Tag Archives: Writers Resources

£10 in 10 Minutes

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Had news today that the wonderful Linda Lewis has just published another of her writing guides. This one, entitled How to Make £10 in 10 Minutes is now available for Kindle at the bargain price of 89p

The book is based on Linda’s workshop she did at Swanwick back in August, which, I have to say was one of the highlights of my week there 🙂

All Linda’s books are available at Lulu (and some on Kindle) and I can highly recommend them 🙂

Yesterday’s prompt about silence went well. I decided to tackle The Write Place homework and found that it tied in nicely with the prompt…..I’m now thinking that I can use it for my assignment, which is due on the 20th. I’ve got to do a 2500 to 3000 word story paying attention to:

the development of my voice
the persona I use for my character
the imagery I use

I’m determined to start it today……but first, today’s prompt shapes like stars

Hmmmmm, that’ll be interesting 😉

Damn & Blast

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Why is it that I always come up with ideas for stories when I’m in bed trying to get to sleep?

They say you should have a notebook next to your bed, which is all very well if you want to sit up, turn the light on, and completely lose that sleepy feeling lol…..but, if you suffer from insomnia like me and you feel yourself finally drifting off, there is no way you’re gunna jump up and write an idea down in your note book 😉

So Friday night/Saturday morning (I think it was gone midnight) I came up with the first couple of lines for a story…..but, do you think I could remember it by 6am when I woke up? 😦

Yesterday’s prompt, where the road leads was ok. I wrote about a woman who is a bully. She marries a man who’s life she dominates. The tables turn when she discovers she’s infertile and her husband blackmails her with the promise of IVF treatment (I’m such a happy soul).

I spent Friday night (while hubby was watching 24 lol) looking at all the possible competitions I could enter. There’s actually 4 I’ve got my eye on, all with closing dates before the 1st February. I’m building up a nice collection of stories, but most will need elaborating on (and some major editing) before they can be submitted….so that’s the aim over the next week. So what with the writing and the fact that I promised I’d start decluttering the house, and start cooking healthy meals, it looks like its going to be a busy week lol

Today’s prompt is on the horizon

I’m gunna try to think outside the box with this one. So far, I’ve been taking these prompts pretty literal, so I’m going to push myself a bit more. I did come up with an idea in bed last night, and I’ve actually remembered it lol 😉

Screenwriting

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I managed to get another short story written yesterday, around the ashes prompt. A happy little tale about a woman in her car on the motorway, crashing into the back of a Sainsburys lorry *snigger*……I’m so sadistic 😉

Today’s prompt is you’re in a courtyard

I’m hoping I can come up with something a bit happier this time 😉

A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of The London Screenwriters Festival web site and I’ve signed up to be on their mailing list. The first e mail they send you is a link to a video that was filmed at the festival last year, entitled 50 Ways Into The Business. After watching that video I’m not so sure I’m cut out for script writing, it all sounds so scary lol. I took 2 pages of notes during the 1.5 hour video….some very interesting information that can equally be applied to other forms of writing.

I don’t know who the guy is who’s leading the panel, but, I love his theory….. The Success Triangle 🙂

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He says the more you take action, the luckier you’ll get and your experience then grows. Those 3 things working in harmony will get you to the top of the triangle…..and to success 🙂

Tonight we’re going up London to see a play…..I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow 🙂

Four Days To Go…..

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Until I come to the end of my Project 365 journey. On January the 2nd 2011 I downloaded the Project 365 App to my iPhone and began to take a photo a day, uploading them to FaceBook and the iPhone Project 365 Website

I’m feeling a little sad that it’s all coming to an end…..I didn’t miss one day 🙂 But it’s often been very hard, especially when you’re ill or just not in the mood to go out anywhere lol. A lot of the photos I’ve taken have ended up in my writing notebooks, to use as prompts for stories and character sketches.

Now, the question is…..do I do it again in 2012? Lol…..I haven’t decided yet 😉

I managed to get a couple of early morning hours yesterday to do some writing. I ended up with 3 short plays, a short story and a character sketch. Not a bad mornings work eh? 😉

So, I’ve been thinking a lot over the last couple of days about my new years resolutions. I make them every year, and every year I don’t stick to them (I think I made it to June with one a couple of years ago lol). This year, things will be different. This year I’m only going to make a couple, and maybe, actually have a chance of keeping them 😉

One of the resolutions I’m considering is the 100k in 100 days challenge. I’m not too sure I can manage it, I’ve never really counted how many words on average I write every day…….

*goes off to count how many words excluding this blog and FaceBook status updates she’s written today*

Wow so far today I’ve written just under 1500 words….. But, do I want the pressure of having to do 1000 words every single day? Is that just a little bit too much?

Weekend Writing

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It’s so hard to get any writing done at the weekends. With hubby at home, if I don’t get up early, ie before him, I don’t tend to get much writing done lol.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s very supportive. I just feel bad, like I’m neglecting him 😦 Friday night he watched a film and I was able to finish my current short story. It needs a bit of editing (something I’m hoping to get done today) and then I’ll submit it 😉

He’s not feeling very well at the moment, so I sent him to bed for a couple of hours this afternoon, which gave me enough time to work my way through the next section of the course, and make some notes on the next exercise.

I have to write a piece in my own voice, about something mundane I do every day. After making a list of all the mind numbingly boring things I do every day. I’ve finally chosen to write about tidying the house, something I do every morning.

So now I have the subject, I guess I better crack on and write about it lol. I did consider writing about the daily ‘de-pooing’ of the garden, but thought that would probably be going a bit too far 😉

No Longer A Competition Virgin ;)

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I’ve entered my very first writing competition….go me! I’m quite proud of myself but I’m under no illusions….so I don’t expect to hear anything back from it.

It’s a 500 word short story entitled “Keep You” which is about a woman who’s baby son was abducted by her ex husband. The 500 words describe the scene where she actually sees her son for the first time in 4.5 years (who said I don’t do happy stories?). At a later date I’d like to elaborate it and extend it so that we see her get her son back. The whole thing was inspired by a photo I saw of a woman who had her head in her hands crying.

Plan for today will be to get at least 1 of the exercises done for my course, 2 if I can manage it 🙂 I also want to do some work on another short story I’m working on for another competition. It’s about a woman who’s husband is a famous author. I have just over 1000 words, but can submit up to 2000. Most of the competitions offer a critique service. I didn’t bother asking for one with “Miss You” but I think I will with this one 😉

I have this idea……at some stage in the future I’m sure I will have piles and piles of rejection letters….so I’ve promised myself that when I do, I will decorate a wall in my dressing room with them. I know I have to develop a thick skin, I know that I’ll have to get use to “thank you, but no thank you” on a regular basis….and that’s ok, I know that often, being a successful writer doesnt necessarily go hand in hand with talent. I’ve read books by famous authors that, to be quite honest, are complete shite! Likewise, the writing of amateurs that I’ve thought is amazing but they never get that break.

At the moment, I’m happy to just keep plodding along, learning all that I can, and tentatively dipping my toe 😉

Research

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Spent most of yesterday researching style. Now, I’m not completely stupid, I know there are different styles of writing, it’s just my own I can’t identify lol

Unfortunately I got distracted quite a bit with the arrival of my first Copy of the Mslexia magazine….and all I can say is wow what a great resource!!!! I’ve read it cover to cover!!!!! There’s a huge section at the back that lists competitions…..gunna try my hand at a couple, you never know……and i never will unless i submit something 😉

Very interesting article entitled “The Case for 4×4 Fiction” all about publishers not being interested in publishing stories that are about the middle classes…..oh dear, that’s definitely my stuff out the window then lol. Both of my Nano novels are about middle class families, set in suburbia. Apparently, if I change my stories, so that they’re about poverty stricken people I’ve got a much better chance of publication lol

My Amazon wish list took a pounding….. After reading said article I managed to add another half a dozen books lol

Today’s task, (in between the washing machine repair man, a friend popping in for coffee and baking lol) is the next exercise on the course, regarding my “audience”….. Who is the invisible reader at my shoulder when I write? I’m pretty sure I write what I like to read (which I’ve now discovered I have no chance in hell of getting published lol).

Sooooo, my audience? 40 something housewife who likes to read about other peoples lives, so she can believe that others are having a shittier time than she is LMAO 😉

Picture Prompts

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The assignment has been submitted YAY lol. So I’ll give myself a couple of days break and then I’ll start on the next section 🙂

Yesterday I wrote a few short stories. I love using pictures to inspire ideas and I have a separate notebook for writing stories and doing characterisations that are inspired by pictures. I try to stick to just 2 pages for each picture, to make it short and just an outline. I use photos that I have taken myself along with any interesting shots I’ve come across in magazines and newspapers.

The one I especially enjoyed writing yesterday (which was inspired by a woman in dark glasses shaking hands with a guy in a straw hat in a shop) is about a woman who’s husband is a well known, charismatic and successful author. The guy she’s meeting, or rather, bumping into, is her husbands ex agent. She lets slip to the ex agent about the book launch next week. The ex agent is put out that he hasn’t been invited so she pretends his invite must have go lost, and says she’ll post another one. She knows her husband will be furious for inviting him and on the verge of a panic attack she makes her way to the toilets. She removes her glasses and splashes her face with cold water. In the mirror she gently prods her black eye, hoping that it will have gone down in time for the book launch, and praying, that she won’t get another one.

I enjoy writing stories like that 🙂 A friend said to me recently “don’t you ever write anything happy?” lol…..I can do happy, but happy is boring, happy is chick lit or Mills & Boon….and anyway, the story above could be happy…… She could leave him and then we could discover that it’s been her all along writing the books 😉

Finally There?

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Assignment 3

Spell check…..Done
Tense…..Altered where needed
Internal Monologue…..Added
Reflective Commentary…..Written
All typed up and ready to submit…..Nearly lol 😉

I just need to check it over one more time and then I can e mail it to my tutor 🙂

Yesterday, along with faffing about with my assignment I was also thinking about the complexity of Characters. What makes a good character? Well, if you think about people you know they’re all multi faceted, layered, and you only get to see what they want you to see…..do you ever really know someone?…….and why is that?

It’s all about the stuff we hide and why we hide it. Does such a thing as ‘an open book’ really exist? Or are they actually a dark horse? We hide sides of our personality that we are embarrassed about or uncomfortable with. We hide to control the way we’re perceived. We want to appear stronger, wiser, sexier, more successful, younger or more mature than we really are. So what do people hide? What would a person spend a lifetime concealing? What would a person take to their grave without ever revealing? What secrets do people keep?

No person is all good…..

No person is all bad…..

…..our fictional characters should be just like real people. Not only do they have to get up and go to work, put the rubbish out or feed the cat, they, like us, have layered personalities, issues and secrets.

Wouldn’t fiction, and life, be dull, if we didn’t? 😉