@elle
Active 6 years, 3 months ago-
Squidge replied to the topic Monthly Competition: June 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 3 months ago
The Midsummer Madness
“Are ye well prepared?”
Aliz nods, her eyes wide and dark in her face. “I soaked the rope in rosemary water like ye said, an’ the pegs were whittled fresh from holly.”
“Good. And the other?”
“I have it.”
No tremor in her voice. Will she remain as unaffected if she is forced to use it?
“Good.” I tap my finger on my t…[Read more]
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Athelstone posted an update 6 years, 3 months ago
Disaster has struck. Mrs Athelstone has confirmed that she will still buy me a valentine, wish me a Happy Birthday, and give me a bottle of wine. BUT, she bought me a Nintendo Switch with some games and my daughter added even more games. I may never write again!
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:O
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I had that particular birthday on the day my daughter got married in Scotland. The attending piper was prevailed upon to play a certain tune…
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Nothing of such significance happened on my birthday, unless you count the assault on my writing with the gift of a Nintendo Switch and a pile of games. In fact, I’d forgotten it even was my birthday and I was busy making plans to do things around the house until my daughter pointed out that Mrs Ath had invited the in-laws round for afternoon fizz…[Read more]
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Not quite as thought-provoking, I contend, as the birthday I had a month ago. I have reached my three-score-and-ten, and am now officially An Old Man.
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Well, many happy returns. Definitely a landmark – positively biblical.
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Sandra posted an update 6 years, 3 months ago
“pleonasm”. As discussed by Allan Guthrie. I mentioned it on another site and a lot of people found it interesting/useful when it came to tightening writing/reducing word count. Google it – there’s a choice of places to go.
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Sometimes an unusual word like pleonasm is a necessary reminder not to go on adding words endlessly without stopping simply to make the meaning clearer for the sake of epexegesis.
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Indeed. Something those who adhere over-strictly to the rules are inclined to overlook.
Thank you.-
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Anthony Trollope comes to mind.
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Thomas Wolfe. Oh, yes, Thomas Wolfe.
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Barny joined the group
A place for Stupid Questions 6 years, 3 months ago -
Squidge replied to the topic Where to start? in the forum
A place for Stupid Questoins 6 years, 3 months agoWot everyone else said! My rule of thumb to determine when I should show is to put myself in the MC’s shoes and write from their experience – if I can portray something through what they are seeing/hearing/feeling, then it’s probably more of a ‘show’ moment than a ‘tell’ one. For me, it’s linked with people and actions rather than descriptions -…[Read more]
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Squidge joined the group
A place for Stupid Questions 6 years, 3 months ago -
Sandra replied to the topic Where to start? in the forum
A place for Stupid Questoins 6 years, 3 months agoWhat a brilliant set of answers and examples to a most important question, I’ve been writing fiction ten years now but still forgetting how this one works. Thaks fir asking it, Andrew. And well done Jane for mentioning Emma’s blog – taught me so much.
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Sandra joined the group
A place for Stupid Questions 6 years, 3 months ago -
Athelstone replied to the topic Where to start? in the forum
A place for Stupid Questoins 6 years, 3 months agoShowing and telling is a tricky one and there are many situations where telling something is 100% right and others where showing is 100% right. The reverse is also true.
Jake was acting suspiciously when I met him at the cafe. He looked cagey and only told me about Jane when he was sure nobody else could hear him.
Jake sidled through the cafe…[Read more]
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Jules joined the group
A place for Stupid Questions 6 years, 3 months ago -
Athelstone joined the group
A place for Stupid Questions 6 years, 3 months ago -
Squidge replied to the topic That old enemy, Perfectionism in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 6 years, 3 months ago
Doug – if your writing strikes you as ‘amateurish’, it’s probably a good thing; it means that, in the time since you originally wrote the novel you have grown and developed as a writer and are already – subconsciously – aware of it.
It’s very hard to do, but have you considered completely rewriting the story from scratch? It’s something I did…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic That old enemy, Perfectionism in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 6 years, 4 months ago
Am I allowed to agree with all of you? When a writer like Stephen King just says something and it works, it’s because he is utterly confident with his voice. I’m not his biggest fan, but I have read a lot of his work and I do appreciate the extraordinary flow of his prose. I’m willing to bet he’s not on the heavy side when he edits.
I’m terrible.…[Read more]
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Squidge replied to the topic That old enemy, Perfectionism in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 6 years, 4 months ago
Mad has touched on what I posted (and lost!) yesterday.
Sometimes, I think we confuse perfectionism with finding our own, unique writer’s voice. We try so hard to make it sound ‘right’ that we forget we’re trying to express something of who we are, who our characters are, within the world we’ve created. Of course we want to make our stories the…[Read more]
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Mad Iguana replied to the topic Fantasy Anthology in the forum Podium 6 years, 4 months ago
Great news Kate – well done!!
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Mad Iguana replied to the topic That old enemy, Perfectionism in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 6 years, 4 months ago
Perfectionism is a curse. But the desire for perfection is necessary, if we’re ever to get to be as good as we can be.
Every time I re-read anything I’ve ever written, I find myself changing a word here, a phrase there. A sentence can be cut completely and rewritten, and in the next rewrite, it comes back again.
I found comfort in the quote from…[Read more] -
Squidge replied to the topic That old enemy, Perfectionism in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 6 years, 4 months ago
Aaaargh! Just wrote a reply and it’s thrown me off and lost it all! Will post again tomorrow…
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Squidge replied to the topic Tilda and the Mines of Pergatt in the forum Podium 6 years, 4 months ago
Thank you x
Ath, I should have some paperbacks soon, after a leetle glitch with the cover (take a decko in RASSA for what happened!)
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly Competition: June 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 4 months ago
Midsummer Madness
The ambush had been crueller for the glory of a wiped-clean sky, slowly coloured-in by a northeast Scotland, half-four sunrise, just three days past the solstice. It side-swiped the pleasures of his journey down, dulling the pearly greyness of the North Sea which had sheened pink then gold as it prepared itself for day. The…[Read more]
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Athelstone posted an update 6 years, 4 months ago
Brilliant “webinar” by @philippaeast tonight. Really interesting insight into the her road to publication. Certainly had me thinking about what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong.
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