - I trawl the internet for a person who looks like my character. There may be an idea of where they fit into the story and how I want things to work out for them, but a whole history? Nah. Which brought me to Important Realisation No 1: Squidge concentrates on story, not character.
Step 2 : Define your secondary character(s).
The protagonist - your lead - needs someone to spar with and talk to. The secondary character is as much about revealing the protagonist as they are about revealing themselves. They can be good or bad, there may be more than one, and they often create a synthesis in the story; if the protagonist provides the themes and tone of the book, the secondary character provides light and shade...
So again, we devised a secondary character - but specifically for Zack, our 40 year old suspended cop who was fighting to get his son back after accusations of child abuse. Again, we amalgamated the results and came up with two: Miranda, a female lawyer who can't do emotions, and Quince, Zack's coloured partner on the force.
Each of them got their own back story. Important Realisation No 2 : Each character needs their own story!
Now - apart from the fact that I don't normally 'do' the real world in my writing so I had no real idea of how to approach a scenario that included child abuse and drug use, I don't 'do' backstory for supporting cast either. But when the goals and flaws of these secondary characters started to be described by others in the group, the potential for the storyline began to unfold in front of my eyes - because we moved onto conflict.
Step 3: Give each of your main characters conflict.
There's internal and external conflict; internal could be claustrophobia, external could be that your character has to escape through a tunnel. It's best to have the two linked so that the external works on the internal.
So we worked out the conflicts for our three characters. Which opened up a whole can of worms...
You could take Miranda's secret drug habit - which meant she needed her job but taking on Zack's case is a last ditch attempt to save her career - and tie it in with a drug-addled one night stand with Quince that becomes the guilty secret of a happily married man...which is how Zack sees his partner and feels he can never measure up to with child abuse allegations hanging over his head.
Trying to keep track of all the possibilities was like trying to hold a handful of those wriggling worms...my brain felt like it was about to explode. There was almost too much information to deal with. But I could see that by developing the characters in this way to start with, the storyline sort of developed itself BECAUSE of the way the characters were interacting.
Important Realisation No 3: You can't just slot characters into the story - they have to BE the story.
I started to wonder whether THIS was the problem in my writing? The 'something special' to make it sparkle? Particularly when we got onto character arc...
Step 4: Character arc.
A character arc serves to plot the change the hero goes through. It can be positive, leading to a happy ending, or negative, which leads to tragedy. (Interestingly, some characters are already 'good' - like James Bond.) The dark element nowadays is often supplied by the secondary character, but we often see the main character moving from a position of weakness to strength or immaturity to maturity. One way to plot this change is to use the following stages:
Starting point - conflict - goal - catalyst for change - resolution.
So Zack, our cop, is starting at the point where he's been suspended from his job and has lost his son.
His conflict is that he's exhausted the legal route to get his son back and he's angry, which was the cause of the child abuse allegations.
His goal is to get his son back.
The catalyst for change could be that he sees how Quince handled the one night stand and stayed with his family for the sake of his kids - the realisation that he has to put his son first.
The resolution could be that Zack finds his son but realises he's better off where he is, ie puts his son's needs before his own selfish desire.
Repeat for each character in turn...
Aha! Important Realisation No 4: I have totally missed out character arcs from everything I've ever written.
In StarMark, I don't show how Irvana changes by what she's been through. I haven't given her a goal - she just gets carried along on a wave of events which happen to her and she is almost a passenger until she reaches the end. I haven't given her a flaw - unless it's being too nice. And the same problem occurs with Rurik too - I haven't shown much of a change in him, either. How much of that is down to the fact I don't think about it and plan it beforehand, I wonder?
So now, I have a choice to make. Continue to work on what I know are essentially flawed stories, or try my hand at something new, forcing myself to plan it out first when I'm dying to just get writing.
Hmm. I'll think on that a bit longer...but Allie certainly gave me a lot of food for thought and a method that might just work if I try it.
Why pick this session? Well, I tend to be a pantser rather than a planner...that is, I get an idea for a story and happily set to writing it - without any real planning of its structure. I have a start point, I have an end in mind; I just need to get my main character from A to B: job done.
Ahem. Not so. This session reinforced the fact that actually, I do need to plan more - especially with respect to the characters.
It was a small group, only half a dozen ladies, but that meant there was plenty of opportunity to input to the discussions and ideas. Allie's method should 'be used as a support, not a cage', and aims to build a nicely proportioned and structured novel. Well, by the end of the session, we'd certainly mapped out a complete new story...whether any of us goes on to write it is another matter!
Let me take you through the technique. At each point, we were encouraged to input our own ideas, then the group as a whole picked the characteristics etc that we wanted to use in this new, emerging storyline.
Step 1: Define your leading character.
Memorable characters have strong, definable personality traits. They are complex and open to change - even if they choose not to. They have strong goals or perceived goals. They have a strong physical presence, though it's often not described. The reader reacts strongly to them and the situations the character faces challenge the reader with events beyond their normal experience. The character is conflicted. They are human enough for the reader to connect with them, and they dictate plot elements because of their characteristics.
Armed with that list, we each wrote a description of a leading character. Mine was based on Lord Baraat, who appears in the flash fiction prequel to Thread, (which you can read on the Random Writers site.) We shared our descriptions and amalgamated them into one character.
Now at this point, my brain started to turn to spaghetti. I never - NEVER - plan my characters out in this level of detail. Before long, our new character had his own backstory, a career, a family history, favourite food, goals, flaws... Mine usually just get 'a look' - I trawl the internet for a person who looks like my character. There may be an idea of where they fit into the story and how I want things to work out for them, but a whole history? Nah. Which brought me to Important Realisation No 1: Squidge concentrates on story, not character.
Step 2 : Define your secondary character(s).
The protagonist - your lead - needs someone to spar with and talk to. The secondary character is as much about revealing the protagonist as they are about revealing themselves. They can be good or bad, there may be more than one, and they often create a synthesis in the story; if the protagonist provides the themes and tone of the book, the secondary character provides light and shade...
So again, we devised a secondary character - but specifically for Zack, our 40 year old suspended cop who was fighting to get his son back after accusations of child abuse. Again, we amalgamated the results and came up with two: Miranda, a female lawyer who can't do emotions, and Quince, Zack's coloured partner on the force.
Each of them got their own back story. Important Realisation No 2 : Each character needs their own story!
Now - apart from the fact that I don't normally 'do' the real world in my writing so I had no real idea of how to approach a scenario that included child abuse and drug use, I don't 'do' backstory for supporting cast either. But when the goals and flaws of these secondary characters started to be described by others in the group, the potential for the storyline began to unfold in front of my eyes - because we moved onto conflict.
Step 3: Give each of your main characters conflict.
There's internal and external conflict; internal could be claustrophobia, external could be that your character has to escape through a tunnel. It's best to have the two linked so that the external works on the internal.
So we worked out the conflicts for our three characters. Which opened up a whole can of worms...
You could take Miranda's secret drug habit - which meant she needed her job but taking on Zack's case is a last ditch attempt to save her career - and tie it in with a drug-addled one night stand with Quince that becomes the guilty secret of a happily married man...which is how Zack sees his partner and feels he can never measure up to with child abuse allegations hanging over his head.
Trying to keep track of all the possibilities was like trying to hold a handful of those wriggling worms...my brain felt like it was about to explode. There was almost too much information to deal with. But I could see that by developing the characters in this way to start with, the storyline sort of developed itself BECAUSE of the way the characters were interacting.
Important Realisation No 3: You can't just slot characters into the story - they have to BE the story.
I started to wonder whether THIS was the problem in my writing? The 'something special' to make it sparkle? Particularly when we got onto character arc...
Step 4: Character arc.
A character arc serves to plot the change the hero goes through. It can be positive, leading to a happy ending, or negative, which leads to tragedy. (Interestingly, some characters are already 'good' - like James Bond.) The dark element nowadays is often supplied by the secondary character, but we often see the main character moving from a position of weakness to strength or immaturity to maturity. One way to plot this change is to use the following stages:
Starting point - conflict - goal - catalyst for change - resolution.
So Zack, our cop, is starting at the point where he's been suspended from his job and has lost his son.
His conflict is that he's exhausted the legal route to get his son back and he's angry, which was the cause of the child abuse allegations.
His goal is to get his son back.
The catalyst for change could be that he sees how Quince handled the one night stand and stayed with his family for the sake of his kids - the realisation that he has to put his son first.
The resolution could be that Zack finds his son but realises he's better off where he is, ie puts his son's needs before his own selfish desire.
Repeat for each character in turn...
Aha! Important Realisation No 4: I have totally missed out character arcs from everything I've ever written.
In StarMark, I don't show how Irvana changes by what she's been through. I haven't given her a goal - she just gets carried along on a wave of events which happen to her and she is almost a passenger until she reaches the end. I haven't given her a flaw - unless it's being too nice. And the same problem occurs with Rurik too - I haven't shown much of a change in him, either. How much of that is down to the fact I don't think about it and plan it beforehand, I wonder?
So now, I have a choice to make. Continue to work on what I know are essentially flawed stories, or try my hand at something new, forcing myself to plan it out first when I'm dying to just get writing.
Hmm. I'll think on that a bit longer...but Allie certainly gave me a lot of food for thought and a method that might just work if I try it.
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
What if...
Don't know about you, but I often think 'What if...'
As writers, we can turn 'What if' to our advantage. It's the root of our creativity a lot of the time. You start asking yourself questions like 'what if...your destiny could be written on your skin?' What if...someone could steal colour from the world? What if...someone wanted to set up a scam in a pub?
So the next time you're stuck for an idea for your writing, ask 'What if...' And if you're stuck for reading material, ask 'What if...I read A Seeming Glass?'
I promise - you will not be disappointed.
(2nd September ONLY: Your chance to win a copy of the anthology either on The Random Writers facebook page or via Twitter, @Random_Lands. Between 6.30pm and 8.30pm UK time, you can join a typical surreal convo on facebook with us OR 'Ask the Author'...Hope to see you there!)
What if...I'd not been told by Mrs Ellis, my chemistry teacher, that as I had a June birthday (which meant I was one of the youngest in the year) I was likely to fail my O levels and have to retake - so don't bother thinking about A levels? I'd never have got stuck in and proved the old bat wrong with 7 passes.
What if...I'd gone off to university when I first took my A levels, rather than resitting to improve my grades? I'd never have met my wonderful friends : the Wolves crowd.
What if...Mr Squidge and I HAD broken up after my parent's silver wedding party? (That one doesn't bear thinking about.)
What if...my son had been correctly diagnosed with appendicitis when we first went into hospital? He wouldn't have ended up with severe peritonitis almost three weeks later.
What if...I hadn't supported Mr Squidge in putting up Big Bob, our wind turbine? He'd have always been left wondering whether he could make a success of it and we'd have bitterness between us.
What if...
I'm sure you've done the same. I've found over the years, it doesn't do to dwell on the what ifs too much; it's quite depressing and draining. I prefer to look back on the situation afterwards, because it's only ever in hindsight that we see the bigger picture and the blessings and benefits that we gained from a particular event.
As writers, we can turn 'What if' to our advantage. It's the root of our creativity a lot of the time. You start asking yourself questions like 'what if...your destiny could be written on your skin?' What if...someone could steal colour from the world? What if...someone wanted to set up a scam in a pub?
It's particularly important to ask the question when you take something that already exists, with the aim of putting a spin on it. And that's EXACTLY what happened when myself and the other authors wrote our stories for A Seeming Glass.
In my case, I asked what if Sleeping Beauty would have been better left asleep? What if, once woken, she had a voracious appetite and ate her prince out of house and home? Or she turned out to be a flesh-eating zombie, cast into a state of suspended animation for humanity's protection?
I also asked what if Salome had asked for a different prize after she danced for King Herod? What if she'd gone against her mother's wishes and asked for a kingdom of her own? A husband? Or a lifetime's supply of chocolate?
Of course, none of the above are what actually ended up happening in my stories Thread and You Should Have Let Me Sleep...
But we all did it; all ten of us asked 'what if...' and carried on asking the question until the stories that we thought were familiar to us morphed and twisted and reflected their core into an entirely different shape. A bit like one of those fairground mirrors that distort your image. You know what you should look like, and you can see enough of the original to know that it's you, but what you see is totally different to what you're expecting... It's an exciting process, one that can take you in all sorts of directions and pull things out of your head that afterwards, you wonder where did all THAT come from? Did I really think those (in my case) dark thoughts?
So the next time you're stuck for an idea for your writing, ask 'What if...' And if you're stuck for reading material, ask 'What if...I read A Seeming Glass?'
I promise - you will not be disappointed.
(2nd September ONLY: Your chance to win a copy of the anthology either on The Random Writers facebook page or via Twitter, @Random_Lands. Between 6.30pm and 8.30pm UK time, you can join a typical surreal convo on facebook with us OR 'Ask the Author'...Hope to see you there!)
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Blood on his hands
If you follow this link, you can read a short piece of FREE flash fiction written by me. It introduces Lord Baraat, a character from my story Thread, published in the anthology A Seeming Glass. Please note; it's not suitable for children.
If you enjoy Blood on his Hands, or any of the other free flash pieces that have been posted on the Random Writers site, you'll probably love the anthology. It's certainly getting some ace reviews over on Goodreads and Amazon - check them out if you don't believe me!
But for now, step into the mind of Baraat...
Enjoy.
If you enjoy Blood on his Hands, or any of the other free flash pieces that have been posted on the Random Writers site, you'll probably love the anthology. It's certainly getting some ace reviews over on Goodreads and Amazon - check them out if you don't believe me!
But for now, step into the mind of Baraat...
Enjoy.
Friday, 15 August 2014
Preparing for York - 500 words
I'm off to the Festival of Writing in York again in September. It'll be my third year.
There's nothing quite like spending a whole weekend in the company of fellow authors and folk who are professionally involved in the world of all things literary. I mean, where else can you hear from best-selling authors about their own experiences? Or get feedback on your writing from book doctors and agents - who might, just might, be interested enough in what you've written to ask to see more? Not to mention meeting up with old friends and having the opportunity to meet others who become new friends, all with a common interest - writing.
There's only one thing I really struggle with at York. Not the late night parties. Not the basic student accommodation. Not the migraine that's bound to strike. Not even the temperature of the teaching facilities. (Last year, certain rooms were FREEZING! This time I shall pack plenty of jumpers, just in case. As a result, there'll probably be a heatwave.)
It's the Friday Night Live competition. The idea is that you submit just 500 words and if you're shortlisted, you read them aloud to an audience of festival-goers. The winner, as voted for by said audience, gets a bottle of fizz and the potential to attract the attention of every agent in the room.
No problem! I've written flash pieces of around that mark; specific mini-stories that have gone down well with readers.
Erm, excuse me. *whispers festival organiser* For this particular competition, you take 500 words from your current work.
Oh. Problem. There's no story arc across 500 words in a novel - it's usually across a scene of several pages, a chapter, the whole flippin' book! So it's incredibly hard to find a suitable chunk to submit.
Then there's the subject matter. Do you go for full-on action? Description? Dialogue? (And then practice all the voices...) A mix of everything?
How much do you edit to make it a self-contained portion that is capable of standing alone? To me, it feels like cheating a bit if you've changed it too much from the original. And it also begs the question if you're editing it that much, how good was the original in the first place? Which opens up a whole new can of worms (and panic!) about the quality of the MS...
I picked out a couple of pieces I thought might work...neither were perfect. Both lacked something. My third piece is looking more promising and I've just read it though again; seen a couple of tweaks that will improve it when combined with some feedback from fellow Random Writers. It's certainly heading in the right direction with action, dialogue, a bit of mystery...
Will I be shortlisted? Who knows. Like all writing competitions, there's the judges' own preferences to take into account as well as the exceptional other writing which will be submitted. I shall try not to build up my hopes.
But it won't stop me practicing reading my 500 words aloud in the meantime...just in case.
There's nothing quite like spending a whole weekend in the company of fellow authors and folk who are professionally involved in the world of all things literary. I mean, where else can you hear from best-selling authors about their own experiences? Or get feedback on your writing from book doctors and agents - who might, just might, be interested enough in what you've written to ask to see more? Not to mention meeting up with old friends and having the opportunity to meet others who become new friends, all with a common interest - writing.
There's only one thing I really struggle with at York. Not the late night parties. Not the basic student accommodation. Not the migraine that's bound to strike. Not even the temperature of the teaching facilities. (Last year, certain rooms were FREEZING! This time I shall pack plenty of jumpers, just in case. As a result, there'll probably be a heatwave.)
It's the Friday Night Live competition. The idea is that you submit just 500 words and if you're shortlisted, you read them aloud to an audience of festival-goers. The winner, as voted for by said audience, gets a bottle of fizz and the potential to attract the attention of every agent in the room.
No problem! I've written flash pieces of around that mark; specific mini-stories that have gone down well with readers.
Erm, excuse me. *whispers festival organiser* For this particular competition, you take 500 words from your current work.
Oh. Problem. There's no story arc across 500 words in a novel - it's usually across a scene of several pages, a chapter, the whole flippin' book! So it's incredibly hard to find a suitable chunk to submit.
Then there's the subject matter. Do you go for full-on action? Description? Dialogue? (And then practice all the voices...) A mix of everything?
How much do you edit to make it a self-contained portion that is capable of standing alone? To me, it feels like cheating a bit if you've changed it too much from the original. And it also begs the question if you're editing it that much, how good was the original in the first place? Which opens up a whole new can of worms (and panic!) about the quality of the MS...
I picked out a couple of pieces I thought might work...neither were perfect. Both lacked something. My third piece is looking more promising and I've just read it though again; seen a couple of tweaks that will improve it when combined with some feedback from fellow Random Writers. It's certainly heading in the right direction with action, dialogue, a bit of mystery...
Will I be shortlisted? Who knows. Like all writing competitions, there's the judges' own preferences to take into account as well as the exceptional other writing which will be submitted. I shall try not to build up my hopes.
But it won't stop me practicing reading my 500 words aloud in the meantime...just in case.
Thursday, 7 August 2014
A Seeming Glass - Publication Day!
It's finally here!
A Seeming Glass: A Collection of Reflected Tales is now available on all major platforms.
Kobo, nook, apple, barnes&noble etc via smashwords
As a paperback from createspace direct or Amazon.co.uk/.com
AND on Kindle
All the links are also on the BUY page of the Randoms website - and don't forget there are free short stories, flash fiction and artwork going up on the site over the next few weeks. Well worth taking a gander.
If you decide to buy a copy, please consider posting a review on Amazon or Goodreads. There are already a couple up from folk who received an ARC (Advance Reading Copy)...and they're pretty good. Plus, we're shooting up the anthology charts...
*happy dancing from Squidge*
A Seeming Glass: A Collection of Reflected Tales is now available on all major platforms.
Kobo, nook, apple, barnes&noble etc via smashwords
As a paperback from createspace direct or Amazon.co.uk/.com
AND on Kindle
All the links are also on the BUY page of the Randoms website - and don't forget there are free short stories, flash fiction and artwork going up on the site over the next few weeks. Well worth taking a gander.
If you decide to buy a copy, please consider posting a review on Amazon or Goodreads. There are already a couple up from folk who received an ARC (Advance Reading Copy)...and they're pretty good. Plus, we're shooting up the anthology charts...
*happy dancing from Squidge*
Thursday, 24 July 2014
A Seeming Glass - publication date!
Super-duper news! The RASSSA anthology, A Seeming Glass, will be published on the 7th August! I have two stories in it - Thread and You Should Have Let Me Sleep...I was lucky enough to proofread the book and it's blinkin' fabulous!
It will be available from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Smashwords (ie apple, kobo, iTunes etc for those in the know) and will also be available in paperback from Createspace.
Here's the blurb:
'How can I read the futures if I cannot see your skin?'
Six mysterious swans glide on a holographic pond in a totalitarian capital city. A terrified girl awaits her part in a ritual that could change the future... and the past. A dancer in ancient Jerusalem mourns her maimed sister and prepares for the performance of her life. A sword of legend sends its wielder back through the fiercest battles in history. A freshly qualified vampire hunter experiences the practical side of his vocation. Fourteen intriguing, dramatic, humourous and unsettling tales, inspired by existing stories and reflecting the breadth of storytelling from Greek myth to Hammer Horror, via fairytales and Arthurian legend.
A Seeming Glass is an anthology of short, and not so short stories, based around the theme of 'a mirror refection'. In other words, subtly different or not quite how they appear to be.
Ever notice how clean and neat Fairy Tales are, for example? Well those aren't the originals. Fairy Tales, before they were heavily edited by the Victorians, were dark, nasty and usually left you with a creeping feeling at the base of your spine. Don't believe me? Check out the original version of 'The Robber Bridegroom'. With that in mind - and a pretty keen interest in myths, legends, folklore and Fairy Tales - The Random Writers have put together this book of dark delights. Every story is inspired by the original form of an older tale and each one has been given a neat, dark twist like the flick of a straight razor.
Dive in - there's something for everyone. I promise.
And to get your appetite whetted, there are going to be prequels and sequels FREE to read on the Random Writer's website, starting tomorrow...
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