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Readin', Writin' and Rovin' (with a sketch book).

The exhibition at Seagrass Studios and Gallery, in West Kirby, Wirral, closes this weekend so if you wish to view my watercolour painting on show there - plus lots of other truly lovely art - then be sure to call in.  The gallery can be found on Acacia Grove, which is directly opposite the train station. Birkenhead Park sketch, and my painting (centre by lamp) in Seagrass Gallery These last few weeks, I've been busy writing Morgan .  Explained simply, there are three ways to write a novel.  One way is to plan everything in advance, making detailed notes which are then followed rigidly.  The opposite method is to plan nothing at all, to have a loose idea and start exploring this through writing and slowly discover where it might lead.  The middle way offers a compromise between these two extremes; the writer has a few notes which log important plot twists and outcomes, but which also leaves plenty of room for flexibility and improvisation. Each writer needs to experiment and

Newness, Neighbours, Novels - and Bruises!

Fabian: An Artisan-Sorcerer Story out 09.09.16 I can now announce that the fourth novel in the Artisan-Sorcerer Series is now available in book shops the world over, in both paperback and ebook formats. I hope you all enjoy Fabian , and will consider writing a review on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble or your blog or social networking site.  We indie authors can always use a bit of help, you know! I'm already developing ideas for the fifth novel.  I already know how it's going to end and who is going to die.  I'm not quite sure how our heroes are going to arrive at that point yet, but it will come.  The process is like daydreaming.  I toy around with an idea and allow my imagination to go anywhere it wants to, sometimes prodding it along a little with 'what if' questions but not trying to force ideas in any specific direction as that tends to limit creativity.  In this way, I end up with a flexible plot outline without having written even one word

Wednesday Writing Tips #8: Underestimate Yourself!

Welcome to this series of writing tips. If you would like to pen a guest post for this series, email me at ACBwrites@aol.com . How many times have you read advice which encourages you to write 1,000 words a day, every day?  The purpose of this seems logical enough - if you produce a steady flow of words bit by bit your novel or short story collection will be finished. This standard gem of advice works fine if you have the time to write 1,000 words a day.  Perhaps you sprint past this word-count regularly.  If so, good for you.  However, if you aim for the golden number of 1,000 words but find yourself regularly falling short, this post is for you. Writing 1,000 words a day might be fine for people who are at home for much of the day.  It might be fine for people who work but whose partners are happy to carry the load while the writer's evenings and weekends are focused solely on writing.  But if you have kids who need taking to and from school and various clubs, a dog whic

Wednesday Writing Tips #7: Develop Your Creative Potential.

Welcome to this series of writing tips. If you would like to pen a guest post for this series, email me at ACBwrites@aol.com . Today, guest blogger Gemma Gaten shares her ideas about how to improve creativity. Every person is unique. We are all creative in our own simple ways but most of us haven't realised our full creative potential. Some people are trying to unlock their creativity while others give up trying to know in which field they are most creative. Being intelligent, hard-working, and having a nice attitude are not enough to become successful in your chosen career. More than these things, you must learn how to use your normal intelligence in doing creative work. Creativity is an element that is present in all fields. Whether you are working in a business, have a job related to the arts or technology and social media, your level of creativity plays a vital role in your profession. Enhancing creativity can impact upon every aspect of your life. That is why ma

Wednesday Writing Tips #6: The Magic Formula

Welcome to this series of writing tips.  If you would like to pen a guest post for this series, email me at ACBwrites@aol.com . One of the frequently occurring ideas have met with, during my years with Riverside Writers, insists that there is, hidden away somewhere, a formula which guarantees success. People holding to this belief will invest much time and energy on courses, workshops, 'How To' books, endless research or the latest software searching for this formula. Courses may be interesting and educational, and the student may well graduate clutching a pretty certificate and a sense of personal fulfilment. Something similar could be said of workshops, and any gathering of like-minded people can bring an opportunity for networking. Both courses and workshops tend to be money-earning ventures, which is no bad thing in itself - most people like to supplement their income! - but remember that as educational establishments are now run as businesses, it is in thei

Wednesday Writing Tips #5: The Challenge of Blank Space!

Welcome to this series of writing tips. If you would like to pen a guest post for this series, email me at ACBwrites@aol.com . The challenge of filling the blank space on a screen can feel daunting to some new writers.  They want to write but can't quite get going.  They can write, but don't know where to start.  They've a million ideas but what if it all goes wrong?  So they stare at the screen and wait for inspiration to zap some inspiration into their lives.  Meanwhile, the clock's ticking and nothing is getting written.  The more this hurdle is thought about, the bigger it seems to get. At Riverside Writers, we set a monthly writing project to give people a starting point.  This can take the form of a title, a location, a first line or a set of objects which need to be included in a story or poem.  We have been doing this for several years now and those who participate regularly have found it a very useful tool to help them get writing. Examples of these pr

Wednesday Writing Tips #4: Ideas.

Welcome to this series of writing tips.  If you would like to pen a guest post for this series, email me at ACBwrites@aol.com . I am often asked where I get my ideas for stories from.  This is a slightly puzzling question, to me, as I've more ideas for stories than I have time to write.  I get my ideas from all over the place, but while this answer covers it from my perspective it's probably not so helpful to anyone else. The standard advice to all writers and poets is to carry a notebook around with you so whenever you see or hear something of particular interest you can note it down.  I used to do this.  Now I've a cupboard jammed with notebooks which I never even glance at as there is a long queue of ideas in my mind already, and so I no longer use this method.  You're totally free to try it and see if it works for you, of course.  Perhaps the real benefit of note-keeping is that it primes the mind to be aware of ideas for stories. Only you can decide what

Wednesday Writing Tips #3: Read!

Welcome to this series of writing tips, to be posted each Wednesday. If you would like to pen a guest post for this series, email me at ACBwrites@aol.com.  If you want to be a writer, or to improve your writing and your chances of being published, you need to read.  Read all kinds of books, including those which you might not usually choose for yourself.  You can learn as much from authors whose work leaves you cold as you can from those you instinctively love.  You will discover ideas, methods of plot construction and literary styles which you many not have thought otherwise thought of.  Some of these you might choose to adapt for your own work; others you might make a point of never using on pain of  death.  But you will have given yourself the opportunity to analyse which aspects of any particular book worked and which didn't, in your opinion, and to make your own creative choices based on this. The publishing world is a fickle and is currently undergoing huge chang

Wednesday Writing Tips #2: Edit Your Writing

Welcome to this series of writing tips, to be posted each Wednesday. If you would like to pen a guest post for this series, email me at ACBwrites@aol.com .   Today I'm happy to present a guest post by Sandra Miller.    Sandra Miller is a writer living in New York. Two times a year she watches the sitcom Friends. Her passion is Latin American culture, and she loves salsa. Sandra uses professional editing services help to write great material.     Simple Tips in Editing your Own Work Writing doesn’t stop at finishing your first draft. You have to go through another process and that is editing your own work. Editing is the process whereby the writer checks on whether the paper is well-written and organized in terms of content, clarity, overall structure, style and transition of paragraphs. Here are a few tips which can help you through the process. Tip No. 1. Finish the draft first. As much as possible, avoid editing while you’re writing. Correcting typ

Morgen Bailey's 'Writing Essentials'.

  Introducing Morgen Bailey!   Today, I'm joined by Morgen Bailey, who has agreed to share some writing tips.  At Riverside Writers, new members often ask about the best ways to go about learning their craft, having been left bewildered by a huge array of 'how to' books which trot out vast lists of Dos and Don'ts.  Here, Morgen keeps things simple.   Based in Northamptonshire, England, Morgen Bailey is a prolific blogger, podcaster, editor/critiquer, Chair of NWG (which runs the annual H.E. Bates Short Story Competition ), Head Judge for the NLG Flash Fiction Competition and creative writing tutor for her local council. She is also a freelance author of numerous ‘dark and light’ short stories, novels, articles, and very occasional dabbler of poetry. Like her, her blog, http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com , is consumed by all things literary. She is also active on Twitter , Facebook along with many others (listed on her blog’s Contact page ). She als

How to Write a Novel

More gifts for writers at Spooky Cute Designs:   http://www.zazzle.co.uk/AdeleCB I was asked, today (again),  how a person goes about writing novels.  My reply of, "It depends" probably wasn't all that helpful.  In my defence, at the time I was busy attaching a rebellious strand of millet to the inside of a budgie cage while dear ol' Archie was trying to discover if my fingers were edible.  How's that for gratitude.  And I'd given him fresh water, too... Over time, every writer develops their own way of working.  Otherwise, they tend to give up and do something else.  There's no right or wrong way; only the way which works for each individual.  Some people plan every chapter in great detail before they even consider starting work on the text.  Other people plan nothing at all; they just start writing and see where an idea takes them.  Others fall somewhere in between these two.  How do you find which way works for you?  Easy - get writing and discover

Writing: Waiting for Submission Responses

With spring now well underway, perhaps it was inevitable that Riverside Writers latest meeting turned into an informal discussion about the passage of time and how much people hoped to achieve, writing-wise, during the coming year.  Several people mentioned frustration over poor responses to submissions.  That's when they even get a response!  Despite the reply-by times offered as part of submission guidelines, in practice many agents and publishers don't reply at all, not even with a pro forma email.  Meanwhile, the writer is left dangling, waiting to receive a response to the MS they spent several hours tweaking in order to fulfill each set of submission guidelines.  Weeks turn into months, and no reply comes.  For my part, in one instance I received a 'thanks but no thanks' letter from an agent one entire year later, though they claimed to reply to queries within six to eight weeks.   In another case, an anthology which accepted one of my stories in 2007 still h

Developing Fictional Characters

I’m in the process of developing three new fictional characters for Fabian . I use a combination of methods when creating new people. There’s no right and wrong way to do these things. It’s more a case of experimenting to discover what works for you. For example, with one of these new characters I used a rather direct method. He appears very briefly in Rowan , so I already had his first name and the fact that he’s a musician. I wanted physical contrast with my other main male characters, so choices about looks were easily arrived at. I also wanted a personality which would provide a strong contrast to my other main characters, and so he was given a big, bombastic name to match his loud, exuberant traits and the plot role he plays. For a middle name, I thought of those marvellous Victorian names, heavy with pomp. The surname had been floating around in my mind for a while, and I liked the feel of it and it sounded right. Then I encountered a touch of serendipity. As his is a very

Blossom and Books

Ashton Park’s rose garden has a path lined with cherry trees, and they’re all in full blossom right now. A slow stream of ice-pink confetti drifts down on all who stroll beneath. On the park pond it’s serious nest-building time. A pair of coots are trying their best to attach a pile of sticks to the base of the fountain. That a 30’ jet of water streaks past their little heads is no deterrent. Maybe this is the same pair of coots who successfully built a nest there last year. The dogs and I virtually had the beach to ourselves earlier today. Right now, they’re flaked out - one stretched out along the back of one couch, and other curled up on a tuffet facing the sunshine streaming in through the French doors. Tonight is Riverside Writers’ AGM. Is our anthology ready to go to the printers tomorrow? Will the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer be re-elected (again)? And will we break our own record for the fastest AGM, which currently stands at ten minutes flat? Let’s be honest here - ha

Writer's Block

Two friends have complained about writer’s block within the space of one week. They wanted to know how I get around this problem. Well, the truth is that writer’s block is not something I have a problem with, so it could be fairly argued that I’m not the best person to seek advice from. On the other hand, as it isn’t an issue for me, perhaps I’m doing something right--or, more accurately, something which works. Writer’s block does not exist outside a person’s own mind. If you’re bored with your story, how do think a reader might feel? Set aside the piece you’re working on and write something else. You can always come back to the original piece another time. To get into the creative flow, try a writing exercise such as the monthly projects we set at Riverside Writers. Members are asked to create a poem or short story (of any length or genre) on a theme such as a location, a phrase or object, an opening sentence, or we might use an unusual photograph as a starting point. Those wh

Writers' Workshop

A good article on turn-offs for lit agents: http://www.writersdigest.com/article/what-agents-hate/ The turn-out for the writers’ workshop broke all Riverside Writers’ previous records. There weren’t enough printed handouts to go round, unfortunately. So much for my guess-work! Among the crowd was Sci-Fi author Colin P Davies , who visited our group as a speaker some years ago. http://www.colinpdavies.com/index.htm Anyway, the workshop on constructive criticism - which I'd organised - generated a healthy amount of group discussion, which was one of my intentions. The practical exercise I’d prepared brought some levity. I read one page of what was supposed to be the start of a novel, which was written awfully on purpose, and people had to pretend that a member of the writers circle had presented this in all seriousness. How, then, would the group offer constructive criticism? Once they’d all stopped laughing, I pointed out that if they were to laugh at fellow writer’s efforts,

Writing

On Friday, I attended a talk by author Katie Fforde , who read aloud from her thirteenth novel, Going Dutch , before discussing her writing and freely answering questions from her audience at West Kirby Library. Katie came across as a warm and likeable lady, and told us that while she sometimes bases her fictional characters on people she knows, even family members, she’s always careful to make sure she writes nothing unpleasant about them! It’s always heartening to hear an author describe how they struggled to get published for ten years before being successful, as Katie apparently did. I’ve heard it said that, on average, an author experiences seven years’ worth of rejection slips. The topic of the practical benefits of developing a writing routine was discussed at some length during Saturday’s meeting of Wirral Writers Inc., organised by John Gorman .   Everyone seems to have their own quirks and methods. For example, I write (virtually) every morning until around 2pm. Some peop

Writing Techniques

At Riverside Writers , we set a monthly writing challenge which encourages participants to create a new poem or short story to a set theme. This theme might be inspired by a curious photograph, (such as a recent one which depicted a woodland tree with a large collection of ladies' shoes nailed to it). Or the theme might be generated by each participant writing a random word, (such as piano, marshmallow, axe, tutu, gorilla), on a scrap of paper, and the resulting group of words all have to be used within the new piece of writing. You could do something similar by yourself, just by opening a dictionary or a child’s alphabet book at random and using the first word your finger lands on, then repeating this process several times. Another method is to present the group with a sentence which must be used to start or finish the new piece. The results of these exercises can be fun to hear, certainly. Everyone always comes up with something which is unique. Also, imagination and innovation