THE ROAD TO MIDDLEHAM

Time and distance has been giving me headaches this week.

In my wip, the boys are making their way to Middleham. 

Sadly, this beautiful castle, Middleham Castle, King Richard III’s home-in-the-north, was only being built at the time. They would have seen the first stage of development – maybe the foundations – as they were passing through and stopping off at Middleham’s market. Taking the time to admire the pictures from the English Heritage site is not good use of time but I’m happy I have an excuse to admire the images of the castle. It has to be said that the castle itself – up-close and enormous - is even more impressive.

In 1203, the roads would have been familiar to any Roman/Romano Briton who was able to travel forward in time. I know a lot more about lych ways, carthorse routes, and drover paths than is reasonable. Then there’s the problem of looking for fords and ferries. In England, the great age of stone-bridge building was during the reign of King John. 

DON'T YOU HATE IT WHEN YOU FIND AN ARCHVILLAIN HAS DONE ANYTHING GOOD?

FOUR HEROES WHO SHOULD KNOW HOW TO SAVE A KINGDOM

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and the author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Sometimes being a hero isn't about getting the glory. It's about doing what needs to be done."

Until Christopher Healy set the record straight, Prince Frederic , Prince Liam, Prince Duncan and Prince Gustav were better known for their bit-parts in the fairy tales where princesses were in need of good-looking men with the right lineage to make their lives complete. After the sparkly dust settled on their previous adventures, the princes’ futures were not bright. There was more than a suggestion that their heroics were… a little lacking in manly action. Taking along a few feisty princess-types was wise, their adventures escalate: together they battle a small bandit king, bigger trolls, giants and a dragon. When they discover an evil witch is plotting to lure all the heroes to their deaths they know how out to save the day.

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE FICTIONAL HERO?

BETWEEN THE VAMPIRES AND THE ZOMBIES PILFERING WRITE TIP #2 FROM DARREN SHAN WAS DOUBLY DANGEROUS

Darren Shan
image from i.Telegraph
Whatever that is on the wall,
can I have one;please?

Today, I spent the times between the two day jobs writing.

No matter how tight time is, I have to write each day. It’s like when someone is talking about bugs, headlice or “cooties” – just the thought of them makes me itchy. 

During my blog and website reading time, I went to visit Darren Shan’s Writing Tips section. 

Despite being the first MG writer who made me react like a stereo-typical-teacher-of-ten-year-olds - all wide-eyed and wow-really? For kids? (There’s bite in them-there books) - I had NEVER (*rained on by a cloud of shame) been over to read Darren Shan's website.

There is so much useful stuff over there!

Write Tip #2

For words of wisdom AKA Write Tip #2 these are the thoughts of Darren Shan:

“One of the key rules of writing is that you don’t have to tell your readers EVERYTHING. You don’t want to leave too many blank holes in the narrative, of course, but you don’t have to cover every last tiny crack either. The flow of the story should always be your utmost concern. If you can fit all the “facts” in around that—fine. If you can’t, don’t worry too much about it. Pick the most pertinent details and explain them comprehensively—leave the more minor inessentials to the eagle-eyed fans to pick over and ask questions about. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of mystery!!!”

Darren Shan

DO YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHER AUTHORS' WEBSITES THAT ARE FULL OF USEFUL TIPS ABOUT WRITING?

TEASER TUESDAY - THE WORLD OF NORM - The funny side of self-absorbed

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and the author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Image from
Hatchett Children's Books

The World of Norm: May Contain Nuts, opens with Norm, in his new house, about to pee in his Dad's wardrobe.

(Some people might think that’s too unlikely: to walk, on autopilot, the route to where the toilet was in the old house. Well, I survived a similar experience when I took Cub Scouts on camp. I found a sleepy boy in the space where his home-toilet would have been and you don’t want to know what he peed on!)

Life, according to Norm, is `just so unfair'. He has two annoying younger brothers. And he’s broke. This book is about Norm's quest to “pimp” his ride: which, sadly, is the two-wheeled kind-of ride. He is a boy with a bike, and a mission.

“Are you going to help, Norman, or am I going to have to unload the car all by myself?” said Norman’s Dad, standing in the doorway, holding a carrier bag dripping something sticky all over the floor.

“Well, if you wouldn’t mind,” said Norman immediately starting to text back.

The World of Norm is a blend of selfishness, stupidity and hopeful desperation. The author, Jonathan Meres, makes this world very funny – silly – but believable too.

THESE SENTENCES STRUCK ME AS VERY FAMILIAR. DO YOU FIND THE PING OF THE TEXT MESSAGE INTERRUPTS TOO MUCH OF YOUR DAY?

THURSDAY TIP #1 FIRST WRITE: YOU CAN ALWAYS PICK AT IT LATER

Feeling a little sickly?
Image from Playrific

TIP #1 

FIRST DRAFT: JUST SAY YES TO WRITING

Write you first draft without tuning into your inner editor.

If, like me, you suffer from the effects of Worrywortitus this post should help you recognise the symptoms. It could also offer suggestions on the treatment of the condition.

Worrywortitus, or HYPER-CRITICAL WORRIEDWRITERITUS – is an affliction most commonly unwelcome during the drafting process

SYMPTOMS:

·         Double checking every spelling

·         Severe hyper-sensitivity to sentence construction: including a tendency to construct, reconstruct, reorder and reassemble sentences

·         More serious cases include auditory hallucinations – the voice of your English teacher is a particularly worrying sign

·         In some cases, sufferers report an addiction to researching details already previously researched

To alleviate the symptoms of HYPER-CRITICAL WORRIEDWRITERITUS:

·         Surround yourself with images that feeds into your writing

·         Trust your spell checker to catch most errors – then, set aside time later to remove any unsightly blemishes from your manuscript

·         Allow yourself to be intuitive when it comes to your MC’s actions – as long as the behaviour, actions, and interactions, show consistency and, later, growth trust yourself to reveal the whole of your character’s traits

·         Music reduces stress – it can be used to relieve the minor symptoms of Worrywortitus

·         Whenever possible, write everyday

Thursday’s tip was brought to you by Joyous Writing.

HAVE YOU EVER SUFFERED FROM HYPER-CRITICAL WORRIEDWRITERITUS?

TUESDAY 10 THINGS TO READ, WRITE. AND REPEAT

At least someone is interested
in doing the laundry ;)

Curiosity might have played merry-hell with the cat but it’s the only thing that keeps the reader turning the pages.

Tuesday 10 this week is hosted by my New Year’s resolutions! :D

I read them every day before I start to write:

1.    Read. Remember to make time to enjoy the experience.

2.    What are you doing to build common ground between the reader and the MC?

3.    Visualise the scene – remember to see it from the MC’s pov.

4.    Write.

5.    What did you include today that might surprise the reader?

6.    Read your work out loud - if possible listen when someone else reads it to you

7.    Use every paragraph to add depth to the character, build conflict or move the plot along

8.    Remember the ending – keep it in mind to keep the narrative line taut.

9.    Share your work with trusty writing friends from before you’ve written the first page – it is easier to share an outline.

10. Enjoy writing - celebrate the time you take to spend writing.

IS THERE SOMETHING YOU REMIND YOURSELF TO THINK OF WHEN YOU SIT DOWN TO WRITE?

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY - GENRE MASH-UP SCI-ROM-FI

especially when it is laced with romance :D

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY

Yesterday, I reviewed my writing note book. I totalled the genres and discovered my interest in sci-fi and romance score best, they have the highest number of ideas. I'm reading crime fiction to prepare for the project waiting in the biro. My diet of crime is bringing on an a sci-rom reaction. Who'd have thought? ;)

As Xavia slid to a halt at the portal, the dull echo sounded again. She ran her fingers over the key pad, caught her breath, and smoothed her expression to calm efficiency, before the compressed gas hissed and the door swung open. Theoretical science proved: time did have elastic qualities, and dimensions were not fixed: the portspace was filled by lengths of moulded plas-fabric. Automatically she checked the details to identify as much as possible about the visitor, his grav-boots were quality, the suit was enhanced with sensors, his head was clean shaven but her breathing had shifted to unstable. It was a man's face, the alignment of the features more perfect than the ones she'd seen on the Surgical Solutions' site. When his eyebrows tugged low enough they shadowed his features and moved his expression from magnetic to grimly-fiendish.

I love focussing on the first six sentences of everything I read, so much can be condensed into a tiny space.

WHICH GENRES MASH-UPS DO YOU ENJOY READING?