PLOT - A to Z CHALLENGED

Each post for the A to Z Challenge is the challenge I set for myself.

P is for PLOT

Characters, conflict and
complications are present whenever
there's more than one
person in the novel.

P is for Plot because all you have to do is control the key elements of character, conflict, complications, climax and consolidation to write the perfect novel ;)

HAL LONGLEAT AND THE TROUBLE WITH TRUTH

Dizzy, Hal slid down the ladder. His nerveless fingers couldn’t grip. His feet slid from the rung as if it had been coated in grease like the Maypole on the feast day. 

He landed at the bottom of the steps. Digging in his heels, he pushed himself back through the straw and dust. Fear beat at him, a stinging pain, he thought he would be sick.

Could YOU have been gifted with the ability to identify and eliminate weak and brittle phrases from your work? To the uninitiated, these interlopers look like quality imagery.

CLICHÉ RAIDERS: REWRITE!

•           pale into insignificance

•           pecking order

•           plain as a pikestaff

•           point of no return

•           practice makes perfect

•           press on regardless

•           pride and joy

•           put two and two together

•           put your foot down

•           put your nose out of joint

FOR P, I CHOSE PLOT. WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR P POST?

OBSTACLES - A to Z CHALLENGED

Each post for the A to Z Challenge is the challenge I set for myself.

O is for OBSTACLES

SOME ENEMIES TRY TO LOOK,
 AND ACT, LIKE FRIENDS.

O is for Obstacle, internal or external, because without an antagonistic force to trip the MC and make them falter there is nothing to compel the reader to turn the pages.

HAL LONGLEAT AND THE TROUBLE WITH TRUTH

Suddenly, a clump of mud splattered against Hal’s cheek. “Ugh!” he gasped, startled. The courtyard was bustling, most of the servants had found a reason to see what was going on outside. None of the other stable boys, or the lads who minded the dogs, were near. Or, anywhere he could see.

Could YOU have been gifted with the ability to identify and eliminate weak and brittle phrases from your work? To the uninitiated, these interlopers look like quality imagery.

CLICHÉ RAIDERS: REWRITE!

•           off the beaten track

•           once bitten, twice shy

•           once in a blue moon

•           only time will tell

•           on the spur of the moment

•           on the tip of my tongue

•           out of sight, out of mind

•           over and done with

•           over my dead body

•           own worst enemy

FOR O, I CHOSE INSIGHT and INTUITION. WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR O POST?

NOVEL - A to Z CHALLENGED

N is for NOVEL

Each post for the A to Z Challenge is the challenge I set for myself. 

Not as impressive as a comet, but 

everyone came to watch the competition 

as the crusader had named the prize.

N is for Novel: neither short not over-long,  N is for Novel. The challenge, for the author, is to make sure there’s something novel about it too ;) a unique selling point.

HAL LONGLEAT AND THE TROUBLE WITH TRUTH

Suddenly, the crusader knight snapped his head around. “Where is the boy?”

His red-haired squire was standing beside him. “There.” He nodded towards the stable.

Across the distance, de Moreville stared at Hal. An expression flickered across the knight’s face – to Hal’s surprise it looked a lot like guilt – before it was replaced with stern determination. He nodded.

Could YOU have been gifted with the ability to identify and eliminate weak and brittle phrases from your work? To the uninitiated, these interlopers look like quality imagery.

CLICHÉ RAIDERS: REWRITE!

•           nick of time, in the

•           nine-day/day’s wonder

•           nip it in the bud/nipped in the bud

•           no news is good news

•           no peace for the wicked

•           no skin off my nose

•           nothing ventured, nothing gained

•           not out of the woods yet

•           not to be sneezed at

•           now or never

FOR N, I CHOSE NOVEL. WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR N POST?

METAPHORS - A to Z CHALLENGED

M is for METAPHOR

Each post for the A to Z Challenge is the challenge I set for myself.

If the knight wins, Hal will have to
leave everyone he knows - again.

M is for Metaphors, the magic that creates a mind full of images with a new but relatable construct. Metaphors colour between the lines of text.

HAL LONGLEAT AND THE TROUBLE WITH TRUTH

The crusader knight bent back the strange, curved bow. He paused before he shot. Hal’s heart flew long before the arrow thudded into the wood and straw target. His stomach was empty of everything except hot fear. Everyone – his friends – would talk about the day Hal thought he was going to be made something more than them.

Could YOU have been gifted with the ability to identify and eliminate weak and brittle phrases from your work? To the uninitiated, these interlopers look like quality imagery.

CLICHÉ RAIDERS: REWRITE!

•           made of sterner stuff

•           make no bones about it

•           make my day

•           make/making the best of a bad job

•           make/making tracks

•           matter of life and death

•           method in his madness

•           millstone around your neck

•           more haste, less speed

•           more the merrier, the

FOR M, I CHOSE METAPHORS. WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR M POST?

WEEKEND WRITING WARRIORS - 8 SENTENCES ON SUNDAY

If you are interested in follow this link: WWR

As I am a weekend-only writer of romance, Darrah is still having trouble ignoring Hale.

Magpie’s treasure! The Sarkisian reflected every facet of a male she had ever been interested in, instead of the freak he really was.

She needed to bathe. An ice cold waterfall might do it. Head low enough to rest on the buckle that held her cloak in place, Darrah gripped her bow and breathed deeply to gentle the tremors that still shook her, running through the Articles of War and the Creeds of Peace she traced the grooves in the bark of the tree.

“Komantak of The Suoliak should not be guilty of unclean or scandalous actions for in this should they incur punishment such that the nature and degree of their offence shall deserve,” she recited. “Accepting the touch of the Sarkisian would stack as both unclean and scandalous,” she added aloud.

When the touch came, hot on the heel of her thought, Darrah turned. Bow high and steady, arrow straight and sharp, she held her breath before she collected her thoughts.

LOOK and LISTEN - A to Z CHALLENGED

Each post for the A to Z Challenge is the challenge I set for myself.

It's Archery, but not as heated
as the contest Hal is watching.

L is for LOOK and LISTEN
in every LOCATION

L is for Look and Listen because these are two of the most important senses to include when describing your MC’s response to a new location.

HAL LONGLEAT AND THE TROUBLE WITH TRUTH

There was so much steam in the courtyard Hal could almost convince himself he was dreaming. But the weather hadn’t brought the fog, the castle was busier than a Fair Day, folk from roundabout wanted to watch the spectacle, and all of them were breathing the place misty. And, it was never easy to make out the target painted on a circular butt by the castle wall.

Could YOU have been gifted with the ability to identify and eliminate weak and brittle phrases from your work? To the uninitiated, these interlopers look like quality imagery.

CLICHÉ RAIDERS: REWRITE!

•           lap of luxury

•           last but not least

•           last straw, it’s the

•           late in the day

•           laugh up your sleeve

•           lavish praise/hospitality/ceremony

•           leave no stone unturned

•           let bygones be bygones

•           let’s get this show on the road

•           let sleeping dogs lie

FOR L, I CHOSE LOOK and LISTEN. WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR L POST?

KNACKERED and KILOWATTS - A to Z CHALLENGED

Each post for the A to Z Challenge is the challenge I set for myself.

K is for KNACKERED and
KILOWATTS of electricity

As hard as it is to write through
the dark hours... it could always be worse ;)

K is for Knackered. It is also for the Kilowatts of electricity we writers burn through the dark, but peaceful, hours of the night.

HAL LONGLEAT AND THE TROUBLE WITH TRUTH

Edith, the kitchen maid, rubbed her hands down her dusty apron. “It might not be a bad thing – to leave here.”

“No?” he asked.

Her lips tightened. She was quiet for a moment. “The crusader asked Lord Courtney to free you from his service.”

Hal shivered, his head ached.

Could YOU have been gifted with the ability to identify and eliminate weak and brittle phrases from your work? To the uninitiated, these interlopers look like quality imagery.

CLICHÉ RAIDERS: REWRITE!

•           keep a straight face

•           keep the wolf from the door

•           keep your chin up

•           keep your nose clean

•           keep your nose to the grindstone

•           kiss of death

•           knee-high to a grasshopper

•           knocked into a cocked hat

•           knocked/knocks the spots off

•           knuckle under

FOR K, I CHOSE KNACKERED. WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR K POST?