Tag Archives: Fiction

I’m A Platform-Building Campaigner

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Yes, I’ve signed up in 2 categories at Rachael Harrie’s Blog

Not really 100% sure what I’ve got myself into, but, it’s been great fun looking at the other blogs in my categories. I chose Short Stories & Beginner Bloggers 😉 The only thing is that I can’t seem to get the photo (above) to stay on my side bar….I’m wondering if it’s the theme I’m using *pouts* 😦

Yesterday me and hubby had a DVD fest. We watched all 3 of the Mission Impossible films (I say 3 as 4 isn’t out here yet). So I didn’t get much writing done lol. It’s ok though, as I’m calling it research lol…..I have permission from Write To Done who happened to send me an article yesterday which said “When you’re looking for opportunities to learn, don’t forget the movies. So much can be gleaned by watching films to see what makes them work.” Sooooo, ner! 😉

I’m finally up to date with my prompts….. The one about the skin on her cheek inspired a story about a young woman who’s lost her husband and son in an accident and the gravel road one has turned into the start of a story about a couple house hunting. Today’s prompt is write about an eclipse which really isn’t my kind of thing, but…..I’ll give it a go 🙂

Self Sabotage

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*shudders*

I hate editing…..with a passion 😦 lol

But…..I know it’s got to be done.

So this article will come in handy today I’m sure 😉

I spent yesterday continuing to type up some more short stories and today I will try to do some editing. The plan is to have at least 2 or 3 pieces ready to send out on Monday. Not too sure that’s gunna happen lol 😉

So along with editing, I was reading about self sabotage last night, and that a lot of the time we don’t even realise we’re doing it….for example:

Comparing your writing to others I am so guilty of this.
Allowing others needs & wants to get in the way of your writing time Easy to do when you have a family.
Stopping when it gets hard or you get stuck How many unfinished pieces have I got exactly?
Setting your standards & goals too high Perfectionism?
Thinking that if a piece is rejected it means you’re no good A classic….anyone who’s had a rejection letter will know exactly what that feels like.

A few times recently I’ve just thought, shall I just jack this all in? Is writing really for me?

The prompt about the counting breaths turned into a story about a heavily pregnant woman who’s fiancé is in the army, posted to Afganistan, but my mind went blank on yesterday’s one about the skin on her cheek. Today’s one is driving a gravel road which instantly brought back some childhood memories 🙂

Prompts…..Good or Bad?

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An update from a blog I subscribe to hit my inbox a couple of days ago from Courage to Create.

Now, it is a great post, well written, and obviously the authors opinion….but, then I read the comments…..everyone agrees with him, whereas I read it and was like *ahem* no way!!!!!

Sooooo, go read, What Moves You Most Right Now? and tell me what you think? Am I one lone voice among thousands who uses prompts and feels that she actually benefits from them?

I use prompts because I have a hectic life. I use them to get my brain working, for direction. Yes, I’d love to walk with nature and be inspired. Why does it matter that the destination you arrive at never looks like the original prompt?

If I sat at my table every morning and just asked myself “What moves me the most right now?” well, I would probably end up writing about the shopping, the fact that I’ve got to change the bed linen, how many baskets of clean washing have to go upstairs, and how much my psoriasis is killing me on my hand lol. I’m positive that the 6 weeks worth of stories I’ve come up with so far this year would never have been written if it wasn’t for using prompts *folds arms and stamps foot*

Ok, rant over, apologies for that 😉

And now……

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It’s by Tad Hargrave…..I got it through a FB friend….made me chuckle and calmed me down from my rant lol

I spent most of yesterday editing and re-editing my short story called Eating Out. Initially it was a story about a husband and wife, but now I’ve changed that to mother and son, so that it will fit I with the competition Swanwick are running on the theme of A Sense Of Duty. I have to be honest, I prefer it as husband and wife, but, as my homework for The Write Place was to find a competition and write an entry, the Swanwick one is the one I want to try 🙂 If it doesn’t get anywhere I’ll revert back to husband and wife and submit it somewhere else lol 😉

Went to The Write Place class last night where we mainly looked at fillers and checked through magazines looking for writing opportunities…..really enjoyed it 🙂

My prompt yesterday about living as he did turned into a piece about a detective going into a guys rented room as the guy had been found murdered…..really enjoyed writing that one 🙂 Today’s prompt is counting his/her breaths which sounds interesting.

Auditioning Words

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I came across this quote yesterday (thanks to Judy Reeves):

“Writing is not a visual art. It is a symphony, not an oil painting. It is the shattering, not the glass. It is the ringing, not the bell. The words you write make sounds, and when the sounds satisfy the readers ear, your writing works.” Gary Provost

……and that’s why it’s so important to read your work out loud to yourself 😉

The Thesaurus must surely be the most powerful writers tool (apart from paper and a pen). I have one as an app I use on my iPad. Bloody handy I must say……why say red if you can say crimson? Why say walked if you can say shuffled?

Good writing (IMO) is all about the image you create for your reader, to draw them in.

Sooooo, I’m creating a list of words that excite me…..wish me luck 😉

Today’s prompt was about someone reading a poem. I’m beginning to get increasingly concerned that because my stories are so dark, I’ll never have anything to submit to the women’s magazine market. So today I thought I’d try me hand at a bit of romance. It went quite well, I’m kinda pleased, and it was prompted by Sally Quilford’s recent blog post.

So perhaps I can actually write something a little more lighthearted 😉

Today’s prompt is write about bad blood lol….oh dear, it looks like I’m back to the dark side 😉

Such A Shame

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A friend on Face Book posted a link to this Guardian article Friday. Sooooo sad….but there’s a story there if ever I saw one 🙂

If I see an interesting article in a newspaper or magazine I either tear it out and stick it in my notebook, or, if it’s online like this one, I write down notes about it, and list it in my notebook as a story idea 🙂

Then yesterday, this e mail hit my inbox…….and I totally agree. I will never, ever be completely ‘book-less’ 😉

I managed yesterday’s prompt, even with images of Edward Cullen floating round in my head lol. I did a short piece about a woman getting ready for her wedding.

The Write Place homework this week (the session I missed) was to find a current short story competition and start writing the short story. I’ve decided to go for the Mslexia one and use my prompt story from the 2nd January. I wrote a piece of flash fiction that centred around David Bowies Ashes to Ashes song. It’s gunna need a heavy re-write to extend it to the 2000 words required in the comp, but, I’m up for it 😉

Tomorrows prompt is someone is reading a poem which shouldn’t be too hard. At least I haven’t got any visuals influencing me 😉

Today looks like its going to be a good writing day…..there won’t be much else to do lol

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Research

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I went to Baggins today and managed to, ahem, buy a couple of books lol

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5 books, to be precise…..about local history and local ghosts. Creeping myself out a little bit reading all this ghost stuff lol

I managed to finish the summer garden prompt. The start of a short story about a young girls discovery in her absent fathers shed (don’t ask me what she finds, I haven’t got that far lol). The word unspoken ended up being an argument between a married couple, the word unspoken was the word gay. Yesterdays prompt, the longest day is proving difficult, I’ve gone completely blank, and, as I want to stick to my goal of writing every day, I did 2 character sketches instead 😉

Watched Mud Men this evening. A new TV show all about searching for artefacts in the mud of the Thames. Some great ideas for stories 🙂

Before that I watched Crimewatch as I haven’t watched it for years. Another couple of ideas for stories 😉

It amazes me that it doesn’t matter what you watch on TV, you can always get a story idea from a programme…..great fun 🙂

Today’s prompt is write about a shade tree and, as I’m going to a Writing Group meet this morning, I’m hoping to get there early, to get some writing done before everyone arrives 🙂

Titles

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I spent most of yesterday writing and typing up a short story for my OCA exercise re, marrying 2 notebook ideas together. I’m not gunna publish it on my blog as I think it might be good enough to send somewhere for a short story comp. it’s really annoying that these competitions request that your story cannot have appeared anywhere else *pout* 😦

Anyway, so I have a completed short story….now, a title lol.

I never start with a title, I always write the story and then when it’s finished I think about what to call it. Most of the stories I’ve written don’t ever have titles (do you think they mind? Lol), but I like to ‘name’ those that get typed up 🙂

I have pages and pages of title ideas in my notebooks. I tend to find them everywhere. Something that I overheard someone say, the chapter heading in a book (non fiction), the title of a piece of art, 2 or 3 words from a poem or quote…..I have hundreds lol. So when it comes to naming a piece, I go back through my lists and pick something appropriate. Unfortunately, sometimes I come unstuck lol…. My last Nano novel was/is called Deliberate Act which I thought suited it perfectly. But then hubby pointed out to me that there is a film called that……oh dear, will need to rethink that one then 😦

Yesterday’s prompt, the one about nearing midnight inspired the story of a woman waiting for a phone call. Her son is on a life support machine, but, how should she feel about that when he’s a rapist and murderer? Lol….. I really will write something happy one day, I promise 😉

Today’s prompt is write about a summer garden

I’m really proud of myself that I’ve kept to my ‘goal’ of writing everyday 🙂

Tonight I’m going to see Lesley Pearse give a talk. I’ve never read anything of hers, but I’m always interested to hear what an author has to say 🙂

The Write Place Homework

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Just quickly……I have to show you this……Kelly Rae Roberts desk *squeals*……how gorgeous is that? *looks around the house to see if there are any spare cupboards*

Yesterday’s prompt, in the distance, went well. I wrote a short piece about a girl getting lost in the woods and stumbling across an old cottage…..a huge cliche I know, but I just fancied writing something a bit creepy 😉

At The Write Place class we were discussing openings, the beginnings of short stories, and how they have to grab the reader. As I said yesterday I failed miserably in the actual class lol, but I’m hoping I’ll be better at the actual homework, because I’m not feeling so pressured. Although, I know I will have to read it out next Wednesday *gulp*

So the prompt is…… ‘Sara! I never thought you could do such a thing.’

I sat there yesterday evening, trying to come up with something (it needs to be about 300 words) that resembles a story. On my 3rd attempt I got further than the first 20 words lol….so I’m hoping today I’ll be able to turn it into something readable. Might have to practice reading it out loud to the hubby a few times though lol

Plan for today…..try to get my assignment sorted, or rather typed up and finish the homework, oh, and of course, there’s today’s prompt……when she looked up

Looks like its going to be a busy day 😉

Time

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I was reading today about time, well, lack of it to be precise……

Victoria Moran says “When you take control of your time, you take control of your life” Hmmmm, ok, I can see what she’s saying, but how? 😦 I never seem to have enough hours in the day. I started yesterday morning with a to do list, and I only managed half of the things on it lol.

Now, Moran says “To gain this control you sometimes have to stand up to time and call its bluff. Time will intimidate you if you give it a chance. It will try to convince you that there isn’t enough of it and that it’s racing past you at warp speed. You won’t win by arguing. Just say thanks for the information. I’m still going to sit here with this novel or notebook or newspaper and savour every minute.”

I think I get it lol 😉

“In this moment, there is plenty of time. In this moment, you are precisely as you should be. In this moment, there is infinite potential. You get to live in this idyllic state when you refrain from worry and regret. Most of us adore worry and regret: they’re so dramatic. Lamenting the dreadful thing that might happen or the awful thing that did is as good as watching a soap opera, and the characters are easier to keep track of.”

Woah…..stop right there…..isn’t that like saying there’s no consequence? My assignment is due on the 20th but hey, I’ll just sit here and read my book lol….. What about deadlines? What about real life? Kids needing picking up, dinner needing to be ready? Oh, if only I lived a life like Victoria Morans 😉

Soooooo, in my effort to kill birds 😉 my prompt yesterday (about silence) I used as part of The Write Place homework which I then extended with today’s prompt about the stars. All I have to do now is type it up as a short story and I can use it as my OCA assignment 🙂 Oh yes!

Today’s prompt is write about falling asleep

Lol, something I’m rather an expert on, or not 😦

More Choice…..

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…..means the harder it is to choose lol. Well, that’s what I discovered yesterday when I was still sitting there at lunch time not having a clue what to write for the someone cheated prompt lol. I finally had a brain wave and managed to write a short story….phew 😉

Yesterday was the first day of normality…..hubby went back to work…..the house was so quiet. It felt odd. The diet starts on Saturday, the house cleaning starts on Monday, so I really should take the opportunity to put my feet up and eat chocolate shouldn’t I? He he he

Stumbled across this website today. Well, I say stumbled, it was actually a link on another blog I read 😉 Anyway, looks interesting…. One to keep an eye on me thinks 😉

Sent my cheque off yesterday, so i guess I’m now officially enrolled with The Write Place where you will find me on Wednesday evenings from now on 🙂 Really looking forward to my first session next week. I’m going to go to the later sessions, as I think they will be more beneficial to me, where my writing is, at the moment.

I did think that I was a ‘novel’ writing person. But, the more I practice writing short stories, the easier I’m finding it, and the more enjoyable its becoming. Unfortunately, at the moment, most of them seem to be under 500 words. I guess that’s ‘flash fiction’ then isn’t it? Is there a market for that? Most magazines seems to want around the 2000 word mark.

Today’s prompt is write about the passing of hours and, through word association, what sprang to mind was Michael Cunningham and Mrs Dalloway lol 😉 I went to see Cunningham at The Southbank Centre in the summer. He was doing a talk as part of their Literary Festival….lovely man 🙂

To round off, I have a quote from Roddy Doyle……”Regard every new page as a small triumph”

I do try to 😉