Spooky Story #3!

Whew! I spent most of the day watching Hallowe’en films (my favourite today was Practical Magic, mostly because I didn’t feel the urge to hide behind the sofa during that one but also because it’s a great film) but I still got this story done in time, just about. Now, fair warning, I started off with a vague idea of the ending and it was going to be scary and ambiguous and then the story changed completely and now it’s spooky but kinda accidentally really cute. At least, I think so. Anyway, enjoy!

Spooky Story #2 (Part 2)

I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s story, because here comes the end of it! Feedback, likes and shares are always much appreciated (though if you’re going to share this one, I suggest sharing the previous post to avoid spoiling it for other readers).

Spooky Story #2 (Part 1)

Hello, all! After yesterday’s little bit of silliness, I decided to try for something actually spooky today. And then it got a bit out of hand when I was writing it last night and now it’s going to be a two- or three- part story… I hope you don’t mind! Here’s the first part, feel free to share the link around and/or let me know what you think in the comments! Enjoy…

Spooky Story #1!

I forgot I was going to do this, but since I wrote one the other week I intend to share with you a Hallowe’en-themed story, as promised. Hopefully I’ll then write a few more to keep us going until the end of October, before the NaNo madness begins. That said, this one isn’t scary so much as mildly amusing…At least, it made me smile as I wrote it (which entailed half a bus journey the other week constantly repeating it in my head in an attempt not to forget a thing). I hope you enjoy it!

8 Days to NaNo…

I can’t wait to get going on this year’s NaNoWriMo, but I’m going to need some of that time to get over this bloomin’ cold. On the plus side, I’m sure all this rest is doing me good.

As you may remember, I’m hoping to write more than the required 50,000 words (or at least to write that amount in less time) so it should be a fun month for me. With my usual impeccable timing, I’m just now discussing the possibility of doing some work experience, too, so it’s going to be a hectic month!

For now, I’m just checking in and reminding you all that anyone can take part in NaNoWriMo, completely free – just sign up here! Or if you’d like to support future participants (and cheer me on), you can still sponsor me for a dollar or two here, which would be much appreciated. Talk to you tomorrow!

Good books to read…

Hi! I’m still ill, so rather than babble incomprehensibly about something I’ve just pulled out of my fevered brain, I thought I’d ask you what you like to read.

For example, I was asked what my favourite book was at an interview the other day and I picked The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (which I’ve just found a page about on her site here). I love the way the story spans years, and the way the mystery builds and comes together, but beyond that I can’t tell you much as I’ve spent a couple of years now trying to forget what happens so I can read it afresh again.

Other favourites of mine include The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, and the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett, particularly anything with Sam Vimes in it. I’m also very fond of Goshawk Squadron by Derek Robinson, which is somewhat less family-friendly than some of the other books and follows the story of the eponymous squadron and its grim commander, Major Woolley, as they patrol the skies in the First World War.

So, those are some of my favourite books. What about yours? I’d love some recommendations in the comments below.

A bit of a tease…

Alright, so I had to call in sick for everything today (and may have to tomorrow), so I haven’t got much done apart from finding a quick convert-to-epub tool on the internet and sticking my current draft of The Perfect Garden onto my Kobo (which I might have got just a little bit overexcited about). Apologies for anyone who was hoping for an insightful blog post or some short fiction.

However, to make up for it, I’ll give you a peek at one of the many projects I’m working on – I’m not telling you any more than that, I’m afraid, but at least it’s something to read while I’m out of action.

Now, as he came round gradually, he became aware of the fact that he was lying on a cold, hard floor, harsh light streaming through a window somewhere he couldn’t see without opening his eyes – which he had no intention of doing – and that there was someone else nearby somewhere. He was also dimly conscious of the fact that he appeared to be spinning. Or perhaps the room was spinning. At any rate, there was a distinctly… spinning… sensation going on. He supposed he should probably open his eyes and check that he hadn’t been strapped to one of those wheels knife-throwers sometimes tied their assistants to. If he had been, the knife-thrower wasn’t very good, judging by the throbbing pain in his head. Yes, he should probably open his eyes and just make sure that he was alive. Any moment now.

Anyway, I hope you’re intrigued – guesses as to what on earth has happened are welcome in the comments, though I don’t promise to give any straight answers – and that you don’t mind this total letdown of a blog post for tonight. I hope to be feeling better and back to proper blogging tomorrow!

Powerful tales

I was watching the first episode of a new series earlier, ‘Secrets from the Sky’. They were looking at Tintagel Castle – certainly on my list of places to visit one day – which is rumoured to be, variously, Camelot, the birthplace of King Arthur, and the birthplace of Morgan Le Fay. Being a more scientific-leaning programme, interested in the age of the stones used to build the existing castle and the earthworks that suggest an earlier settlement, the programme was quite dismissive of the myths and legends as a whole, though they did find some interesting 1500 year old graffiti indicating that there was at least one man there almost called Arthur.

The legends of King Arthur are, of course, impossible to verify at this point. I personally like to believe there’s a fair bit of truth to them, but I’m a sucker for powerful sorcery, strong women, and family dramas. Plenty of others see them as inspiring tales with little basis in fact, still more as the propaganda of a less impressive warrior king. Who can say what the truth is?

I don’t know how some stories become legends, muddying the waters of history, or which stories will survive 1500 years from now. But I think it’s interesting that some do; that stories have such power to move us and even make us believe in things we usually wouldn’t.

Not only that, but the same stories can capture the imaginations of generations of people – look at the works of Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl for children, the novels of Austen and the plays of Shakespeare… and, of course, the Arthurian Legends and the likes of Beowulf. All these stories have held sway over people from different time periods, with different views and opinions, and while some elements of them may now be very dated the general storylines still strike a chord with many people today.

My stories will almost certainly never be legends, and who knows if they’ll last one generation, never mind more? But it’s incredibly inspiring to know that some stories do last, and that every story, no matter how many or how few people it reaches, can change the way someone thinks or feels, can make them smile when they’re sad or give them hope when they’re anxious.

I think that’s important. And I think it’s excellent. See you tomorrow.

Strangers in stories

There are more people in the world that you don’t know than people you do. A somewhat mind-boggling thought, since the first few people who come to mind will almost certainly be people you do know, but true nonetheless. In books and stories, however, we have to know all our characters. Does that mean there are no strangers in fiction?

Well, I don’t think it has to. In any given story, there will be characters – with or without plot significance – that your main characters don’t know at the start of the book. Those with plot significance usually come to meet them and form an acquaintance with at least one character – or at least with the reader – but what of the hundreds of passersby in the backgrounds of your scenes?

You don’t have to give them all rich backstories, of course, especially as they’re unlikely to become plot-relevant later on. But, especially if you’re writing a character in a busy location or waiting for a long time in one place, those strangers can help enrich your scenes in just a few words.

Maybe that’s just my opinion. I’ll be back tomorrow with more opinions, but in the meantime I’ll leave you with two versions of a scene, and you can see which you prefer. Which do you feel sets the scene better? (And no, that’s not rhetorical – by all means let me know in the comments!)

1. Rain ran down the back of his neck and under his collar as he stood waiting for the bus. Across the road, despite the weather, the small parades of shops were as busy as ever as people scurried from doorway to doorway, seeking shelter and warmth.
   At last, the bus pulled up, a small clump of grumpy-looking people dropped out of the door, and he was free to take cover in a huddle of other passengers, clinging to a pole.
2. Rain ran down the back of his neck and under his collar as he stood waiting for the bus. Across the road, despite the weather, the small parades of shops were as busy as ever. He watched a mother herd three small children out of one shop and into another, trying to limit the amount of splashing that happened in the puddles on the way. Ten minutes later, they were off down the road again, and one of the children’s enthusiastic landings earned her a disapproving look from an elderly man who got caught in the splash zone. For a moment, it looked as if he was seriously considering waving his stick at her, but then the moment passed and they went their separate ways.
   At last, the bus pulled up, a small clump of grumpy-looking people dropped out of the door, shaking umbrellas open and burrowing into their hoods, and he was free to take cover in a huddle of other passengers, clinging to a pole to stay upright and trying to ignore the obnoxiously loud music of a nearby passenger he couldn’t quite pinpoint the location of.

Bizarre plot twists…

This evening, I’m going over to stay at my sisters’ house for the night. This is partly so we can go out early tomorrow, and partly so that I can meet their newest member of the family.

You see, at some point last week my sister found a goldfish in a sandwich bag sitting on a dustbin at the side of the road. She waited with it for a few minutes, expecting someone to come back for it, but it was a hot day (a million miles removed from today) and it was clearly struggling, so she took it home with her. One trip to the pet shop to get a fish tank and some food later, Rocket the goldfish was happily established and living in a pineapple under the sea. He seems well enough, and the dogs apparently find him fascinating.

My sisters are therefore the only people I have ever heard of who have rescued a goldfish from the roadside. Street goldfish adoptions are not a common occurrence in anyone’s books – but maybe it’s just the kind of completely crazy thing that could spice up someone’s book.

I know a lot of people start to write and then get discouraged because what they’ve written is ‘unrealistic’ or ‘would never happen in real life’. Firstly; there are genres for that. Sci-fi and fantasy would be a lot more boring if they stuck to things that might plausibly happen to you tomorrow – how many dragons do you know? And secondly; weird, surreal, unrealistic things happen in real life, too. Sometimes, a completely ‘normal’ existence can actually make a story seem more unrealistic than the odd unbelievable circumstance – weird things happen. You must have been in a situation at some point in your life when you’ve thought ‘This can’t be happening’, ‘I can’t believe it’, or ‘This is so weird’. Why shouldn’t the people in your story have similar experiences?

Sure, if you’re not writing in a fantasy sort of genre, you might want to stick to one or two minor unbelievable things rather than a non-stop surreal ride through all the weirdest events imaginable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t let your imagination run a little wild. After all, two weeks ago I would have said a roadside goldfish rescue was unbelievable and unrealistic, but tonight I’m off to meet Rocket (and snuggle the dogs, of course).

Have fun with your writing, and suspend your disbelief a little in your reading. Stranger things have happened, after all!

I’ll be back tomorrow, a little older than I was and still full of strange things to blog about. Talk to you then!