Writing task and book launch - 'The Lost Duchess'.

I've had my head down writing and forgot all about blogging last week. Shame on me. I also, in my defence went into London to the book launch of ‘The Lost Duchess’ by Jenny Barden. Follow Jenny’s link to find out more about the author. This was a wonderful event hosted by Goldsboro Books – click the link to find out more. This is Jenny’s second novel and follows on from her début novel ‘Mistress of the Sea’. During the book launch a trio of actors re-enacted a section from the book, which grasped everyone’s attention. Jenny had been inspired to write by Bernard Cornwell and was delighted when he was able to attend the book launch. These two books had me curled on the sofa, lost in the depths of Jenny’s ability to conjure up scenes that drag you in, play with you and spit you out thinking what’s next? They are, as all writers want – page turners. There is grit, depth, love, fear and over all, a book that makes reading a pleasure.

Apologies for not having blogged over the last two weeks. This week has also been rather difficult – a bereavement in the family has shaken us all. One thing this has shown me is to take up as many opportunities that come my way as I can. Take a chance and see where it takes me. Well, in theory that is great, but doing it might be more difficult, but I am going to try.

I am quite pleased with the new opening for my WIP although I'm not sure if it is now too descriptive, but I guess I will find out later this month. If so I will par it down a little and then with luck will have the happy medium.

For this week’s writing challenge I thought it would be fun to have a look at writing a short story set in a book shop. Think about the location of the book shop, could it be London, the Cotswolds, France or the USA. Is it ultra-modern, quirky, quintessentially English or moth ridden, damp and stagnant? Could this be a book reading, signing, book launch, a hostile takeover or simply a character in love with books, the owner or the building? What could go wrong? What goes right? How does you main character deal with the situation? What season is the story set? What might be decorating the shop? Remember to use all the bells and smells to give the scene depth.

So go on, get writing. 

Write a Picture is back.

It has been a very interesting writing week, a challenging work week and last weekend was full of dancing and champagne, so I can’t complain.

I have been given some very good advice regarding my writing from a wonderful agent and together, well she discovered where and what has been missing in my work. I am aiming to rectify this over the next few weeks and get the balance right. To help me with this I am going to read the opening three chapters of three novels and implement this into my own work. I am hoping to get this done by the end of the month, which is already dashing past too quickly. I only intend to have the first three chapters complete by the end of this period. I have a direction and I'm determined to follow the path, with its twists and turns, hills and valleys until I reach the end. Wish me luck.

 This week we are going back to ‘Write a Picture’, but to make it a little more difficult, I'm also giving you seven words that have to be used within your piece of writing. There are no guidance as to the genre of this piece.

Words: Heel – Bubble-Tea – Beggar – Shock – Jelly – Hippopotamus – Dumpling.  

So go on, get writing. 

Write up a storm.

I have had another busy week and the writing has had to go up a gear. Which is wonderful. I'm loving the material I am currently working on and feel really positive with the way things are appearing on the page. I know I have an awfully lot more to do, and once everything is written there will be much more for me to do and learn. With that scary thought in mind I'm still glad to be preparing for the next step – however long that might be in coming. I know that all the work and the effort is what I need to do to be able to spend every day writing. I don’t know if it will ever happen, but I will keep working until I can work no more.

With the storms lurking around us all here in England, I think it will be a great time to look at using the weather in our writing. So when the storm comes, take out your note book and write down what happens. From gentleness of a single leaf floating on a light breeze to the torturous scream of a giant oak being split in two. Listen to the wind, see how it changes, rises and falls, the change when it picks things up and drops them off. At the same time write down how that makes you feel. You will use this to show emotion in your characters. Also try to think of how our irrational fear of weather can affect us, or our over confidence that nothing will happen might be proved wrong.

So, you now have the notes, you need to put those into a piece of writing. Select one of the options below and make the weather prominent in your characters’ lives.

1.       Uncle and nephew taking the dog for a walk.

2.       Two couples out on a small sail boat.

3.       Lovers in a tent.

4.       A farmer and his herd of cattle.

I hope you will find some inspiration from this week’s prompts, so go on, get writing.  

Topic Tin Tasks

I missed a week! Actually, I've almost completely lost October – how has it gone passed so quickly? In my defence for not blogging last week, I had my new laptop and I've been writing. Yes, really writing. I've been editing, writing new scenes and getting back in to the writing place in my head with my muse beside me, pushing me on. It has been great. So I hope you will forgive my lack of post last week.

This week has also be manic, work wise and on the writing side. I think the writing side is going well and pushing onward. My challenge for today is to get the house in order to make my writing space more Susan friendly which means changing things downstairs allow for the changes to writing area. I have edits to type up today and tomorrow I’ll be working on finalising plot lines.

It would be great to know where you all do your main writing. I know now with laptops many of us write on the go, which I find inspiring, but also I get distracted by what is going on around me. I do my best writing in the seclusion of my study area where no one dare disturb me. I've been known to write in the garden when the sun is shining and the rain isn't falling, but once again I can cope with the bird song, but not the lawn mowers, screaming kids and arguing neighbours, unless I need some character studies. Let’s find out where the creativity is created and written down. Please add a comment to this blog, on facebook or on twitter.

This week’s topics have come from the TOPIC TIN. Listed below are four challenges, select one that appeals, or do them all.

1.       Mother said she was sick, well she always does, but today there was something different in her behaviour that got me listening.

2.       It is autumn and the garden needs attention. Write an article for a gardening magazine. Research the magazines, target your article and submit.

3.       Write a ten minute monologue. You need to include the following words. Hiccups – Scissors – Drain – Feast – astringent – Void.

4.       Poem – Cobwebs. With the mornings being damp you can see the strands of the spider webs enhanced by the morning moisture.

So there you are. Four TOPIC TIN tasks for you to get your creative juices flowing. Go on, get writing. 

A study of behaviour...

Okay, so the good news is, I have a new shiny sleek laptop which can travel with me and I will now be able to focus on the work ahead. Write as and when I wish, however, that isn't possible just yet, the reason being the new Microsoft 365 I purchased is not loading up, product key isn't liked and therefore I have to wait until Monday, they don’t have phone help over the weekends, I think this is something that should be rectified. It is frustrating. My son has suggested that I load my work up on Google Docs and therefore will be able to continue writing; this is until Microsoft help are back. So I'm a semi happy Susan and I hope that by the time I get home from work on Monday, my son will have been in touch with the help desk and solved the issue.

I hope you had fun watching and writing about the differences light can make in your writing. You can do observations to help you give atmosphere to your writing. This week we are looking at what influence our own behaviour has on those around us. How does your mood affect others? For instance, this week has been very challenging for me and I was very aware that my frustrations were being felt by those I worked with – Yes, I was angry. Thankfully this doesn't happen often. It is interesting how this disturbance in the normal behaviour of one can manifest itself in others.

Take a look around the office, school playground, gym or any other place where people meet and interact. Notice how a simple happy greeting can change to a concerned conversation, watch the body language – what does it tell you about the situation. A telling sideways glance can tell you so much about what a person is really thinking when engaged in conversation with a person they would rather be a long bus journey away form.

Take your note book with you everywhere you go this week, make as many observations as you can. I suggest you do this for at least a day, more if you get the chance. Once you’ve completed your notes, think about how you can use these observations to show the changes in the emotions of your characters. Play with different character types and see how different situations can manipulate your characters. It is a fun thing to do and you might be surprised with the results – characters you thought you knew so well, might just surprise you.

So go on, get writing. 

What's in the shadows?

Blimey! It’s Friday and I'm posting my blog. What happened? Well to be honest, I've got a very busy weekend coming up and therefore need to get everything done on time, if not before.

It has been another busy week and thankfully the end of the month is nearly here. Pay-day is just around the corner – roll on Monday. I'm trying to be patient, not easy, so I can buy my new laptop. I have stories I need to write, and work I need to submit. I want to be writing, really writing, so much so that I get so absorbed that I have withdrawal symptoms when I'm away earning money to sustain the body whilst the mind is allowed to create and indulge itself in creativity. Soon, so soon.

As the nights are drawing in and the shadows are beginning to cast their fear upon us, I want you to get out there and watch what happens to the areas around you. Set up a seat, or stand if you prefer, select an area and write down what you see, remember to carefully note down the light and how it affects the area you are watching - shadows. Then move away for twenty minutes and once again make notes on the area and the light, make particular notes of the changes to the shadows. Keep doing this every twenty minutes. Has someone come out and put a light on? How does that impact on your area? Does it create new shadows or extend the ones that were there? Perhaps the new light source has taken away the shadows completely. Remember to take note of the time for each recording.

Once you’ve completed this task, use this information to create a piece of writing that conjures up the differences you have recorded and show the effect it has on your characters. You decide if this is a light hearted, dark and mysterious or even deadly. Whatever you choose, make sure your reader feels it too.

So go on, get writing. 

Looking beneath the surface...

Well those last few days were rather unpleasant. I will just say that the bathroom and I have become rather a lot closer!! It has been during this time spending longer in rooms than I usually would I've managed to see things that I perhaps had overlooked for a while. You could call it poor housekeeping, well it is poor housekeeping, but it is a fact that we often spend our lives looking but not really seeing what is going on around us. For instance, in the bathroom I noticed that the gloss white paint has turned that yellowish colour of old paint, and looking closer I noticed there are sections that have begun to crack. The plasterboard on the walls have started to expel their tacks, or whatever the nails are that hold the board to the timber beneath. My conclusion is - I need to redo my bathroom.  I have also looked at the other rooms around the house and have realised that the whole house is tired. I feel I may need to get the Polly-filler and caulking out along with a few rather large tubs of white paint.

So your writing challenge is to select a room, it can be a room in your own home, office or somewhere you visit often and really look at it. Do this in stages. Firstly, just glance around and note down what you see. Second, look more closely, what is hidden beneath the surface? Note down the differences. Thirdly, walk away for an hour and then return and look more deeply. What did you miss the first time? Don’t just look on surfaces, or at the floor and walls. Remember to look up. I remember I attended a workshop on screen writing a few years back and they tutor got us all to sit on the floor and look around and observe try to see something that others might not see. I pointed out the small piece of Blu-tac that was pushed into the upper corner of the room which had a small strand of red tinsel still attached from a party since past.
Once you’ve made the notes you will need to go away and describe the room in full, faults and all. Then take that and place a family, couple or single occupant inside and show us how they live.

I'm hoping that will keep you all going for a while. So what are you waiting for?

Go on, get writing.