Chandler's Ford Today

reading

Stand Alone Books

By Leave a Comment

Image Credits:   Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books.

I love reading stand alone novels. One of my favourites here is The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. The story is complete. There could not be a follow up. But especially in genre fiction, there is a lot of the room for the series novels. Crime and historical fiction seem to me to lead the way there. I will be interviewing an American author shortly who is renowned for her crime series, but I thought for this post I’d take a look at the joys and challenges of writing stand alone books.

[Read more…] about Stand Alone Books

Tags: , , , , , ,

Light Writing

By Leave a Comment

Image Credit:   Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos

The best light works do not lay their themes on with the proverbial trowel. As you read the marvellous prose and get behind those characters, you will pick up the themes almost by osmosis. There is no lecturing. You are left to follow the characters on their journey.

[Read more…] about Light Writing

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Triggering Writing Ideas

By Leave a Comment

Image Credits:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One image directly from Pixabay.

As I write a lot of flash fiction and short stories, as well as posts like this, I always need to find ways of coming up with ideas. It is also sensible to have a variety of methods to find ideas because (a) it keeps things interesting for you as the writer and (b) you don’t run the risk of becoming stale.

Why the latter? If you only use one or two methods to trigger ideas, at some point you will find the well you draw from dries up! Your wells of inspiration need to be topped up continually and using different ways to come up with ideas helps with that. Also this approach gives you spare wells! That to my mind is always a good idea in itself. It also keeps you on your creative toes, which is another good thing.

[Read more…] about Triggering Writing Ideas

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Animals’ Christmas

By Leave a Comment

Imagine you’re a bystander, just happening to be there, watching the nativity story unfold. Not a convenient passer-by but … an animal. The Christmas story is full of animals, from donkeys and oxen to sheep and camels, so – why not?

Sarah the spider, resident of Mary’s home in Nazareth (note: Mary doesn’t sweep away Sarah’s web because it catches the flies) observes Gabriel and the Annunciation. Daniel the donkey carries Mary and Joseph to the stable in Bethlehem where he also finds rest. Obadiah the ox, who lives in this stable, grudgingly makes room for the interloper and then is present at Jesus’ birth. Lilah the lamb comes with the shepherds, having seen the angel with the amazing news, and Khalid the camel, along with his mates Kanika and Keb, are the transport for the wise men as they follow the star.

The Animals' Christmas - by Aileen Urquhart (Author), Emma Repetti (Illustrator)
The Animals’ Christmas – by Aileen Urquhart (Author), Emma Repetti (Illustrator)
[Read more…] about The Animals’ Christmas

Tags: , , , , , ,

Celebrating with Bridge House Publishing

By 2 Comments

Image Credits:-
Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.
Photos taken by me, Allison Symes, with one exception. A big thank you to Lynn Clement for kind permission to use the photo of her with Gill James and myself at the Bridge House Publishing event.
Also thanks to Gill James for the YouTube link showing what BHP have been up to this year – it is easier to see what BHP have been up to than to list it!

It was great to be able to celebrate with Bridge House Publishing twice in one week this year.

On Thursday, 2nd December, there was a Zoom meeting for those who couldn’t get to the in-person event in London on Saturday, 4th December. There was a quiz, a look at the books published by BHP and its imprints this year (including The City of Stories by Lynn Clement, which I edited), and there were readings.

I read Breaking Out, one of my two stories in The Best of CafeLit 10, which is just one of the many books produced this year.

It was lovely to see so many on screen and I loved hearing the stories.

[Read more…] about Celebrating with Bridge House Publishing

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Understanding

By 4 Comments

Image Credit:  All images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

One of the great roles of reading is it can encourage empathy, especially if your first choice for a good read is fictional.

Think about your favourite books (with their excellent covers, of course – see my recent series on those!).

Think about their characters. There will be characters you love to hate, or those you want to see overcome their difficulties and so on. What was it about those characters that made you feel that way (and a well portrayed character will make you feel something)?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

[Read more…] about Understanding

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Story Types

By 4 Comments

What kind of stories do you like? I hope the sky is the limit here!

I read a wide range of stories and owe a huge debt to my late mother for encouraging my love of reading at an early age. I wasn’t to know how much that gift of the love of reading (and I do see it as a gift) was going to stand me in good stead for my writing.

Feature Image – Story Types. Image created in Book Brush using Pixabay picture.

[Read more…] about Story Types

Tags: , , , , , ,

Genre Fiction

By 4 Comments

Genre fiction can be described as anything that is not literary fiction. Yes, I know – very helpful, not!

I have nothing against literary fiction though I suspect the only book I have in that category is the magnificent Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I was in a dilemma with her follow up Bring Up The Bodies. I know how the story of Anne Boleyn ends!

When you know there is nothing positive well… having said that, I may well try it at some point. (Mind you, I was like this with the film Titanic. I knew about the iceberg! Didn’t see anything in the film for me!). Okay, call me a philistine then…

Bound to be some genre fiction here. Pixabay

[Read more…] about Genre Fiction

Tags: , , ,

Prosody

By 3 Comments

It’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it. The panel game, Just a Minute depends on it. My granddaughter (aged 6) wrote a performance poem about the programme. I have kept the original spelling:-

This is

Cklap, cklap, cklap

A game of

Cklap, cklap, cklap

Consontrashon

Clap, clap, clap

No repeets

Clap, clap, clap

Or hesetaison

Clap, clap, clap

I’ll go first

Clap, clap, clap

And I’ll go second

Clap, clap, clap

Subject is

Clap, clap, clap

Enithing.

By GT

Jan 2020

[Read more…] about Prosody

Tags: , , , , ,

Lockdown Effects on Writing

By Leave a Comment

I must admit the one thing the lockdown has done which I hadn’t expected has been to reduce my reading! You would expect the opposite, would you not?

I’ve found writing to be no problem at all but it is as if my subconscious is saying “you can do one creative activity, Madam, but you’re not doing two”.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

[Read more…] about Lockdown Effects on Writing

Tags: , , , ,

The Long and The Short of It – Reading

By 2 Comments

The major joys of reading are:-

1. There is at least one form to suit everyone – short fiction, long, or anything in between, and non-fiction with its infinite variety of forms from the essay to the book.

2. There is at least one genre to suit everyone – fantasy, non-fiction (think of the wealth of topics in this alone!), historical, crime etc.

3. Reading is one of the forms of escapism I love most; the other is music. Even when reading non-fiction, you are escaping the cares of the world temporarily to find out what you need to know or to improve your knowledge of the topic you’re reading.

The worlds conjured up by short stories or the longer forms of fiction can be incredibly well depicted
The worlds conjured up by short stories or the longer forms of fiction can be incredibly well depicted. Pixabay

[Read more…] about The Long and The Short of It – Reading

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

What Makes A Good Story

By 1 Comment

How do you decide something is a good story? Do you judge that by the genre or by the quality of the characters?

For me, the latter is by far the most important criterion. Really good characters stay with you long after you’ve finished reading or listening to the story.

Like the look of this as a reading place
Like the look of this as a reading place. Pixabay

[Read more…] about What Makes A Good Story

Tags: , , , , , , ,

What Books Mean To Me – Part 3

By 6 Comments

Thank you to my guests in this series, especially for answering my first question. I can’t think of any writer who would willingly just save one book!

I conclude with contributions from Bridge House Publishing/Cafelit colleagues, discover what two fine Scottish crime writers would save if push came to shove (that’s an apt expression given what they write!), and will finally answer the questions myself. [Read more…] about What Books Mean To Me – Part 3

Tags: , , , ,

What Books Mean To Me – Part 1

By 7 Comments

Any writer will say to write well, you must read well (and widely). Every writer I know is as happy to talk about the latest great book they’ve read as well as what they’re working on. Why would you write if you didn’t love books and stories in the first place? There are two sides to this coin.

Image Credit:  A big thanks to my guests for supplying photos. Unless otherwise stated, the book and library pictures come, as always, from those magnificent people at Pixabay.

[Read more…] about What Books Mean To Me – Part 1

Tags: , , , ,

Reading Aloud Allowed (and Local Author News: Allison Symes)

By 7 Comments

I make no apology for the pun! Reading aloud is encouraged in youngsters to help them develop their vocabulary and rightly so but, unless you are a performance poet or oral storyteller, this habit is forgotten in adulthood. I think this is a shame. I find it is a real treat to be read to and it makes a lovely connection to the old oral storytelling tradition too. [Read more…] about Reading Aloud Allowed (and Local Author News: Allison Symes)

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The Weather and Its Uses in Fiction

By 4 Comments

Why is the weather always a topic of conversation in Britain? I think this is due to:-

1. We have such a variety of weather (and often in the space of one day), it simply has to be talked about. I’ve experienced a wide range of weather in the space of an hour especially when I’ve been in Scotland. They’re hardy souls there for a reason! [Read more…] about The Weather and Its Uses in Fiction

Tags: , , ,