-
Sandra replied to the topic Terminal discouragement? in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years, 5 months ago
To some extent (not that I’ve done any really full-on writing courses, just SE, some reading and building on experience) I do notice that my very early writing has a freshness of approach that more recent, more self-conscious writing does not.
And I do cheer when I come across writers such as Eimear McBride and Eley Williams (both James Tait…[Read more]
-
Sandra replied to the topic Bi-Monthly Comp – May/June 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years, 5 months ago
Drink with a dead man – and apologies, 410 words
Innocuous in colour as a Rich Tea biscuit, the envelope was angled so as to fit into the grey metal cell of the Post Restante box. Illuminated by the single bare bulb in the narrow passage between front and rear of the shop, the vertical/horizontal of the letter’s shadow made of it a hitman, w…[Read more]
-
-
Sandra replied to the topic New first chapter in the forum Critiques 7 years, 6 months ago
Just checked with Steve and apparently an 18 year old is limited to bikes of no more than 125 cc – nippy enough to weave through London traffic, but max speed of ~60mph (and not as nippy as the twist’n’go scooters beloved by street thieves) Once he’s 19 and had has 2 years experience he can go larger.
Happy to answer any other questions on the subject. -
Sandra replied to the topic New first chapter in the forum Critiques 7 years, 6 months ago
Steve is out – on his BSA B33 – today, I’ll ask him when he returns.
-
Sandra replied to the topic New first chapter in the forum Critiques 7 years, 6 months ago
Kate, it also crossed my mind, on first reading, that Alex would’ve referred to his bike by make: ‘his Ducati 500 Hornet’ (or something – I made that up). If you want some better info than I have about modern bikes I can find out, but need to know how old he is – there might be rules about what cc a bike for what age.
-
Sandra posted an update 7 years, 6 months ago
Intriguing and likely valuable exercise on Andrew Wille’s blog which I’m determined to have a go at sometime this month: http://wille.org/blog/2019/03/29/heart-words-vs-head-words-guest-writing-experiment-no-73-from-zoe-gilbert/
-
Thanks Sandra, that’s really interesting. Latin root strikes me as the language when someone’s trying too hard, and it has the opposite effect.
-
Oh that’s interesting, Sandra. I went to Andrew’s ‘Crafting Your Prose’ masterclass yesterday, and that was one of the topics we covered.
I can thoroughly recommend: https://www.wordsaway.info
-
-
-
Sandra replied to the topic New first chapter in the forum Critiques 7 years, 6 months ago
Then ‘mate’ worked, don’t fret – the trouble with reading to critique is that one tries too hard and focuses on unnecessaries.
-
Sandra replied to the topic New first chapter in the forum Critiques 7 years, 7 months ago
I like this a LOT Kate and defnitely want to read on. One of the intriguing things for me (don’t know if it’s intentional, presume so) is that, despite the ‘mate’ I don’t 100% know what sex the narrator is at this point – either woukd be of interest.
I entirely agree with Bella’s tweaks, the following are my own reactions and are to be ignored…[Read more]
-
Sandra replied to the topic Writers & Artists short story comp in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Brilliant success Raine – one out of a thousand! – Wow indeed.
-
Sandra replied to the topic Regular Den competition – where next? in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years, 7 months ago
I’m still hosting https://predictionfiction.blogspot.com/ every
week, which is 2 x 100 words of two serials plus a standalone if inspiration/prompts permit. Also it’s me who judges the winner. So I don’t have much spare time with competitions as well, unless they strike an immediate chord.
I do think Raine’s idea of only commenting the winner…[Read more] -
Sandra replied to the topic Interview with Fiona Erskine, author of The Chemical Detective in the forum Blogs 7 years, 7 months ago
I’m going to the launch on 2nd April. Local bookshop will be there with a goodly supply.
But thanks Daeds, for an excellent interview.
-
Sandra posted an update 7 years, 7 months ago
Help, please – I’m sure this has been mentioned before but I cannot find it. I’ve received a notification that someone has commented on an update in a private group, but all I am able to access is just one (earlier) comment, and not the 7 I am informed exist. How do overcome this?
-
I had something like this recently. Got an e-mail notification that someone had commented, but when I clicked on the ‘View the discussion here’ link I found that all but the last few posts had vanished, including the actual post by me that was being replied to. Came over here to check and it was the same. Is this a software issue?
-
It should show all your posts but sometimes it ‘folds’ them to save space. This is annoying but there’s not much that xan be done at present. However if you’ve been mentioned in a post using your handle, then select mentions from the main navigational menu (assuming you’re logged in). You can access the post there. Failing that trh actually going…[Read more]
-
Thanks Jules – I’ll accept it is an occasional hiccup and work round it.
-
Yeah, I got hit by that glitch on that comment thread too, @sandradavies. It does seem to strike at random. :-/
-
-
-
-
-
Sandra replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 8 months ago
Oh, well done, Stevie, and deservedly so!
-
Sandra posted an update 7 years, 8 months ago
Excellent writing advice here: https://lithub.com/what-being-an-editor-taught-me-about-writing/?fbclid=IwAR2PZYarO1Zfrw5jm_eK4nAuKHsj1GHgvdDvAvUqn_KXENvBeQbQoJkqomY
-
Sandra replied to the topic Entering the Citadel in the forum Blogs 7 years, 8 months ago
Phew indeed, Philippa – but so very pleased you survived it all – very well done.
-
Sandra posted an update 7 years, 9 months ago
So much of editing is removing the superfluous, I wonder why the hell I put it in there in the first place.
-
I look at it as like scaffolding. You need it to construct the story, but taking it away is part of the process
-
I see it more like all those tatty bits of pale blue plastic wrapping, shredded and blowing in the wind.
-
Haha yeah, that too
-
It’s like a dissection. You need to rummage around to know what’s what, then you can start cutting away…
-
And fingers crossed you don’t snip anything vital …
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sandra replied to the topic TSS Cambridge Short Story in the forum Competitions, Open calls and Writing Opportunities 7 years, 9 months ago
Thanks for this, Word limit ought to mean it wouldn’t need much tweaking.
-
Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – December 2018 in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years, 9 months ago
Congratulations John, well deserved, and thanks Raine for the judgement and nice comments – hope Life takes an uplift for you.
-
Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – December 2018 in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years, 10 months ago
Very clever John – you’ve left me poised and nervous as to what sort of ‘reality’ comes next.
- Load More
