Topic Task - Week Twenty-Six

Submitting and receiving feed back about your work is a lot of what writing is about. Trying to find a home for your manuscript and the struggle to get the work under the nose of the right person is another major role of the writer.
Last week, I submitted a few items and so far have had one very quick and very helpful critique. The critique came with a rejection, but an open door should I decide to look again at my plot line or embark on something new. It was also nice to hear that my writing is: vivid and fluent; no problems there. The upshot is I have a lot of hard work ahead, but this is a challenge I will win.
My weakness, and that of many writers is the dreaded synopsis. I loath them with a passion, if only I could write them with a passion. The critique I received has shown that I have left out some very important sections from my synopsis and this was why the plot line was not as strong as it should have been. I'm rather excited about the work I now have to do, and the direction in which it will be going. I want you all to remember that rejection is not always a bad thing. It makes you become more aware of your own work and often gives a direction to improve.

So what is the topic task for this week?

Choose one of the options below.

1. To create a synopsis for a piece of your work or to find an old synopsis and revamp it or start a fresh.

2. How about getting a writing friend to swap manuscripts and write each others synopsis. Once this has been done share the results. Does the synopsis describe your plot correctly and completely?

3. If you don't yet have a manuscript to write a synopsis for, find a novel you know well and work out what the plot line is and write your own synopsis for it. You may be surprised what you find.

Okay, this is a challenging task. So what are you waiting for?

Get writing.

Topic Task - Week Twenty-Five

What a wonderful week. I've spent my week off writing, having fun with my son and catching up with writing friends. It has been very productive. I've had the fantastic illustration for Intergalactic Orksnog given to me by the very talented Vincent Shaw-Morton. I'm pleased to say that a couple of days ago he secured an agent for his work. A fantastically talented artist/illustrator - remember to check out his website.
I've also completed and am today submitting three short stories and a few days ago I sent the first ten pages of my psychological thriller to an agent. So I have my fingers and toes crossed in hope that they are all looked upon favourably.

I've also been having a think about this weeks topic task.

You have a mantle-place in a room, you decide which room. On this mantle are twelve things - two candles, a stuffed owl, a half eaten cup cake, a faded photograph, a French clock, a sword, a cat, a tub of Vaseline, a plate of bacon, a wet dead fish and an old sock .You have to describe the room, and the items on the mantle. Each item is linked, how or why is for you to find out and to show to your reader. You are doing this in the first person.

I have no idea how you will link these items or how you will develop the scenario, but have a go and see where it leads.

Go on then, get writing.

Intergalactic Orksnog

Illustration by Vincent Shaw- Morton

As you are all aware, I've got lots of projects on at the moment. One of which is to set the Intergalactic Orksnog free to fly. He will be winging his way out very soon, but just to give you an idea of what it is all about, take a look at this amazing illustration for the front cover by the brilliant Vincent Shaw-Morton - and check out his website
I hope you love him as much as I do.

A challenging task has been placed on the shoulders of Ozlan the intergalactic orksnog. He must track down the Great Combustible Nargle and save his home planet of Santronia. This has to be done whilst being tracked by intergalactic slayers who are determined to stop him. Having travelled through space, he is burnt and bruised when young Hadley Bacon stumbles upon him. Should Hadley help him or run for his life?

Topic Task - Week Twenty-Four

I’m about to enjoy a week of writing. I’ve three projects I need to send out. I really must write more scenes for my psychological thriller and those I’ve completed, need to be put into chapters. The agent I’ve been put onto is also, at last, going to receive the first three chapters of the thriller. I’m hoping they will be received favourably.

So that is me, what about you. What have you recently sent out? What responses have you had? How are you going to move forward with your writing?

The topic Task for this week is quite simple. I want you to think about two memorable events in your life.  Events can be memorable for different reasons – choose two that are vastly different, one positive and one negative. Using your writing talents you are going to manipulate the situation and turn those events around.
This isn’t an easy task. You will need to call upon your personal feelings and emotions and pull them out of one situation and put them into the other. This is a wonderful way to make your fictional writing have a sense of reality. If you feel it, the reader will too. I call it method writing, a bit like method acting, you live and breathe your character as you write. A word of warning: DO NOT answer the phone when you are having an argument with one of your characters! I did this and shouted down the phone at the wrong person – thankfully they were very understanding.

So, go on, get writing, 

Topic Task - Week Twenty-Three

I woke to sun shining through my bedroom window today and couldn't resist getting up and out. I headed out for an hour and a half walk and discovered a new walking route. Listened to the birds, blue-tits, song thrush, pheasants to mention but a few, but the sound that had me stopping and looking was the knocking of the wood pecker. I can't tell you if it was a green wood pecker or the greater spotted, but it was having a great time pecking. I couldn't believe how loud or how rhythmic it was. Perfectly spaced bouts of hammering. I'm hoping to do the same walk again tomorrow, bright and early. This gave me the idea of this weeks topic task.

You can choose to do one or both of these suggestions. If you attempt both you will find your writing will be doubly enhanced. So what do I want you to do? Make sure you take a note book and pen/pencil with you. Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed, or like me go for a walk

1. You are going to write a description of the sounds you hear. Don't just say a blue-tit tweeted. Embellish and enhance your sentences to make your reader believe they are standing in your shoes and they are there listening. Add to that a description of the smell in the air, the chill/warmth. You might like to do this first by just sitting and listening all the sounds you hear. You'll be surprised how many sounds you  miss. The rustle of a vole in the undergrowth, the down beat of a Red Kite's wing. There are many sounds that just pass us by. You can use these descriptions in your future work, you will be surprised how real your work becomes.

2. For the second option you are going to be tasting. Taste is often forgotten when we write. It is one of the main senses so we should use it more often. You can imagine the flavour, sensation and effect of a lemon on the tongue, but what about other things. This is your chance to allow that naughty piece of chocolate melt on your tongue and honestly say it is for research purposes only. Taste nice things, but also taste things you wouldn't normally put in your mouth. If you were to write a scene where a lover tastes a strange substance on the skin of the other, you would need to have experienced something similar to give your writing an edge.

So there you are, one task with two options. I hope you find this good fun and that you become more aware of the sounds and tastes that will help you write more convincingly.

What are you waiting for, get writing.