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).

Now for the final section covering U to Z.  Hmm...

U = Uniformity.  Not to hasten to add of characters, readers should be able to tell them apart easily.  What I mean here is if you have decided Character A is going to have a yellow bulging neck because that is how his species is made, then that should be shown uniformly throughout the story. Character A can't suddenly NOT have a yellow bulging neck by the end of the story.  Whatever is vital to your character in terms of physical existence should be uniformly shown (and for the other characters who will be affected by the same things).

V = Variety.  It had to be this really as it follows on from U above in every sense!  Where variety does come in is via the traits your characters have.  Not everyone is going to be meek and mild (just as well really, there'd be no story!).  Not everyone is going to be hot tempered and causing fights all the time.  The secret to a good story, of whatever length, is getting the balance right.

W = Writing that Flows. Every good story has this.  Readers turn the pages, gripped by your characters, their world, and the situations you've put them in and your prose flows.  The pace should be appropriate. The style of words used should be appropriate to the story and your intended audience.  Nothing should jar the reader experience.  And yes it is tough to achieve.  It's never done on one edit!

X = Xeno.  I've been looking forward to using this word again after having discovered it means strange!  A really good story has to grip the reader.  Something about your characters and situation should stir up their "HAVE to know what happens next" gene.  Strangeness can do that in terms of strange characters, strange worlds etc. Sci-fi and fantasy depends on this.  But even in an everyday setting, there should be something that draws your reader in.  I've found this is generally down to an intriguing character that I've got to know more about.  So what intrigues?  There must be something "xeno" about them.  For example, a fairy godmother who refuses to use magic.  Now that's strange!  Got to know more... you get the idea.

Y = You.  I might be cheating a little here but I'll plough on anyway.  What I mean here is you, as the writer, need to decide what tense you're writing your story in - fine, that's done, good.  Okay next task is to make sure it is your characters' voices that your reader hears, not yours at all.  From a reader's viewpoint, you here is to symbolize being totally engrossed with that story.  The story should entice you in and keep you there until it is finished.  So you and your reaction to a story is hugely important.  A writer should be looking to make impact on the "you" they think will read their story.

And last but not least...

Z = Zest.  A story essential, regardless of genre, is that it should be an enjoyable read.  There should be a zest to it that gives the sense the writer loved writing it.  (It does show).  I've also found characters that have some zest to them are more lively and therefore better to read about than those without that quality.

Phew!  Got there!  Whatever you read and write, enjoy it.  It's the single most important thing about the story.  If you're the writer and you're not enjoying the process of writing it, why would anyone else enjoy reading it?  If you're the reader and the story's not gripping you, put it aside for a while.  Look at it again after a break. Does it still not grip you?  Then read something else. Sometimes it can be a case of timing.  I recall trying to read books when I was younger, not getting on with them, coming back to them later (sometimes via film adaptations) and loving them then.

A slightly shorter number of letters to cover this week so I can finish with some of the awkward ones next week i.e. U to Z with a stopover at V, X and Y on the way. It'll be a good challenge.  Meanwhile...

P = Promise.  Does the story live up to the promise of its tagline/blurb?  If it does, great.  Okay this is subjective.  No two readers will ever agree on every book they've read.  Personal likes and dislikes have to come into it somewhere but the general principle here is "does the writer deliver"?  For me, a good story is where that promise is easily fulfilled, even if you don't like how the writer does it!

Q = Queries.  A good story should wrap these up by its end.  Leaving a reader wondering how the characters get on after the story ends is fine (and is a great sign) but the problems set up in the story should've been resolved.  There should be no unresolved queries here.

R = Reading Flow. A good story for me is one where I'll be anxious to get to the next page for the "what happens next" moment.  The flow of the story should be a good one.  You want nothing to drag the story down. The story should read easily too, though don't mistake simplistic reading/writing for simple reading/writing.  It is generally true if someone has made something look easy, such as making their prose look easy to reproduce, you can guarantee that same someone has worked hard for years to develop that skill. Getting the reading flow right requires precision with words and an awful lot of editing.  When it is done well, no reader will ever notice!

S = Set-up. The story set-up has to be intriguing enough to entice me into reading it. Anything with a fairytale/fantasy world basis will pique my curiosity enough to have a good look at the book.  It's then when the blurb and opening paragraph kick in.  If they intrigue me, I'll go on to buy the book.  So the set-up has got to be strong enough to intrigue me at all. That set-up must include there being something special about the characters to draw me in.

T = Tension.  There has to be lots of it and it should arise naturally from the characters.  If you have an awkward character, you know they're going to clash with others in the story.  Fine.  What I also need to know is what makes that character awkward.  There is always a reason for it!

Final part next week...

Moving on from last week then...

K = Killer Lines.  The ones that make you gasp, laugh out loud, or simply make you wish you could've written something that good!  Use them as inspiration to do exactly that!

L = Logic.  A strange thing to put for this perhaps?  I think not.  A story must make sense, even if it set in the most fantastical place imaginable.  The characters must make sense.  Your story needs a structure that follows through from start to finish.  So the story then must have its own internal logic.  Anything that doesn't "feel" like a story when claiming to be one will, I think, put readers off.  We have expectations that stories will work and it is because the logic of them works.

M = Murder.  I do love a good crime story and most of those are based on murder.  But this can be applied to other genres here if you take murder to mean "killing your darlings" if they're in the way of your story. When you read of the death of a character in a story, there should be a point to it and move the story onwards.  A character that doesn't do anything for the story should not be in it and good writers will ensure their characters do earn their place.  Sometimes that will mean literally killing them off as part of the story.  Sometimes it will mean realising this character isn't strong enough so back to the drawing board for one that is!

N = Narrative. Should be compelling, drive the story on, tell the reader things they need to know in a way said reader is going to find entertaining (no lecturing!) etc.

O = Overwhelming Odds.  I do love a character that has to face up to these and overcome them.  It is fascinating to find out how they do it. It should also show depth to that character and it's even better when the character is surprised as they look back at how far they've come on, what they've been able to achieve etc. Incidentally the overwhelming odds can be something as dramatic as Frodo Baggins' quest in The Lord of the Rings but it can be something which, to us, might seem mundane, but to your character is everything.  As long as reader knows it really is everything to that character and why, they should want to find out whether the character overcomes or not.

More next time...

Continuing with what I think are the essentials to any story:-

F = Fun.  You should be enjoying what you're writing even if you're putting your characters through the grimmest hell imaginable.  Readers should be able to pick up on your enjoyment of putting a story together.  I detect this when I feel the story flows and has good pace.  That makes you want to read on.  There has to be the "I've got to find out what happens next" feel to your story.

G = Genre. Write in the genre you love.  Don't pick a genre just because it's fashionable as fashions never last long.  You're in writing for the long haul so write what you love.  You'll write better because you love it.

H = Humour.  This is tricky.  What is a great one-liner to one reader falls flat with another.  Allowing for humour being subjective then, write naturally.  Humour must come out of the situation or character you've created and must never seem forced.  This way the humour will arise naturally and readers will either get it or not but it won't be out of place or jar your story in any way.

I = Imagination.  Let it run riot especially when outlining your story idea.  Work out possibilities and go for the one you love most.  It'll be the one you will write with the most conviction.  And that does show through.

J = Jargon.  The best writing is simple writing.  That doesn't mean it's necessarily easy to write.  What you can guarantee is there has been a lot of editing carried out!  Avoid jargon.  Where characters might need to use it, it should be clear from context what the jargon means.  You don't want to irritate your reader by coming up with something they can't fathom out the meaning.  I'd also use any such jargon sparingly.

More next week....

The great thing with an A to Z post is it gives you an instant framework! So my A to Z of story essentials (to be shared over the next couple of weeks or so) includes the following.

A = Action - without this there is no story.  Something has to happen!

B = Belief - this can be the belief of the character, the beliefs held by the world in which they're set or both of course.  The lead character has to have belief in what they are doing to be able to follow it through.

C = Credible Characters - there has to be characters a reader can get behind, whether it is to cheer them on, or hope said characters fail.  (It is cathartic to boo on the villain!).  We should be able to understand why your characters are the way they are/acting the way they are even if we don't necessarily agree with them.

D = Dialogue - also has to be convincing.  Accents and dialects are best used sparingly.  The odd word will give enough of a flavour of the relevant accent/dialect without overdoing it.  Dialogue in characters should sound natural (read it out loud to see if it does flow well.  If not, edit!)

E = Editing - this is the writer's friend, honestly.  Nobody produces a perfect draft first go.  Shakespeare didn't.  Dickens didn't.  We're not going to either.  But put work aside for a while so you can come back to it and look at it with a fresh eye.  Remember editing is not just about spotting the typos and grammatical errors.  There should be structural and story edits to ensure the structure and the story holds together and works the way they should.

More next time...

This can only be a brief summary but the important points I look for in a fictional world are:-

1.  Characters.  They can have three heads, two noses or what have you, but the important point is I've got to be able to root for the characters, whether it is to cheer them on to success or hope they come crashing down.  There has to be something about them I love or loathe but makes me want to read on to find out what happens to them.

2.  A sense of how the world is governed.  I don't need all the details, they'll get in the way of the story, but I need to know that your characters know the rules of their world and how these affect them as the story progresses.  For example, in a world where there is no oxygen, what do your characters breathe instead?  DO they breathe (or are they water dwellers)? 

3.  The details given are relevant to the story.  Enough said I think!

4.  A sense of what it would be like to live in that world.  I don't necessarily have to want  to live there.  I may be very glad I don't in fact but this sense of what it would be like is enough for me to create my own mental images of what your fictional world might look like.  That in turn helps me engage with that world and the characters you've put in it.

5.  A sense that it could exist somewhere out in the universes.  No matter how unlikely, the possibility should be there!  This means that there has to be a sense of a world that can sustain itself, possibly trades with other worlds and so on.