Monday 30 June 2014

L is for Line Editing

Before I begin a new chapter, I read through the previous one and tweak it prior to submitting it to an online historical critique group for constructive comments and suggestions. My 'critiquers' are kind enough to point out missing commas, awkward phrases and much more as well as letting me know what they like. After I apply whatever I agree with, I read chapters aloud at Watford Writers where I receive invaluable feedback,  including suggestions re editing.
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The hard work begins after I finish a novel. First of all, I highlight words I want to use sparingly, such as and,  was,  were,  had,  as, etc.I then look, for example , for   phrases  joned by and. Frequently, I divide sentences into two by deleting and, which makes my prose more concise.

I then use the spelling and grammar check to correct spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Afterwards I check both the spelling and grammar when I re-read the entire novel.

I make sure that I have not either repeated any words frequently or used the same word too close together.

For example: in the sequel to Sunday's Child, Monday's Child I wrote the following:-

"Appreciative of his well-schooled, black gelding, Langley mounted and settled on the saddle. He patted the powerful animal’s glossy neck.

A wagon pulled by powerful Flemish horses approached from the opposite direction."

When writing I was concentrating on the story, when editing I replaced ' the powerful Flemish horses' with 'the strong Flemish horses.'

I remove clichés, unless a character uses them in dialogue - but I still use them sparingly - get rid of anything trite and make sure my metaphors read well.

I also rewrite sentences and sometimes move a scene from one part of the novel to another.

Finally, prior to submission, I check the novel by reading it aloud bit by bit because if I read too much at a time my concentration wavers.





Saturday 28 June 2014

K is for Kaleidoscope - novelist's.

One definition of kaleidoscope in Collins's English Dictionary is "any complicated pattern of frequently changing shapes and colours."

When writing my novels shapes and colours develop and enrich my writing.

For example, in my new historical novel, Monday's Child, the sequel to Sunday's Child, I wrote:  "Helen shook her head and looked down at the path riddled with tree roots." This is more interesting than writing: "Helen looked down at the path." Also, although it is unnecessary to describe the precise shape of the roots the reader will be able to imagine them.

Helen has to make a life-changing decision so I used shapes to develop the sub-text. "Helen traced a pattern with the tip of her toe on the ground between two roots that resembled hands reaching out to grab her." This is more effective than writing. "Helen traced a pattern on the ground with the tip of her toe." The reader can visualise the shapes of roots shaped like hands.

After I have written the first draft of a novel, I imagine it as either a patchwork waiting to be finished with stitches binding it to the backing, or as an incomplete piece of embroidery. To embellish the fabric of the novel I employ the five senses, or faculties, of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.

One example of sight and smell in Monday's Child, which I have not yet submitted to my publisher,  is:- "Near the kiosk he thought he saw a movement by an oak tree, where sunlight kissed bluebells at its base. An errant breeze wafted their fragrant perfume to him – a fragrance so different to smoke- laden air on battlefields. " ('He' is a captain serving under the Duke of Wellington.)

The novels I enjoy most are those in which the authors have developed not only - in the words of Collins English Dictionary - "In addition to the five traditional faculties of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell ... are the means by which bodily position, temperature, pain, balance etc., are perceived."



 
 
 


Friday 27 June 2014

J is for Juggling.


No, I'm not writing about throwing balls in the air and catching them. Yesterday I wrote about ideas.  Today I'm writing about juggling the ideas for novels, novellas, short stories and articles which are in my head.

I keep an ideas file, and when I am about to write something new I juggle the ideas and spend a lot of time tossing them up and down in my mind before choosing one.

At the moment I would like to enter a competition and in spare moments am juggling three ideas. At first, I thought of writing a ghost story and rejected it because I think a lot of competitors will write one, then I considered a love story with a happy ever after ending after many problems and rejected it for the same reason, and I also rejected a murder story. I like one of my new  shortlist of three ideas, but am not sure whether I can succeed in turning it into a credible, unusual story. While I'm going about my daily tasks I'll keep a notebook nearby and juggle my ideas for the first sentence, the characters, and the important questions, who? what? when? where? why? and how? At the thought of so much hard mental work my head is now spinning like the juggler's balls when he tosses them up into the air.

Thursday 26 June 2014

I is for Ideas

There are many triggers which provide ideas. Snatches of overheard conversation, snippets in newspapers, articles in magazines, non-fiction books, various situations in our daily lives and those of friends and acquaintances.

All of us have access to these triggers, but some people merely find them interesting other people use them to write fiction.  Sometimes ideas stay with us for a long time. Again and again we return to them and eventually write the first line of a short story or novel.  We have grasped the trigger and developed it by asking ourselves: What happened? Where did it happen? When did it happen. Why did it Happen? How did it Happen? Who did it happen to?

At a party hosted by another fiction writer, a gentleman followed me around telling me at length that he had many ideas and wanted to write a novel. Eventually, desperate to be rid of him, I said. "I'll tell you how to write one." He thought I had a magic formula but I told him. "Write the first word and continue until you reach the end." Good advice, although I say so myself, we never know where our ideas will take us.

Wednesday 25 June 2014

I Am Anna Markland's guest blogger.

Today, I am a guest at Anna Markland's blog. http://annamarkland@gmail.com

I've blogged about the era's in which I set my historical fiction.

Monday 23 June 2014

H is for Useful Historical Non-Fiction


I haven’t got time to count how many historical non-fiction books I own and use to research my novels.

Below is a list of books I chose to list at random to. As you might guess from the titles I’m in love with history.

 

Peter Ackroyd – Albion. The Origins of English Imagination.

 

Louise Allen - Walks Through Regency England.

 

Louise Allen - Walking Jane Austen’s London. A Tour Guide for the Modern Traveller.

 

Magi Black – A Taste of History. 10,000 Years of Food in Britain.

 

John Buke -  Life in the Castle in Mediaeval England.

 

Elizabeth – Burton – The Jacobeans at Home.

 

Anne de Courcey – The Fishing Fleet. Husband Hunting in the British Raj.

 

William Dalyrymple – White Mughals. Love and Betrayal in 18th Century India.

 

Ian Fletcher - Galloping at Everything. The British Cavalry in the Peninsula War and Waterloo 1808-1815.   

 

Kristine Hughes - Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England from 1811-1901.

 

Sherrilyn Kenyon - The Writers Guide to Every Day Life in the Middle Ages.

 

Margaret Wade Labage. - A Baronial Household in the 13th Century.

 

David Miller - Lady de Lancey - A Story of Duty and Devotion.

 

Ian Mortimer – The Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England.

 

Oxford History of England. May McKissack - The Fourteenth Century 1307 – 1399.

 

The British Museum - Georgians Revealed. Life, Style and Making of Modern Britain.

 

M & C Quenell – A History of Everday Things in Britain

 

Jenny Uglow - A Gambling Man. Charles II and The Restoration.

 

Jenny Uglow - A Little History of British Gardening.

 

C. Willet and Phillis Cunnington – Handbook of English Medieval Costume.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday 22 June 2014

H is for some of my favourite historical novels


The following list is of historical fiction chosen at random from my bookshelves. Each of them have one thing in common – in future, I will read them again.

 

It would be interesting to know if anyone else treasures a book on my list.

 

Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer

The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

Sara Dane by Catherine Cookson

Sharpe (series) Bernard Cornwell

The Red Kimono by Christina Courtenay

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The Nightingale Sisters by Donna Douglas

Call Nurse Mille by Jean Fullerton

Angelique (series) by Sergeanne Golon

A Bargain Struck by Liz Harris

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer

An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer

The Far Pavillions by M.M.Kay

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullogh

Gwenevere by Rosalind Miles

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

The River Road by Frances Parkinson Keyes

Vail d’Alvery by Frances Parkinson Keyes

Katherine by Anya Seton

No Angel by Penny Vincenzi

 



 

 

Friday 20 June 2014

H is for Historical Fiction

I dislike fiction set in the past in which the characters act and speak as though they are 21st century people.

I enjoy historical fiction which has obviously been meticulously researched and in which the characters behave realistically according to their time.

In my opinion, it is not possible to recreate the past with 100% accuracy no matter how hard a historical novelist tries to do so. However, it is possible to successfully  present the era in which the characters lived  and to get nearly everything right after careful study of the events and economic and social history.

I write historical novels - not period novels in which the background is skimmed over. Although my main characters are fictional they are very much of their time. I show what they wore, what they ate, their religious and political beliefs and much more.

At the moment I am writing Monday's Child the second in my series set in the Regency era and revising a mediaeval novel set in the reign of Edward II. I have also written three novels set in the reign of Queen Anne Stuart who reined from 1702-1714 and have an idea for a 4th novel set in the same period.

So, what are the main categories of Historical Fiction? They are listed in Writing Historical Fiction. How to Create Historical Fiction and Get it Published by Marina Oliver.

Fictional Biographies, Fiction firmly based on Fact, Series - a connecting theme such as a place or a house, Family series - a connecting theme such as a place or house, Sagas, Regencies, Period, Wartime, Westerns, Adventure, Gothics, Paranormal, Timeslip and Crime.

(I omitted Bodice Rippers from the above list because I think they send out the wrong message - at the worst that rape is justifiable if the heroine subsequently falls in love with the hero.)

Historical novelists are fortunate to have a wide canvas to choose from. Personally, I do not want to become stuck in a proverbial rut when writing. My mediaeval novel has a touch of the paranormal in it, a theme I hope to develop in another novel. I'm also considering writing a saga that begins in the early 20th century and or a timeslip.

To conclude, from a very young age history fascinated me and I enjoy writing, reading and researching historical fiction.

Wednesday 18 June 2014

G is also for Genre

From time to time Watford Writers, the Writing Group I attend regularly, holds a Flash Fiction Competition. For ages I did not enter one but recently I decided to participate. To my surprise, writing a short piece of Flash Fiction jerked me out of my comfort zone and opened up new possibilities.

So far, I have only written historical novels but my experience with Flash Fiction has led to my exploring other branches of fiction such as Steam Punk (I have a list of authors whose novels I wish to read).

As a result of the Flash Fiction I have written I took Writing and Selling a Novel - How to craft your fiction for publication - by Marina Oliver off the bookshelf and consulted the index to read what she wrote about genre:-

"There are different sorts of novels. They vary in length and in their emphasis on different aspects, but it's possible to group most of them into recognisable types.

"The genres such as crime, romance, horror, science fiction, westerns and fantasy follow certain conventions and appeal to a restricted readership. So do the 'literary' novels while 'mainstream' have a more popular, general appeal."

Writing and Selling a Novel is well-worth reading.

Monday 16 June 2014

G is for Getting the Point i.e. Grammar

Getting the Point is "A Panic-Free Guide to English Punctuation for Adults" by Jenny Haddon and Elizabeth Hawksley.

I highly recommend the authors' amusing innovative approach to grammar using stories of "squabbling dragons, the ups and downs of the Whole Nut Café and Cassanova's thoughts on love. There are quizzes - with answers - throughout to help you practice."

Whatever you write this book is an "ideal guide".


Sunday 15 June 2014

F is also for Far Beyond Rubies


 

 

 Set in 1706 during Queen Anne Stuart’s reign, Far Beyond Rubies begins when William, Baron Kemp, Juliana’s half-brother claims she and her young sister, Henrietta, are bastards. Spirited Juliana is determined to prove the allegation is false, and that she is the rightful heiress to Riverside, a great estate.

On his way to deliver a letter to William, Gervaise Seymour sees Juliana for the first time on the grounds of her family estate. The sight of her draws him back to India. When “her form changed to one he knew intimately – but not in this lifetime,” Gervaise knows he would do everything in his power to protect her.

Although Juliana and Gervaise are attracted to each other, they have not been formally introduced and assume they will never meet again. However, when Juliana flees from home, and is on her way to London, she encounters quixotic Gervaise at an inn. Circumstances force Juliana to accept his kind help. After Juliana’s life becomes irrevocably tangled with his, she discovers all is not as it seems. Yet, she cannot believe ill of him for, despite his exotic background, he behaves with scrupulous propriety while trying to help her find evidence to prove she and her sister are legitimate.

Published by MuseItUp Publishing. Available as an e-book and a paperback from the publisher, Amazon and elsewhere.

 

 

Saturday 14 June 2014

F is also for False Pretences

False Pretences is my traditional Regency Novel, by which I mean the bedroom door does not open wide.


      Five year-old Annabelle arrived at boarding school fluent in French and English. Separated from her nurse, a dismal shadow blights Annabelle’s life because she does not know who her parents are.

Although high-spirited, Annabelle is financially dependent on her unknown guardian, she refuses to marry a French baron more than twice her age.

Her life in danger, Annabelle is saved by a gentleman, who says he will help her to discover her identity. Yet, from then on nothing is as it seems, and she is forced to run away for the second time to protect her rescuer.

     Even more determined to discover her identity, in spite of many false pretences, Annabelle must learn who to trust. Her attempts to unravel the mystery of her birth lead to further danger, despair and unbearable heartache, and even more false pretences, until the only person who has ever wanted to cherish her, reveals the startling truth, and all’s well that ends well.

 Tangled Love is available from:

 https://museituppublishing.com - Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Smashwords – Omnlit – Coffeetime Romance – All Romance and elsewhere.

 

 

Friday 13 June 2014

F is for First Page

When I browse in a bookshop or library, first the book cover grabs my attention, then I read the back cover blurb and finally the first paragraph. If this interests me I read the first page and I might buy the novel.

After much thought, naming my main characters and completing a character profile I'm ready to write the first page of my novel. By the time I finish the novel I can't count how many times I've read, re-read and revised that crucial page. I want the reader who is browsing to be intrigued, so I introduce conflict to draw the reader into the novel. I also make sure I have answered the questions:


What? What happens?

Where? Set the scene in a few sentences.

When? In which era is does the novel take place?

Why? Whatever happens, why does it happen?

How? How does the catalyst, conflict, and or crisis happen?  (Fans have told me that the opening words of my novel Far Beyond Rubies, "Bastards, Juliana! You and your sister are bastards," intrigued them.

Who? Establish the characters' personalities. Show how the character reacts to the crisis.

Aim for a balance of description and dialogue.

Of course, there are many novelists who are more talented than I am but I think the above might be of interest to new writers and readers.

Wednesday 11 June 2014

E is for Emotion

My mum used to say: The film was wonderful, I cried my eyes out.

I have enjoyed many novels which brought tears to my eyes, and I've suffered some of the following which touch cinema goers and  readers' hearts.

1. A sense of always being on the fringe while observing everything around.

2. The death of a loved person or animal.

3. Being forced to part from a loved one, an animal or a place.

4. Loneliness.

5. The misery of being misunderstood.

6. Rejection.

It's some time since I re-visited my notes on writing, so, as I made this list my imagination took wings. I could write and probably will write more than one scene based on each of the above list.

D is for Dialogue

Wednesday, 11 June 2014

D is for Dialogue

Over the years I have made many notes on creative writing. Amongst them are the following, but, unfortunately I did not make a note of the source so I can't attribute them.

Every line of dialogue in fiction should:

1. Convey essential information.
2. Move the tale forward.
3. Reveal the character and mood of the speaker.
5. Establish the relationship between characters.
6. It should be consistent with the character's historical period, geographical origins and social class.

I write historical fiction so I use dialogue to indicate class distinctions. The upper class use very few contractions -mostly don't to avoid the cumbersome do you not, the middle class use some contractions and the others always use contractions and, sometimes, dialect. However, dialect shouldn't be overdone. I've critiqued several unpublished novels for members of groups I belong to and the worst fictional dialect is a pseudo Scots one. The authors are addicted to ye, dinna, etc, and they don't distinguish between Highland and Lowland Scots and everything else in between.

These basic principles are so simple but sometimes my characters waffle on and need to be controlled.

Monday 9 June 2014

Discipline - Historical Novelist

Every day I write and engage in 'writerly' activities for a set number of hours in the morning, early afternoon and evening. To complete a novel I need to be self-disciplined, and this includes time spent working on the laptop and computer. I force myself to take a five minute break every half an hour in order to exercise my body in various ways. I roll my shoulders ten times, press my shoulders down then release them slowly ten times, and I stretch up and hold onto the top of the door then allow my body to sag. This stretches my muscles and helps my joints not to stiffen. During some other breaks I choose one activity sorting the laundry and putting it in the washing machine, rinsing dishes and utensils and loading the dishwasher, popping out to water some plants, tidying up a few things, etc.,. The important thing is not to sit in one position for hours on end.

Discipline when Writing

Every day I write and engage in 'writerly' activities for a set number of hours in the morning, early afternoon and evening. To complete a novel I need to be self-disciplined, and this includes time spent working on the laptop and computer. I force myself to take a five minute break every half an hour in order to exercise my body in various ways. I roll my shoulders ten times, press my shoulders down then release them slowly ten times, and I stretch up and hold onto the top of the door then allow my body to sag. This stretches my muscles and helps my joints not to stiffen. During some other breaks I choose one activity sorting the laundry and putting it in the washing machine, rinsing dishes and utensils and loading the dishwasher, popping out to water some plants, tidying up a few things, etc.,. The important thing is not to sit in one position for hours on end.

Sunday 8 June 2014

Cold Tea Bags and Cucumber Slices

When we work on the computer or laptop for a long time very often we don't blink. This results in dry, itchy eyes. To maintain eye health exercising them helps. I'm trying to do them three times a day. It only takes a minute or two and result in moistening my eyes,

1. Hold a pencil ten inches from the nose. Look at it and then look into the distance ten times.

2.Roll the eyes to the right ten times.

3. Roll the eyes to the left ten times.

4. Look up to the right corner of the eyes and then to the left corner ten times.

5. Look to the left corner of the eyes and then the right corner ten times.

6. Finally look up and down ten times.

P.S. Don't forget to close your eyes and apply cold tea bags or slices of cumber to your eyelids whenever your eyes are tired.

Simple measures but we owe it to ourselves to take good care of our eyes.

Cold Tea Bags and Cucumber Slices

When we work on the computer or laptop for a long time very often we don't blink. This results in dry, itchy eyes. To maintain eye health exercising them helps. I'm trying to do them three times a day. It only takes a minute or two and result in moistening my eyes,

1. Hold a pencil ten inches from the nose. Look at it and then look into the distance ten times.

2.Roll the eyes to the right ten times.

3. Roll the eyes to the left ten times.

4. Look up to the right corner of the eyes and then to the left corner ten times.

5. Look to the left corner of the eyes and then the right corner ten times.

6. Finally look up and down ten times.

P.S. Don't forget to close your eyes and apply cold tea bags or slices of cumber to your eyelids whenever your eyes are tired.

Simple measures but we owe it to ourselves to take good care of our eyes.

Friday 6 June 2014

Taking Care of the Brain



















































































































































As a novelist I spend hours either at my computer locked in my imaginary worlds. All too often my brain is overworked and needs to be nurtured with fresh air, by opening a window and taking deep breaths to increase my supply of oxygen which stimulates my brain.

My brain also needs nourishing food at regular intervals,so I need to resist the temptation to have junk food. A handful of nuts and seeds are better than biscuits and freshly cooked meals are superior to frozen ones.

For my brain and body to function efficiently it's necessary to have regular breaks from writing, resist the temptation to stay up till midnight writing away and have eight hours sleep.

Since adopting these measures I have a greater sense of well being and suggest anyone who spends hours working at the computer or laptop tries them.























Thursday 5 June 2014

Pre-Schooler's Quarrel

4 year old+ best friends at pre-school fell out. He called my granddaughter 'smelly nappy' and she returned the insult. From now on they have decided not to play together and are not on speaking terms.

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Kick Up The Arts

Yesterday evening I enjoyed an event held by Kick Up The Art at Café Cha Cha Cha, Cassiobury Park, Watford.

I met musicians who play unusual instruments,  a gentleman who works at The Academy of Music opposite the Victoria and Albert Museum, who recycles materials to make 'one off' musical' instruments. He played some of them. The music was different to anything I have heard before.

A talented singer treated us to three songs - each with a very different theme.

There were three craftspeople, a potter, a craftsman who makes amazing items of simulated chain mail, and a lady who makes ornamental books and jewellery studded with metal, jade, semi-precious stones and a few glass beads. The books contain paper made from recycled rags. I succumbed to a necklace, the only one of its kind, with a pendant that is a tiny book. A piece of self-indulgence but there was no way I could resist it.

I took the opportunity to network, discuss my novels amongst other things and distribute postcards which showcase my historical fiction.

A very enjoyable evening. Next time I hope to read an extract from one of my novels.

Kick Up The Arts

Yesterday evening I enjoyed an event held by Kick Up The Art at Café Cha Cha Cha, Cassiobury Park, Watford.

I met musicians who play unusual instruments,  a gentleman who works at The Academy of Music opposite the Victoria and Albert Museum, who recycles materials to make 'one off' musical' instruments. He played some of them. The music was different to anything I have heard before.

A talented singer treated us to three songs - each with a very different theme.

There were three craftspeople, a potter, a craftsman who makes amazing items of simulated chain mail, and a lady who makes ornamental books and jewellery studded with metal, jade, semi-precious stones and a few glass beads. The books contain paper made from recycled rags. I succumbed to a necklace, the only one of its kind, with a pendant that is a tiny book. A piece of self-indulgence but there was no way I could resist it.

I took the opportunity to network, discuss my novels amongst other things and distribute postcards which showcase my historical fiction.

A very enjoyable evening. Next time I hope to read an extract from one of my novels.

Monday 2 June 2014

Revision

Recently, I mentioned that when I work on the final revision of a novel I get replace as many adverbs as possible with a strong verb.

Something else I check is how many times I write 'and'. It is amazing how often I use the word and how much stronger the prose is when I eliminate the word as often as possible.

And now, to get on in my garden having worked on my new novel, Monday's Child, the sequel to Sunday's Child a traditional Regency novel published as an e-book by MuseItUp Publishing.

Sunday 1 June 2014


My new novel was progressing too slowly so I stopped posting for a little while in order to catch up with my schedule. I also took time off to take my daughter's children out during half-term. On Thursday we went to the local museum, which the three of them enjoyed; and I was fascinated by flotsam woven into brightly coloured threads. The artist collects small items from beaches - lobster pot tags,  tiny toys, bottle tops and many other items. Afterwards we had lunch at Café Cha Cha Cha in Cassiobury Park. Next the boys played football and their sister played on the slide etc., in the playground. Tired but happy we went home to have dinner.

On Friday, we visited Butterfly World near St Albans. There are three glasshouses one for butterflies, one for insects and a another for leaf-cutter ants. In the third, one display cabinet was empty. It is thought  ants chewed through the electric cable and the queen, the size of a small mouse, died. The colony was thrown into chaos and most of them died. However there was a second display case and my four and a half year-old granddaughter was fascinated. After a picnic lunch they played in a large children's area before we visited a series of small gardens with different themes. All in all a very enjoyable day out.

Yesterday we celebrated another grandson's forthcoming thirteenth birthday. A very happy get together in my younger son and his wife's house with a large garden where the children could run around.

Time Off & Half Term

My new novel was progressing too slowly so I stopped posting for a little while in order to catch up with my schedule. I also took time off to take my daughter's children out during half-term. On Thursday we went to the local museum, which the three of them enjoyed; and I was fascinated by flotsam woven into brightly coloured threads. The artist collects small items from beaches - lobster pot tags,  tiny toys, bottle tops and many other items. Afterwards we had lunch at Café Cha Cha Cha in Cassiobury Park. Next the boys played football and their sister played on the slide etc., in the playground. Tired but happy we went home to have dinner.

On Friday, we visited Butterfly World near St Albans. There are three glasshouses one for butterflies, one for insects and a another for leaf-cutter ants. In the third, one display cabinet was empty. It is thought  ants chewed through the electric cable and the queen, the size of a small mouse, died. The colony was thrown into chaos and most of them died. However there was a second display case and my four and a half year-old granddaughter was fascinated. After a picnic lunch they played in a large children's area before we visited a series of small gardens with different themes. All in all a very enjoyable day out.

Yesterday we celebrated another grandson's forthcoming thirteenth birthday. A very happy get together in my younger son and his wife's house with a large garden where the children could run around.