Jackie Wesley

Credit where credit is due: I believe it was Libby who first used the phrase ‘instinctive writer,’ even if she was replying to me.

It was the same every year.

She took as many precautions as possible, wrapping everything carefully, keeping the box closed tight until the right moment came, making sure her hands were washed clean when it did.

And then…

Ordering everyone to sit down, sit still. Questioning each participant in turn to make sure she knew their exact r…[Read more]

Wowser…beta reading…

As a beta reader, I do try to find something good to say as well as making suggestions for improvements. I don’t think I go into it with a checklist per se – I use gut feeling a lot as to what feels ‘right’ to me as a reader. But I sometimess feel that I’m not an objective enough beta reader – I don’t always ‘get’ other…[Read more]

I’m probably too instinctive for my own good. I’ve been told at various times that I have a natural feel for plot and pace, that my characters speak with their own distinctive voices, even that I’m good at that notoriously difficult thing, sex, but I never step aside and coldly think about any of these things. When I see phrases like…[Read more]

I don’t reckon myself as much of a beta reader either. Partly it may be lack of confidence in my own opinions, but mostly I think it’s because I seem to have trouble thinking analytically about writing, including my own. Years ago when I did the S-E Course, I repeatedly had the experience of Debi, or one of the others, telling me I’d been clever…[Read more]

Yes, in my first passage my MC was being smitten at his first sight of a young lady, and in the second someone was getting blasted with a shotgun. Hmm, content…

Now there’s interesting, as we say in Wales. Based on two short extracts from the last novel I wrote, I write either like James Joyce or (wait for it) Dan Brown. Not much difference…

OK, but what about the many other advantages of discourse?

@athelstone have you looked at moving to a 21st century forum like discourse? I use it on talk.restarters.net and it’s pretty slick. You can get email notifications and reply by email; can upload pictures, has trust levels and you can restrict areas.

Well done, Libby – a deserved win!! And thanks Ath.

DoW problems: Usability just isn’t what it should be; not being able to post pictures is a pain; definitely doesn’t promote idle chat.

The wordcloud was very far from perfect, but had one significant difference: the course offerings meant new people were always joining, wondering wth was going on, some figuring it out or persisting without fig…[Read more]

Even after a year-plus of lockdown in various degrees I don’t do social media at all, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Zoom, no anything, so the Silence of the Denizens has been quite saddening for me. Not that I’ve been better (except in one respect) than anyone else. My problem is the opposite of that of several leading lights here: having…[Read more]

I don’t post here as often as I perhaps should, though I love knowing it’s here if I need it, or to celebrate good news with other peeps, and of course, to be challenged to write a short story every now and again.

Beyond that, I think because I’m published, working on new material, editing for other people, testing a writing course, I don’t have…[Read more]

Blimey, managed to write something and very pleased to be able to enter the comp. Was a bit concerned at managing to get to 250 words and wanting to post without having to DQ myself! Happily at 256 words including title. 🙂

This might be the day.

He hadn’t closed the curtains. The sunbeam found the bed at 6.37 and warmed his left foot at 6…[Read more]

That’s probably one reason it was chosen as a refuge for the band. And yes, it does sound worth a visit.

If you’re curious, this page has a photo of the house as it was when the band was there, though it appears to have been taken from the back garden. A click will blow it up.

Libby said:

Thanks, Richard. Have you been to Farley Chamberlayne? It’s worth a trip for anyone in the area. I can’t remember what the house looks like, and the internet isn’t obliging, but FC is a deserted medieval village with a pretty church. It feels remote and wild despite close proximity to Winchester.

R