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November 17, 2017 By Darren Leave a Comment

Friday Fiction Writing Prompt The Doctor Speaks

Friday Fiction Writing Prompt - The doctor glanced one final time at the computer monitor, as if for confirmation. She then turned to me and said…

The doctor glanced one final time at the computer monitor, as if for confirmation. She then turned to me and said…

This Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is all about the narrator’s reaction. The doctor is about to speak. What do they say and what is the reaction? It can be good or bad news, or even something else. The doctor’s words might relate to the narrator or another member of the family. However, the words will cause an emotional response. Writing this prompt in the first person allows you to really get under the skin of your character.

There is an emotional scene in the TV series Breaking Bad. Walter White is told that he has terminal lung cancer. The doctor is talking away but Walter isn’t listening to the words. Walter is focussed on a stain of sauce on the doctor’s coat. That’s Walter’s reaction to the doctor’s words. What will the reaction be in your fiction?

No rules on length, just write and enjoy. Stretch your literary muscles with this writing prompt.

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Filed Under: storytelling Tagged With: Friday Fiction, how to write, writer, writing prompt

October 27, 2017 By Darren Leave a Comment

Friday Fiction Writing Prompt The noise under the bed

Friday Fiction Writing Prompt - The mattress was so soft, but comfort ran from my mind as I heard the scratching from beneath the bed

The mattress was so soft, but comfort ran from my mind as I heard the scratching from beneath the bed

Hallowe’en is just around the corner, so let’s get a little scary with our Friday Fiction Writing Prompt. You’re in bed, it’s nice and comfortable,  then you hear the noise. How do you describe the sound? How do you react to the noise? Do you try to rationalise it, or does your mind immediately think of the worst possible scenario? And, of course, what happens next?

Bringing tension, fear and apprehension to your writing is a skill. Explore sprinkling your words with a little horror. There are no limits to where you can take this idea, it could be nothing… but it could be the most horrifying thing to take place.

As always no rules, just write. And don’t scare yourself so much that you’re unable to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard… hey, did you hear that scratching noise?

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Filed Under: storytelling Tagged With: amwriting, creativity, HowToWrite, story, storytelling, writer, writing, writingprompt

October 25, 2017 By Darren 2 Comments

Nature finds a way

the view of nature from my window
There was a bird singing in the garden this morning. I could hear It from my desk and was a welcome distraction. It helped me remember that nature thrives beyond the double glazing. There is a world beyond the often sterile environment of the home office.

I can’t hear the bird now. It might have flown away, or just become somnolent. What I can hear is the drill from the roadworks. It’s moved a little further down the road from yesterday, but it is still clear. It’s a reminder that we attempt to control the environment of the world beyond.

It’s a gesture toward our own importance.

The songs of nature will be sung long after the road, currently being churned and relaid, has disappeared. Fauna will sing long after I am not here to gaze out of the window and wonder from what tree the bird sings.

But, currently, the sounds are cars, the drilling, the odd rattle of branches and leaves as the wind rushes by and the tap tap of my fingers on the laptop keyboard. The staccato clicks are not punctuated with chirping from outside, but I type and wait and sit in hope. Sing again.

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Filed Under: lifestream Tagged With: amwriting, creativity, prose, story, wordwednesday, writer, writing

October 19, 2017 By Darren Leave a Comment

Five skills of a good author from the eyes of a publisher

five skills of a good authorLet’s be straight, a good author needs to write. Then write some more and then keep writing. Writing is the primary skill that all authors need, so we’ll return to that in a little while. But there are five skills that a good author has and they can all be developed. These skills of a good author are what publishers look for, or at least love to see. I was a publisher for many years and when I saw these abilities in an author, I knew that working with them would be a good experience.

A good author knows their subject

A good author makes a great dinner party guest. They know their subject and enthuse about it. The nerdier the better. All those seemingly insubstantial facts and figures are gold dust. And the ability to tell a tale is all the better with background knowledge.

In other words, you need to know what you are writing about. Creating worlds and situations without all the necessary facts is like making a chocolate cake without the chocolate. The more a reader believes what you are writing because of what you know, the better the story or non-fiction.

A good author knows how to connect with their reader

Knowing stuff is all very good. You can give yourself a gold star and go to the top of the class. But even the brainiest kid in the class is not the teacher. A teacher is able to explain things and impart knowledge to the class. Like a good teacher can connect to the students, a good author can connect to their readers.

Your subject knowledge from the first skill is not just an academic knowledge. You need to be able to explain complex ideas. Your reader needs to follow and understand what you are describing. You will have your own style, but you need to speak in a language your reader knows and understands. This is especially appropriate when writing for age (learning) specific audiences.

A good author can write well

The good author communicates. They are able to pass on the ‘story’ to the reader. This means they need to write well. Communication is the successful imparting of information from one to another. The sender (author) and receiver (reader) need to be on the same page and understand each other.

This does not mean that an author needs to have a perfect knowledge of the language they are writing in, or produce perfect prose. All published work goes through an editorial process, to check and correct and sometimes reshape your writing before it reaches the intended reader. Of course, the more an author understands language the clearer they will write, but writing well is different to perfect writing.

A good author is a marketing tool

We live in a celebrity-obsessed culture. Being a published author is still a symbol of status1. The publisher wants to use you, the author, as a marketing tool. From author photo and blurb to social media engagement to book signings and/or readings, a publisher will have a long list of opportunities for an author to promote their writing.

Neil Gaiman and John Scalzi are great examples. Their blogs are well read and they often engage with reader questions. They are both well-known authors and, initially, you’ll not have quite the same following. However, if you have the skill to connect online and in person, with your readers, the marketing department will love you.

A good author contains their anxiety

Anxiety over deadlines, confidence in ability and writing blocks are just three things that haunt writers. Writing and being an author is by nature a lonely job. Many authors, myself included, are quiet and introverted. We live inside our heads as we develop stories and craft our words. Anxiety over what we write, or don’t write, is a very real threat.

Overcoming these anxieties is a skill of a good writer. The proof that they can contain these anxieties is that they write. Here, we return to the point made at the very beginning. When it all comes down, that is the primary, main skill of a good author. A good author writes.

Conclusion

All the skills above can be developed. If you are writing, then you’ll have these skills to varying degrees. See if there are areas that you can improve. Work on being a marketing tool, on being a little obsessive with your subject matter, on communicating clearly. Of course, all these skills and semi-rules can be broken, apart from the writing one, but they are things publishers will love about you.

Above all else, write, but perhaps spare a thought for these other skills.

 

1With the advent of self-publishing, this might eventually change. However, if you are self-publishing, self-promotion becomes even more important. You become the primary marketing tool.

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Filed Under: storytelling Tagged With: amwriting, atickettowrite, creativity, HowToWrite, journal, story, storytelling, writer, writing, writingprompt

October 13, 2017 By Darren Leave a Comment

Friday Fiction Writing Prompt A Time to Wait

Friday Fiction Writing Prompt - I was waiting. It seemed like forever. How much longer?

I was waiting. It seemed like forever. How much longer?

It’s time to delve into our emotions with this week’s Friday Fiction Writing Prompt. We’re waiting for something. It can be anything, the choice, as always, is yours. The prompt is designed to make you explore the emotions felt whilst waiting. What is going through your mind as you wait? Do your feelings have a physical manifestation? Does the waiting bring up memories from the past?

No rules, just explore and write about your emotions and feelings… I mean the emotions and feelings of your character in the fiction you write of course. Have fun.

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Filed Under: storytelling Tagged With: amwriting, atickettowrite, creativity, HowToWrite, journal, story, storytelling, writer, writing, writingprompt

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