Chrissy

Thank you, Sandra. I haven’t tried commenting so I don’t know if the link works or not, but thank you for attempting it.

The admin side of writing stories is boring. Looking for submission sites, keeping track of submissions and rejections and keeping my stories filed in an easy-to-find order — it’s all time consuming, and I don’t even write…[Read more]

Thank you!! I keep thinking I must submit that story somewhere.

If you’re in the mood for another, CafeLit published one of mine earlier this month CafeLitMagazine: A Horse, A Queen, Some Crockery by Elizabeth Leyland, homemade lemonade

But honestly only read it if you feel like it.

CafeLit asks writers to name a suitable favourite drink -…[Read more]

Tell me about it! 🙂 🙂

I don’t remember a sex scene in The Offing though if I sense something – anything – which seems a clunky effort to suddenly heighten the drama, I start to disengage. If the author has a crisis of confidence, so do I.

I find it easier to explain why I dislike something than why I like it. Though I very rarely ‘dislike’ anything, I just get…[Read more]

In my notebook I put, ‘Gave up page 82. So many adjectives. Characters insufficiently interesting.’

I don’t know what was wrong with p 82 but I don’t think anything gruesome had happened yet.

Sounds super critical and a bit rich coming from someone so keen on Mrs Dalloway. I think basically it wasn’t my cup of tea, otherwise the adjectives would…[Read more]

‘really good’ 🙂

‘Butcher’s Perfume’ – I could see it was really could but I’m a wimp and I’m not sure I finished it.

Benjamin Myers – I tried The Offing. Historical fiction (which I write), lots of scenery and countryside (fab) and set in beautiful Yorkshire. What wasn’t to like? But I couldn’t get far with it.

I loved ‘How to Paint a Dead Man.’ Also ‘Haweswater’. I find her short stories a hard read – often grisly or too troubling.

I’ll sign up for Sarah Hall, and Graham Macrae Burnet – among others.

Also Mrs Dalloway for whom I seem to have limitless capacity though others may groan 🙂

Sorting out my formatting before I post would be another nice thing…

 I spotted my MC thinking about something I knew she was going to know, but she didn’t actually know yet

That’s the kind of thing I try to see in my own writing though often it’s only after leaving the piece as long as possible that I notice what I’ve done.

My main reason for leaving drafts a long time – apart from life getting in the way – is…

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No worries, Ath. I absolutely agree with you. For me, rules are interesting in a meta way for people’s reactions to them, either for or against. I like to think I’m relaxed but my bonnet bees show my uptightness 🙂 The truth is, I’m fascinated by ‘rules’ and the improvements or failures that can happen when they’re ‘broken’ – though most of the…[Read more]

I’ve learned a new word: ambitransitive. Thanks, Ath. It’s a helpful one.

Like you I think probably no rules are broken. I have a small bee in my bonnet about contemporary UK English abandoning commas and that may be why I thought a comma would help.

Your list, Ath –  avoidance of ambiguity; awareness of how things sound; comprehensibility; and…[Read more]

I can’t offer any grammatical analysis, but it does certainly sound wrong. Almost creepily so. I did have to have a giggle at Libby’s analysis of the hair as ‘a nasty piece of work’.

Here are my thoughts but I’m very willing to be told I’m wrong.

The sentence would read better with a more appropriate verb and a comma:

‘Don’t worry,’ Jacob soothed, against her hair.

I agree Ath with both your points — I’d prefer ‘said’ for the speech tag, but using a transitive verb isn’t a problem. Aren’t a lot of speech tags trans…[Read more]

Teddy was lost.

Teddy’s owner, Joe, was inconsolable. His face red and blotchy, his screams ringing through the house. How could Joe and Teddy survive apart.

Teddy himself was having a nice time. He’d been left on the bus, propped up next to the window where he could see the world go by. Life with Joe was nice, but sometimes a bit boring. Teddy…[Read more]