In harvest-time, harvest-folk, servants and all, should make, all together, good cheer in the hall; And fill out the black bowl of blythe to their song, O! let them be merry all harvest-time long. It is August. Here in England our feathered migrant visitors are fidgety. Resident counterparts, their summer moult almost complete, are beginning …
Tag: Fiction
‘The Flight of the Sparrow’
Deepdale led Levi down the narrow street and halted outside a ramshackle, timber-fronted structure. The fox ranger took care to hold his russet brush-tail above the street’s filth, though the hem of his frock coat trailed, leaving a track in his wake. Leaning buildings loomed either side of them, their gables drawn together high above, …
More than a Title
Today I upload Chapter Thirteen of my debut novel for young readers, 'The Door to Caellfyon'. This is the book's final chapter. It is not, however, the end of the story. When I completed my first draft back in 2015, my initial flush of satisfaction at completing this, my largest project to date, was tempered …
Game On!
Today I add here the penultimate chapter of 'The Door to Caellfyon', my novel for young readers. I apologise for the tardiness of this latest instalment. The role of political activist and freedom fighter can be a tad busy at times and, with the UK's puppet-government once again playing the role of silly buggers, last …
The Dark Waters
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown.Howard Phillips Lovecraft I have been a fan of horror fiction and movies for many years. Of the two I much prefer fiction. The written word coupled with human imagination is far more …
What’s in a Name?
In her excellent manual for would-be novelists Donna Levin covers all those elements you'd expect to see in such a guide, including the subject of originality. In support of her sound advice she includes a quote from American author Rita Mae Brown: 'Rita Mae Brown said, "The novel is a work of a single, unified …
“It’s your voice,” he said
Following my previous brief foray into the dark and sordid world of politics, current affairs and crimes against humanity, this post sees a welcome return to the more palatable subject of fiction writing. It also accompanies the long-overdue upload of a further instalment of my children's novel, The Door to Caellfyon. In Chapters Nine and …
Getting to Know You
Characters are people who just happen to live in stories and books.Jesse Lee Kercheval It is said that fiction is about people. If you don’t have good characters you don’t have good fiction. Story characters must think, aspire, love, cry and feel pain (or cause it). They're expected to perform heroic deeds, or perhaps base …
Setting the Scene
In the parlance of NaNoWriMo, fiction writers fall within one of two categories: PlannersPantsters Planners, as the name suggests, plan their works of fiction in advance - their plot, sub-plots, character arcs, settings and so on. Of course, there are planners of varying degrees, from those who simply sketch out the basics to those who …
Shutting the Door
In his book 'On Writing - A Memoir of the Craft' horror writer Stephen King gives an account of his early years and his inexplicable urge to be a story teller. He also offers practical advice to writers, whether they be beginners or seasoned wordsmiths. This includes his own recommendations on how to eliminate distractions. …
