Facebook – General – and Chandler’s Ford Today
My latest CFT post is Part 4 of my 101 Things to Put into Room 101. I’m up to No. 60! Tonight’s “delights” to go into the vault of doom include rats, overpriced clothing for those of us with height issues (in either direction) and those people who dislike fake flowers. I bet they don’t suffer from hayfever!
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
Am planning to get on with some flash fiction writing whilst out and about on the train tomorrow. Great use of dead time and on my last trip out like this, I managed to write at least five stories (which are in the second collection I’ve submitted to Chapeltown Books). I can’t give you an exact number as I stopped counting after that.
One lovely thing about writing, regardless of genre or whether you write fiction, non-fiction or both, is you are never short of things to be getting on with while out and about on public transport! I also use dead time like this to draft future ideas for Chandler’s Ford Today and Association of Christian Writers’ blog posts.
Am I a convert to the smartphone? You bet! Picture below from one of my CFT posts from late last year but given the topic of this post, I thought it apt to use it again!
Fairytales with Bite – Character Likes and Dislikes
In my latest Chandler’s Ford Today post, I consign various items to Room 101. Amongst the items in Part 4 of my series are rats, people who dislike fake flowers, and overpriced clothing for those of us with height issues (in either direction. Am not unbiased here!).
I love fake flowers because (a) they are of a much higher quality than they once were and (b) I’m a hayfever sufferer! Thinking about this made me wonder about what quirky likes and dislikes your characters have. I’m thinking of those things that would really make them stand out to a reader. It is vital readers can tell characters apart and distinctive personality traits, likes and dislikes are great ways to achieve those necessary differences. We’re not all clones after all, so our characters mustn’t be either.
Think about also why your characters have their likes and dislikes. (Yes, people can and do have irrational likes and dislikes but, in fiction, you have got to convince the reader your characters are believable. I find having a good reason for them to be the way they are, which would include their tastes, is a surefire way of achieving believability).
I loathe spam – the electronic or the meat kind! Image via Pixabay
Success but should it be because you’re famous for being famous? Image via Pixabay
Ambition is no substitute for genuine talent. Image via Pixabay.
This sums up humanity’s wastefulness. Image via Pixabay
This World and Others – Using “Dead Time”
Using “dead time” in a more efficient way so I can get more writing done is something I have improved on in the last six months or so. This is partly because I’ve finally got a smartphone (!) and I also use Evernote as an app to draft stories, articles etc when I’m out and about on train journeys etc.
The nice thing with this is not only do I get more work done, I haven’t got the distractions of all I have to do at home getting in the way. I can focus purely on writing for a while, which is bliss. One lovely thing about writing, which I touch on in a Facebook post tonight as well, is that whether you write fiction, non-fiction or both, there are always things to work on, edit or write!
On my last big train journey, I managed to write at least five flash fiction stories (I admit I gave up counting after that). So think about your pockets of time that can easily be lost. How could you use those? I remember being annoyed when I took my car in for service as I was happily drafting stories while waiting for that to be done. I was well into the writing zone when they told me the car was ready!
Main task for me now here is to submit more flash fiction to Cafelit as well as get on with ideas for my third book. My second book is in with Chapeltown Books now so fingers crossed!
Allison Symes: Collected Works 