HOW A STORY IS BORN

FROM FIRST THOUGHTS TO FINAL DECISIONS

This month one of my short stories (All Of Us Here) won First Place and was published in WRITING Magazine.

I thought you might like to know the inside story of how it was created.

It started with a trigger dictated by the WRITING team. The first line had to be “They weren’t like me.” After that your story could run in any direction you chose, provided its length was no less than 1500 words, no more than 1700 words. This allows the magazine to feature it as a double page spread plus a pictorial heading and a little blurb and photo of the author. (WARNING: In case you're planning to enter a competition, this is a strict rule. Never exceed the limit or fall short of the minimum wordage. If you do, your submission will be binned!))

At first I considered the obvious. A science fiction theme: alliens, creatures from another universe. Or perhaps a fantasy: creatures half-human, half-amphibian, who lived in a sunken world. Then, closer to home, I thought about people from a distant part of the globe, aliens in my own country.

And then I began to think about people from the same family who had become alienated from each other. There could be many reasons but I decided on abuse, perhaps because it’s become so prevalent during lockdown. I thought about those who had got away and those who were still trapped, how their personalities might be affected, and how bitterness might arise between them.

There had to be a meeting between them. Once I’d got that, my characters began to come alive. This doesn't happen with every story or novel, but when it does it's the most wonderful feeling. I can see them, hear them, anticipate their emotions and reactions.

When I started writing I had planned a happy ending, a new life for the last victim. But I got to thinking of the devastating effect long term abuse could have on its victim, how it could destroy confidence, dissolve courage and optimism, and leave that victim still bound by invisible chains.

So the ending was not what I originally intended, but it was the one my main character dictated, and it surprised me as much as it might surprise some readers.

(To read ALL OF US HERE, click above on the READ A SHORT STORY page. If you have any comments - or criticisms - please leave them here.)

HOW TO WRITE DIALOGUE

DO ALL YOUR CHARACTERS SOUND ALIKE?

How do you distinguish one character's dialogue from another? If you Google you'll find lots of authors and tutors giving their suggestions. There's useful advice there and it's tempting to apply it to characters all the way through the story but I think the important point is to SUGGEST rather than to hammer the differences home in every line of dialogue, which can become tedious and could slow down the pace of your story.

On the other hand, distinctive individual dialogue often develops as you get to know the characters in your story, knowing them so well eventually that you actually hear their voices inside your head!

I thought I'd have another look at some of my own writing and see if I could find some examples. How about doing the same with your own work, isolating the odd conversation from the story itself and seeing if it works? The following, though, are mostly just single sentences.

'Delighted, my dear. Take a pew.' This is a well-educated middle class older man.

'The guys all seemed so juvenile, apart from the usual creepy gang of hasbeens with their eyes on stalks.' A young woman, worldly but no longer a teenager.

'I ate half a caterpillar once. It was sweet. Like sugar. One of those long thin green ones, it was.' A small boy.

'That is a pity. Because I do not think your parents will wish to entertain your friend at this time.' An educated but non-English rather sinister man.

'Child - you are a child, are you not? Child, do you realise to whom you are speaking?' A conceited pompous fantasy character.

'Dickheads! Fuckwits! Arseholes! Just because a girl doesn't look like Beyonce, she doesn't have to take that sort of crap!' An angry tearful seventeen year old girl.

Normally it's not really a good idea to use slang or jargon of the moment, because it dates so quickly. Of course, if your story's set in the future you could invent your own. Think of The Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess).

Individuality depends on many things. A well educated, well read person will have a much greater vocabulary at their fingertips, at the other extreme a kid from a deprived area may struggle to find more than a few dozen words, relying heavily on the F-word. An older person may use words and phrases seldom heard amongst the younger generation and may - or may not - be more polite, more tentative. Syntax - the order of words in a sentence - may figure heavily. Grammar, dropped aitches and gees, mispronunciation, rushed, self-interrupted or slow and deliberate- all of these might be used, but again occasionally rather than continually.

Dialect can be a problem. likewise a character whose home language isn't English. Suggest occasionally - and avoid cliches (Och aye! for a Scotsman, n'est-ce-pas at the end of every sentence for a Frenchman. Syntax is useful here, again used occasionally.

I hope this is helpful. Setting it down has certainly helped me, making me think more deeply about my own characters.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH SENIORS WRITING ABOUT SEX?

WILL I STILL BE HERE?

 As a magazine editor I was all too familiar with deadlines.

The monthly panic to finish an article, the frantic tracking down of an interviewee who'd wandered off before I'd obtained all the facts and figures, the photographs that had gone missing just before the final page design.

Now in my senior years deadlines have a different, more literal, meaning. I'm well aware that if I attempted an epic novel such as Wolf Hall, I might well fall off my perch before I'd completed the necessary research or written the first 100,000 words.

So, 70,000 to 90,000 words, characters as attractive and as flawed as Thomas Cromwell but with feet firmly planted in the modern world, a lot of conflict, a good sprinkling of humour and the odd sexual encounter to add spice. (What's wrong with seniors writing about sex? Comments invited.)

So, I've put away any thoughts of becoming another Hilary Mantel. In the epic words of my granddaughter Katie: 'The problem is, Nana, will you still be here?'

FINAL DAY FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

Friday 12 June - This is your last chance to order a free Kindle download of CABBAGE BOY. Tomorrow it returns to its full Amazon price.

CABBAGE BOY, part funny, part tragic, is about misfits and mutations, and is suitable for adults and older children. If you ever felt the odd one out, the one on the fringes of the gang, you may relate to teenager Nick and his problems. (And if you enjoy line dancing, or cultivate an allotment, you'll warm to Nick's parents! I hope you enjoy it! Click on Amazon to download.

This cabbage was presented to me on a writers' retreat by fellow authors who had an artistic streak.

Sadly, the cabbage was cooked and eaten the following night.

IF YOUR VILLAIN FALLS IN LOVE, CAN HE STILL BE A VILLAIN?

Does your villain have a cruel smile, hooded eyes, terse speech? Is he pitiless? Okay, so he's a tired archetype.

Perhaps you've seen excerpts from old silent films? You know the scene: helpless heroine down on her knees - or maybe strapped to a railway line, the villain twirling his moustache and gloating at her predicament. It's all as black and white as the films themselves.

But in reality even the hardest of villains can have a soft centre, however bullet-proof its wrappings - and the search for it will engage your readers and make your story more memorable. 

So, don't give all the goodies to your hero. Spend some time fleshing out your villain. He may have a wife or mistress - he treats her harshly, but he has a deep and tender love for their daughter; he may weep when he sees an animal in pain; he may be generous to down-and-outs; he may be moved to tears when he listens to Mahler's 5th Symphony; he may risk his life to save a drunken student being swept away downriver.  

After that, give him (or her?) some small self-indulgences, weaknesses and irritations.  Instead of sipping the most expensive brandy, have him eating a whole box of chocolates in one sitting; carefully smoothing his hair over that little bald patch; writing bad poetry; returning to his luxury apartment and sitting in lonely silence; worrying if that niggling ache is a bad omen or just indigestion.


In other words, create a real human being whom your readers can, at least partly, identify with.   

A 'THANK YOU' FREE OFFER

FREE FOR FIVE DAYS, STARTING TODAY, 8TH JUNE!


As promised, I've arranged a free Kindle download of one of my books, starting today, Monday 8th June.

The offer ends on Friday, 12th June, so don't delay.

CABBAGE BOY, part funny, part tragic, is about misfits and mutations, and is suitable for adults and older children. If you ever felt the odd one out, the one on the fringes of the gang, you may relate to teenager Nick and his problems. (And if you enjoy line dancing, or cultivate an allotment, you'll warm to Nick's parents! I hope you enjoy it!
Click on Amazon to download it.

A REMINDER - AND A FREE OFFER

Just a reminder that WRITING Magazine will be on sale from 4th June, with my winning short story ALL OF US HERE. If you don't subscribe to WRITING Magazine or buy the issue from a stationers, I will be reprinting my short story on this blog, although not until end July or early August.

And another reminder - a free download of my book 'CABBAGE BOY' will be available on Amazon for 5 days from 8th June - a Thank You to all who sent their congratulations.

CABBAGE BOY is a sort of 'WONDER' story, part funny, part tragic, about misfits and mutations, and is suitable for adults and older children.

I hope you’ll enjoy it. The inspiration for any author’s books can come from a multitude of sources. In the case of CABBAGE BOY, the idea was sparked by the large field behind my home.

Living in the country you get used to the various noises and smells. The chugging of the tractors as they work with spotlights through the night; the clamour of pigeons as they gobble their ten per cent of the newly sewn seeds and then return to the giant tree fronting my house (leaving deposits on the drive en route); the rotting cabbage smell of rape stalks after the crop’s been harvested; the aromas of manure and weed killer.

But three years ago a new manure was sprayed on the land. This, we learned, was processed from human waste. Its smell was the most potent yet. Garden parties were cancelled. Washing was dried indoors. If we’d had masks at that time, we would have worn them.

But this new manure set me thinking. Although it had been processed, what if it still contained some microscopic elements of DNA? Human DNA.

And so the idea for CABBAGE BOY was born. Read the book to find out more!