I'm starting a new three part series on Chandler's Ford Today called What Books Mean to Me. It has been a great joy putting this together and I hope you enjoy it.

What do books mean to your characters? Is their world a literate one or is the oral storytelling tradition the strongest influence? Are stories welcomed or do your characters have to stick strictly to the facts and imagination is discouraged, punished even?

Can your characters read any books they like or do they have to stick to an official list? Is there a secret underground world of books where banned items can be read?

Do your characters treasure books themselves or do they leave that to others? If so, why?

Attitudes to books and stories can reveal so much about characters and their world settings. There are stories to be written here - lots of them ideally!

Image Credit:  All images from Pixabay.  Captions over on CFT (as are the pictures of my guests this week).

One great thing about this topic is that it is a timeless one! (Bear in mind also if you're writing non-fiction, if you are using a narrative voice, you can treat that voice as a character, so some of these questions at least may also be worth trying). So what to ask then as part of your outline?

1. What do you really want and why?
   
2. What stops you getting what you really want?
   
3. Why would your life be complete if you achieve what you want?
   
4. How are you going to achieve your objectives?
   
5. Have you got other characters to support you and, if so, how reliable are they?
   
6. Are you making your life unnecessarily complicated? (Worth asking this one - any complications getting in the way of your character achieving what they want should be those that arise naturally out of the plot. There should be nothing that seems "faked" to increase the tension in the story. The tension should be genuine, the obstacles real and so on. For a non-fictional narrator, a good question to ask instead of this one is are you communicating as clearly as possible (i.e. go for clarity, not gobbledegook, don't make your narration unnecessarily complicated? Are you conveying the facts reasonably? Are you backing the facts up with evidence? What are your sources?).
   
7. What has driven you to decide this is what you really want?
   
8. What if you're wrong? (How would your character handle that? That could make for a really interesting story).
   
9. Are there limits you won't cross (and if so what are these? What is your thinking behind this?).
   
10. Are there rules you are prepared to break? What would the consequences be? How are you going to limit your risk (or are you not worried about that? Some characters aren't!).
    

Now if answering those questions doesn't generate story ideas, I'd be very surprised!

Image Credit:  Pixabay

I was listening to UK based radio station Classic FM earlier this week when it was reported a well known composer still suffered nerves when coming up with a new composition. They were still made nervous by the blank page, despite their many years of successful composition. Ironically, this cheered me up somewhat. It's the same for any creator and I know it's true for me. That touch of nerves before you start writing is the worst bit. Once you get going, you're absolutely okay.

I've learned over time to just get the words down any old how. Editing and polishing happen much later. Nobody writes a perfect draft. Shakespeare didn't. Austen didn't. Dickens didn't. I'm certainly not going to but that's fine! So how can you get over the nervous start bit or, at least, make it not so bad and easier to handle?

I've found having a range of ways to get started on stories or blog posts helpful. I also find having brainstorming sessions every so often useful to jot down ideas and when I am struggling, I can turn to these and find something to inspire me there. My range of ways to get started include:-

1.  Using a random word generator, pick three, and put them into a story. Using random words like this makes me think deeper and if there is no obvious link between the three words, even better. It makes me think again!

2.  Look back over my old blog posts and stories. Often there will a link there I didn't follow up at the time but might prove useful now.

3.  Take a well known saying and use it as a theme or title (sometimes both) for a story or article.

4.  Use a spider diagram or flowchart to flesh out basic ideas. That will soon show if ideas in the back of my head do have some "legs" to them or not. Naturally I go with the ones that do! This is especially useful when used in conjunction with a random word generator.

5.  Look up writing competitions. Sometimes I'll enter said competitions. Sometimes I'll just write up a story to the theme and not submit it deliberately. I will go back to that story at a later date to polish it up further knowing it is not ready for a competition yet but I can still write to the theme. Who knows? The story might end up in an anthology later. Themes come up reasonably often so there will be other competitions the story the might fit.

However you get over the blank page nerves, happy writing and good luck!

Image Credit:  Pixabay

Linking in with my CFT post this week, I thought I'd look at this topic from the viewpoint of our characters and how we create them. So do you have favourite characters of your own making and, if so, should you?

I must admit I can't see how any writer can avoid having favourites amongst their characters. There are bound to be creations we prefer over others, simply for things such as we like Character A's sense of irony, which Character B, noble as they are, simply doesn't have. What DOES matter is that we are scrupulous about how we create our characters.

By this I mean when planning out characters, we should ensure each and every one of them has flaws and virtues. Each and every one of them must have good reasons for acting the way they are. Each and every one of them should feel real to a reader. No cardboard cut-outs here!

You, as the writer, have got to know what makes them all tick. You need to know what drives them, what would frustrate them, what would tempt them away from the path they're supposed to be on, and how they handle weakness in themselves, yet alone in others.

A good sign of a "proper" favourite character is knowing you've created a character that for many reasons you dislike (e.g. you disagree with their attitudes) but have brought them to life in such a way your reader will be intrigued by them and there will be no sign of your antipathy towards them either. Good luck!

Image Credit:  As ever, the images are from the marvellous Pixabay. Captions over on the CFT post.

While every genre has specific requirements, what every good story needs can be summarised as follows. (A lot of this can apply to non-fiction too).

1. Memorable characters with distinctive voices. For non-fiction, this equates to a memorable narrative style and voice. Think of documentaries you have loved. What made them stand out? A lot of that will be down to the narrative voice.
2. A plot that keeps the reader enthralled and has plenty of ups and downs. For non-fiction, it is a case of setting out what you want to share with the reader in an entertaining and informative way. No dull list of facts etc. You want to engage with your reader and draw them into the world you're trying to show them.
3. To meet the needs of the reader whether it is to entertain them with a story or show them something they hadn't known with non-fiction. You really do need to know your audience.
4. A powerful ending that delivers on a promising start.
5. No sagging middles!
6. A good, memorable title which hooks the reader.
7. To be a good advert for the other writing you do!
   

Image Credit:  The fantasic Pixabay.

I had a wonderful week at the Swanwick Writers' Summer School and now it is back down to earth once more. I share a little of what it is like at Swanwick on my Chandler's Ford Today post this week. I do think you need at least a week to get over a holiday, wonderful writing school or what have you.

How do your characters react when they have to come back to reality after their adventures? Most of the time we don't find out of course because the story stops when the adventure does. One thing I love about The Lord of the Rings is it does show that things are never the same again, particularly for Frodo, when he finally returns to Middle Earth. I won't say more than that but I thought this part of the story is realistically done. Frodo would be affected by all that he has gone through.

All stories should show that your characters (especially your main one) have changed in some way, otherwise there is no story. Changes can be positive or negative. Now I must admit I generally prefer positive changes but there is a place for the opposite. What would work best for your character and story?


Image Credit:  All images taken by Allison Symes, except the one of me reading at the Swanwick Prose Open Mic Night. A huge thank you to Penny Blackburn for those. Captions on the CFT post.

You do feel as if you enter another world when you go to Swanwick Writers' Summer School. For a week, I do! Coming out of that world again can be a wrench too.

Image Credit:  Photos of Swanwick taken by me with the exception of my reading at the Open Prose Mic Night. Many thanks to Penny Blackburn for that.

But going home with ideas to work on will take me back into the fantastic world of the imagination in no time. So that's all right then!😀 The really nice thing about this?

It applies whether you write flash or other fiction and non-fiction.

When you want to escape this world for a bit, write!

I start a two-part series on Chandler's Ford Today this week on Making Space and next week's part will share some thoughts on this from a writing perspective. Meanwhile, where does making space come into your creation of characters?

I think the best way to answer that is to list what I think a truly great character needs to have. Also, it really does pay to take time out (make space) to think about your characters in advance and plan them out. It doesn't mean you have to plan everything but you do need to know about your people in enough detail to be able to write about and for them with utter conviction. You need to decide what you need to know first!

I am convinced that when a writer writes with conviction something of that does show through in your writing and readers subconciously pick up on that. I also think they pick up when a character really doesn't work and I know, for me, when that has happened, it is nearly always due to my not taking the time to flesh my character out properly in the first place.

So a truly great character should:-

1. Be Memorable (and that usually means having distinctive traits a reader will love to love or love to hate. Both work but not usually in the same character!).
   
2. Be someone a reader would want to identify with or be happy they're nothing like them!
   
3. Be put in situations a reader has to find out whether the character resolves or not (and how.  Failure to resolve something can ironically be a resolution of sorts. For example, a character wants to achieve a goal, they find they can't do it, but they do achieve something positive they had not done before despite the overall "failure". Readers will pick up on something being achieved, a positive point of change for the character, and everyone accepts not all endings are happy ones necessarily. Endings do have to be appropriate).
   

Image Credit:  The images of London from the Sky Gardens were taken by me. The others images are from Pixabay. Captions on the CFT site.

It happens. You go through phases where writing is either difficult or simply isn't working out as you'd hoped. Lots of submissions. Lots of rejections. Few acceptances. Do you wonder if you should keep going? Some tips I've found useful to keep me going during difficult times include:-

1.  Read More. Feed your own imagination. Remind yourself of why you love stories and why you wanted to write any.

2. Remove the Pressure.  Deliberately write just for your own pleasure. Make up complete nonsense. Have fun. (Later, if you can do anything with the writing, even if it is just the odd line or two makes it into a story, say, then fab. Even if not, you're taking time out to play with words and again remind yourself why you wanted to write).

3.  Look at Where You've Come From Writing Wise.  How much have you written over the years? Can you list publication credits (online and in print)? If not at that stage, have you had shortlistings? Are you simply submitting more stories for competitions than ever before? Remember  you define what success in writing is. Yes, publication is the obvious goal but it isn't the only one. Saying you'll write 3 or 4 stories and then try and get them published later is a fine goal too.  Look at what you've learned as you have written more. Have you learned how to improve your editing skills? Have you picked up tips on the way that are helping you write better now (I would be surprised if you hadn't)? All of these are good and worthy things.

4.  Find supportive writing buddies via online groups or in creative writing classes. We all need to be reminded we're not alone. Others do understand our compulsion to write. Others understand the frustrations of trying to get published. You need that support. It can make all the difference during low times, creatively speaking.

I look at Titles in my Chandler's Ford Today post this week and hope you find it helpful as I share some thoughts on where to find good title ideas. I also discuss the uses of titles. But now to look at the topic from a different angle...

Firstly, the world in which your story is set - do they use titles to denote rank? Do these differ between species? Are some species excluded from any titles at all? How are titles given? Can they be earned and, if so, how?

Secondly, property (you knew it had to come in somewhere!) - how does your world distribute title to property? Can anyone own property? Do your characters have to earn their right to obtain title like this? Or is all land owned by one feudal or royal overlord and all title is held by them?

Can title (of any sort) be challenged or revoked? Who would do so and why?

Now there are some thoughts for story ideas for you!

Image Credit:  Pixabay - captions on the CFT post.

The basic building blocks for putting a fictional world together are, for me, as follows:-

1. Species - Who will live in this fictional world? One species, a couple, many? If more than one, how do they interact with each other and if they don't interact at all, what is the reason for that? If you have only one species, how are they sub-divided? Do you have the majority of the species living in an area and a minority live elsewhere? What are the reasons behind this?
   
2. Government and Society - This ties in with 1. How are your species governed and by whom? Are they governed well or badly? Can governments be changed? How is society organised? What is expected of everyone and does that vary from species to species? If so, what are the differences and why do they exist? What happens to rebels? (You can pretty much guarantee there will be those who do not like the status quo and won't accept it so what happens to those who do this?).
   
3. Survival - How do the species survive? What do they eat/drink? Is their world an agricultural one and what shape does this take? Do they farm crops as we would know them or farm something very different? Climate and weather and their impact can come into this category too. How much do your readers need to know?
   

I look at Summer Reports in my CFT post this week and discuss, amongst other things, what a good report should do, irrespective of whether someone is academic or not. I also give a summer writing update for me!

But from a writing viewpoint, what reports could you write, for whom, and how could they help you?

1.  Character Reports
I use Scrivener and in their story template they have outlines for characters (and settings) which you can fill in with as much or little detail as you want.  You can of course create your own, but I have found these enormously useful in working out what my characters are really made of and, therefore, I write them with more conviction. I hope they come across that way too! So writing a report on  your characters can help you discover things about them, help you give depth to how you portray them and so on.

2. Report on your Story
I find it useful as part of the editing process to look at the story as if I hadn't written it and was discovering it for the first time as a reader would. I look at what my overall impressions are, what I think worked well and, as importantly, what didn't! The crucial thing is to be totally honest here, otherwise this idea won't do anything for you.

Sometimes my "report" here is just a series of notes such as Character A comes across well, they've got great humour, but where do their flaws come in? Is Character A too perfect? Once you've made notes like this, put the story and the notes aside for a while. Re-read the story after a week. Look at your notes and see if you still think the same.

If you have trusted beta readers available, this is where they could be invaluable but total honesty about what works and what doesn't is key here. Keep in mind you want to produce a story that is as good as you can make it. If several people tell you something doesn't work, take this seriously. If one says that, then it could just be opinion and you will then need to decide if it has weight or not.

So reports then are useful to a writer but honesty is key. I can't stress that enough.

Image Credit:    As ever, the wonderful Pixabay. (Thank you, folks).  Captions on CFT post.

There are certain pointers which will indicate your created world is working and hopefully will encourage you to develop it further.

1.  You know how the world is run. (There has to be some sort of government).

2.  You know who are the powerful and who are the downtrodden (some things are just universal!).

3.  You know the immediate setting for your story intimately. You need to be able to portray this, almost as if it were a character in its own right.

4.  You know where your characters fit into your world (and whether they fit in well or not. Do they defy convention or follow it religiously?).

5.  You have some idea of how your people survive in terms of food/water/sanitation/employment provision. I can't think of any created world where characters don't have to eat, be able to resource themselves etc.

Not all of these details need to make it into your story. We don't need to know everything about politics in your world but we do need to know what matters to the story (which I think is going to be a new mantra for me but it is a useful one!).

I discuss Moments that Matter in my CFT post this week and look at it from writing and historical perspectives amongst others. From a world building viewpoint, what are the moments that matter to you as the writer putting a fictional universe together? My thoughts are:-

1. That moment it all comes "together". The politics, the way your world is governed, how your characters react to all that finally makes sense and you write with utter conviction, knowing the parameters of your creation and testing your characters against those. (There are always rebels, though of course it does depend on your viewpoint if the rebels have a point or not!).
2. When you know your lead characters inside out. You know what makes them tick, what pressures they would be vulnerable to, what would be pivotal moments for them. That's where the stories and drama are!
3. When you can visualise your world and feel it is almost as real as this one! You know the street names, where people would go for entertainment, whether there is religious/political freedom at all. You know your world to such a degree you could be quizzed intensely over it and come up with good answers!

It pays to write a list of questions you need to know the answers to and then work those answers out. Preparation work like that will save you work later. For a long piece of work like a novel, I could not write without having some sort of "map" to assist me here.  Happy writing!

Image Credit:  Pixabay - captions on my CFT post!

Today is the longest day (at least it is from my part of the world, the UK), but in writing terms, what would this mean for your characters?

1. The longest day is taken literally and we follow the character through from getting up to going to bed.
2. The longest day is taken metaphorically and we see a character going through all kinds of trials in a relatively short time span.

Whichever route you go, the character has to have enough to do and for that to be gripping enough to make the reader want to continue with your story. Their motivations must be strong enough and we need to see what makes them keep going when most would have given up. It doesn't necessarily have to be a life or death scenario though a situation where the ability to leave is taken away from the character is always interesting and full of dramatic possibilities.

I find it more interesting though when a character could get out of a situation, you can understand why they would do so, but they continue on their current path. What drives that character? What makes them tick? Do they have any sense of failure? Who do they think they would be letting down if they did just walk away?

Definite story possibilities there!

Image Credit:  Pixabay.

I use sayings and proverbs in fiction as (a) titles and (b) themes for stories. There are so many stories that could be written on the theme of, for example, "revenge is a dish best served cold". You can also subvert that idea and "prove" the saying wrong if you wanted to do so. See proverbs and sayings as a useful resource both used directly or having your characters react against the saying you've picked.

Looking through a book of proverbs can be a great way to trigger story ideas.  It is also useful when you've written a piece to look back through it and see what theme emerges from it that you hadn't planned out. I suspect a lot of the time what you come up with here will link in with a well known saying.  Why?

Because we write from the depths of our soul and our life experiences will come into that. This will include things we read, things we have read, things we know to be true or things we know could be true.  Proverbs and sayings will have affected us subconsciously over years too.  Some of course we will have had direct experience of and so know them to be true and so could write stories on these based on our conviction they are true. Proverbs and sayings will influence how we think and therefore how we write.

... make lemonade, as the old saying goes, but how can a writer do this? Are lemons such a bad thing anyway?

From the viewpoint of developing characters, the more lemons you throw at them the better.  Well, you do want to find out what your characters are made out of, yes? You want to find out their hidden depths, yes?  Chuck them in the deep end and have fun finding out how they get themselves out of it. If they need to resort to the help of friends to get out of said horrible deep end, what did they try to do first before calling for back up? Is the back up reliable? You want plenty of tension and drama and writing these scenes should easily produce that. You can work out later on what  you want to keep for your story and what might prove to be useful background knowledge to you only.

As a writer, when all that seems to come your way are rejections, firstly bear in mind nothing worthwhile was ever easy and, secondly, most writers go through this. Even after publication in one avenue, rejections still come in. I find it useful to look at work that has been turned down and see if I can revamp it and send it out elsewhere. Usually I can and I have had work accepted by another outlet after doing this. The important thing is not to give up but it is perfectly okay to change direction with your writing. If you decide flash fiction isn't for you but the longer short story form is, then that's fine. Play to your writing strengths. It is also fine to pause from writing. I generally only do this when on holiday or ill and I use the time to catch up on reading (I always have reading to catch up on!) and that helps feed the imagination beautifully.

I've changed direction at different stages of my writing and anticipate doing so again (and probably a few times at that).

Why is this okay?  Sometimes you discover a new form of writing you just love doing (in my case this was flash fiction). At other times, a certain format is just not working for you no matter how hard you try so you focus your skills where you know you can achieve success.  (Incidentally you can define what success here is too.  It doesn't necessarily have to be publication. It can be getting to a point where you know you could be published, it could be achieving writing X number of stories in a month etc etc).

Naturally, your characters can change direction too. Sometimes this is literally so (see any quest story for that - a map will come into the story somewhere too!). At other times, it can be a change of opinion (with repercussions. There should always be repercussions, that's where the drama is).

Whatever the reason for the change of direction, and no matter what form it takes, there should be good reasons for it, reasons your readers will understand and accept. They don't necessarily have to agree with your characters and neither do you (!), but the reasons for the changes should be well thought out, logical etc etc.

The answer to the above question should be "like the plague" really!  But to be serious can cliches have a place in fiction?

Yes, they can but in different ways.

1.  Above all else, they should be used sparingly.  Too many of them spoils any good effect you might want to use them for and will just switch readers off.  Also, don't use them in every story you write either.  Every now and again but more on this in 2 below.

2.  A cliche can be a useful shortcut but choose the right one and aim for it to have a positive impact on your readers.  You want them to be able to see why you used it and for there to be no stronger alternative.  Most of the time there will be as you come up with your own expressions and these should be the ones you always go for first.

3.  You can subvert a cliche.  I've used "take the Garibaldi" as a subversion of "take the biscuit".  This approach can also help you convey something of character too.  Someone who takes the Garibaldi is going to be of a different social standing to someone who "takes the Lidl Rich Tea" for one thing and you can then play on that for effect.

Following on from recent posts about writing exercises, another favourite way of generating story ideas for me is to have brainstorming sessions every so often.

I set myself a time limit and just write what comes into mind.  It doesn't matter if the ideas prove to be rubbish later on (most will be!) but out of all of that will come ideas I really can use.

I've found I need to give myself permission to just write freely and kick the inner editor out of the arena of my head for a while.  It pays to put this writing aside and come back and look at it later with a cold, logical head.  That's where your inner editor is useful.  But don't try to free write and edit together, they really are separate processes.

If you're not sure where to start on a brainstorming session, think of a character.  Jot down anything about them - what they look like, what their habits are, what they think they are like, what others around them think they are like and so on.  If it helps to use pictures to think of a character than do so. I tend not to do that. I think of a character who is awkward, for example, and look at reasons why they might be that way.

But whatever method works for you when it comes to starting a useful brainstorming session, stick with it.  See what you come out with and have fun with this!

Following on from my post last week about writing exercises to help with world building, I thought I would share some writing games I find useful for generating story ideas.

1. Word Association.  Used to love this when I was a kid as you could get some funny outcomes but it is worth playing this game on paper to see what links you can create here.  If you need a helping hand to get started, pick a word at random from the dictionary and off you go!  Set yourself a time of two to three minutes and jot down whatever comes into your head.  You can select the links you like the most later.
   
2. Random Word Generators. Use one of these and pick five words to work with.  On some generators, you can set the first and last letter, how many letters you want in the words and so on.  Then try putting what you come up with into a story.  It works really well for flash fiction but there is no reason why you can't put these words into a longer tale.
   
3. Opposites.  Write down an object and then write down separately what could be said to be opposite to it.  For example - hot water tap.  Its opposite is the cold water one.  Now what role could these play in a story? 
   
4. The Hat Game.  Write down a variety of nouns, verbs, adjectives etc on separate slips of paper.  Draw out a few at random and again put into a story.  This is the traditional version of the random word generator but there is no reason why you can't still play this in this way.  What I think you need to aim for here is a nice mixture of the ordinary and the extraordinary for things to put on the slips of paper.  That is where you can "control" things unlike a random generator BUT limit yourself to how many slips of paper you pick out and write what you come up with into a story, no matter how bizarre your selections are.  Have fun with this.
   

Hope you find these help generate story ideas.  I'm particularly fond of the first two!

Hope the following ideas for writing exercises help with your own world building for your stories. The idea behind these is to get you to draft out thoughts as to how your world would actually work.  You won't need to put most of this in your story but do see this as your blueprint.  It is crucial you know these things.  You'll write with more confidence and it will come across that way in your writing. 

It'll also help convince you that this world could exist.  You are the first believer in it after all. Having worked things out in advance as to how things can work will also help against the dreaded "slump in the middle".  You will already know what you need to know about your created world.  You can focus on the drama of your story with that knowledge behind you.

1.  System of Government.  Draw a flowchart as to who runs what, what their powers are and how these feed in to each other (local government for example is always answerable to national government at some level).

2.  The Need to Survive.  Write out ten things your "people" need so they can survive.  Draw a spider diagram of how they can obtain these things.

3.  Cultures.  Is your world going to be a mono-culture?  If not, what other cultures are there? Draft ideas as to what these could be, how the multi cultures interact with each other (if they do at all), and whether there is any sense of superiority (justified or not) by one or more of these.  If it is a mono-culture, were they always that way or have they driven others out?

Hope you have fun with these.  Be as detailed or as scanty with details as you wish but the idea is this will give you something to refer to as you write your tale.

Where do I start with this one?  Well, here goes:-

1.  Stories take you into another world.  Sometimes that world is this one but we see it in a light we've not considered before.

2.  Stories show you a wide range of characters, some of whom you'll love.  Others you'll love to hate of course but all of them draw  you in and make you feel something!

3.  Stories, when they convey messages/morals, do this subtly.  The writers rightly don't want to lose their audiences by preaching.  Subtlety generally works better in any case.  It is better that the reader works out what the message/moral is and have their own lightbulb moment. The message hits home all the better for the reader working it out for themselves.

4.  Stories entertain.  In what is a mad world, the escapism element shouldn't be despised.

5.  Stories can show you different aspects of history and culture from around the world.  (I find it fascinating how so many of our beloved fairytales go back such as long time and there are many cultures which have very similar versions to the ones we know).