Flash Fiction

Over at One Writer's Mind  Bryce Ellicot ask us to 'Prompt the Muse' full details on his blog.
There is something dark covering the land, and a character has stumbled across this phenomenon. How did he/she find it? Is it malevolent, beneficial, or neutral? What is it made of, and what does the character plan to do now that this discovery has been made?

This is what I wrote:

I took a handful and raised it to my nose. I drew back. God help me if I got this wrong!


My skin tingled and for a moment ‘Health and Safety’ rung in my ears.

How could I have not thought about my safety, put on gloves, used a spoon at least. How could I tell others, if I died no one else would know what happened to me.

Brushing at my hand. I stepped back and looked around.
Why was I so unprepared. You wait all your life to make a discovery like this and what happens?

I tapped at my pockets. As a kid my mother was always complaining about the rubbish I carried about with me and forgot to take out my pockets. And now I didn’t. God, why did I listen to my mother.

There must be something and anything. Again, I look around everything is too neat, too tidy.

Bloody Utopia. Who needs It !
Isn’t there something I could use to clean this up with!
Oh dear God… It’s too late. I’m going to die…


"For Christ’s Sake, Melvin, why do you always have to make a mess. I asked for coffee not lemon tea. The bloody dust pan and brush is kept in that cupboard."

"Yes, my much beloved."

Busy Doing What I Shouldn't

 Yes, I know what I said about staying focused, But!  Okay, so I had a plan. And the plan was; I was only going to work on my novel. But!
Yes, I know I keep repeating the same word, But!

Please will you listen to my point, then tell me what you think?

I saw posted on another blog, Guidelines for Fiction Feast Submissions so I thought I would take a look at a short story I had sent into People’s Friend. They like it, and made interesting comments about it, even asked me to rewrite it. I have to admit, I was pretty wet behind the ears and new to writing at the time I wrote the story and sent it to them.

So I took onboard their comments and made changes to my story. Excitedly, I sent it back. After a few days of dreaming about seeing my story in print. It was returned to me. I had, according to the letter, ’Lost the story’s sparkle’.  My dream vanished too. How had it happen? Where had I lost it?

Confused. I wrote another story. Again, good comments, they asked me to send in more stories. PF became my own personal challenge I was going to get a story in that magazine no matter what….

Well, I’ve yet to do that. Maybe I’m just too much of dark writer to write their sort of stories.

I’ve been looking at my first short story again. It’s about two visitors in a town park. I love story and I’m very proud of it. I would love to see it in print. So yesterday I reread it and have been making small changes.

Putting myself in the characters’ places and standing well back as I read it. I'm beginning to think I understand more fully how to edit my own work; to distance myself enough to read the story from another reader’s point of view.

Oscar Wilde

I’ve decide to send the story out somewhere else rather than try PF again, so finding the 'Guideline to Fiction Feast' has made me find my sparkle again, hopefully. :-)

I’ve also trying to write a romantic short story. Though I see myself as being a romantic person, I’m not very good at writing it. In the words of Oscar Wilde ‘The worst of have a romance of any kind is that it leaves one so unromantic.” The Picture of Dorian Gray

I hate weak woman and overbearing men. I’ve always believe women should stand on their own two feet if they want to be equal to men.

Stories of Romance always have weak woman who can only be whole if she finds the man of her dreams. He tends to be rich, goodlooking and has been badly treated by the rest of woman kind. (I also think the pictures on the covers of Romance novels make me think the men look too gay to be looking for a woman anyway.)

My Oxford English Dictionary said: romance  noun

1 a pleasurable feeling of excitement and wonder associated with love. >a love affair, especially a relatively brief and light-hearted one. >a book or film dealing with love in a sentimental or idealized way.

2 a quality or feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life.

3 a medieval tale dealing with a hero of chivalry, of the kind common in the Romance languages.

I’m a little worried about the words 'remoteness from everyday life'… Maybe I’m too practical to write Romance and should stick to the darker side of life. Death, horror mystery and intrigue.

 

Happily busy writing everything :-)  Jack of all trades, master of none...Well forever hopeful that one day I shall be a great writer of something soon ;-)

 

Jarmara   

 

 

Don't forget to watch 'My Life In Books'

 BBC 2 6.30 every night for the next two weeks. 'My Life in Books'
Last night was with the Crime writer P.D. James.

Another Point of View.... [ A Piece of Fiction]

Eye see ewe!

“Okay, let’s get up close and personal.” He said, peering down the len and into my eyes.

I tried not to laugh, but you know what it’s like the harder you try not to, the more you want to.

He sat back on his haunches and watched me through narrowing grey eyes. “Look, you’re just not taking this seriously, are you?”

I could tell that I had hurt his feelings, but for God’s sake I wasn’t used to someone staring so closely at me. Checking everything about me. It was as though they wanted to get inside my head. To get up close and personal with my very thoughts.

I loved the freedom my life gives me, being on my own. Just wandering around minding my own business, coming and going whenever I want to. I’m not one for following the crowd. I like going it alone. After all you don’t get that many shepherdesses these days .

“What about the shots, Darling? These will make you into a star, Baby”

[Not one of mine borrowed off Google]

I stood. “I’m not your darling, nor your baby, not even your love.”

I moved away from him and his bloody camera. 'Out of shot is out of mind in my book'. The one thing that made me different from the rest of the sheep, he wanted to photograph it and ‘put it out there’.

His words not mine.

I headed for the door.

“Hey, where you going?” he sounded both shocked and surprised

“To put it out where it belongs.”

“Sorry?” He shook his head. For a moment puzzlement playing in his washed-out grey eyes. Then I wondered if he fully understood me.

“You said, I was one of a kind, unique, unlike anyone else you had ever met, but if you plaster my pictures all over the front of your magazine, I won’t be anymore. There will be others trying to be like me, following like sheep.”

He reached out, his long slender fingers brushing against my skin, but I’m already letting go of the door handle.

Glad to be outside once more. The smell of the countryside is calling to me. Pulling pins out of my honey golden hair, I let it fall around my shoulders and felt the wind lifting it playfully. I rub at the make up and lipstick as I hurry cross the car park. Home for a shower to wash off the city grime. Then it’s back to the highways and byways for me. Just my flock and I.

 Jarmara
Copyright  Feb 2011

How do you keep the faith?

Stormy sea taken at Whitby

Though I see myself as being quite tough and a bit of a fighter, especially if my back is against the wall and it is something dear to my heart, but I do have days when I take a fall.

Yesterday was such a day.

As you all are aware I opted to take redundancy. My much beloved and I talk about all the pros and cons before I made my decision. The idea was I took up writing full-time with his support we are both sure that it is possible for me to make some sort of living from it.

Yesterday, I had a panic attack my confidence left me full-time and I spent the day wandering around the house until I crawled into bed.

What had I done! In these days of uncertainties how could I be so stupid to give up my job and step into the unknown.

So how do you keep the faith, keep on believing that the choice you made is the right one?

My bank phone me to say a large sum of money had gone into my account. I told her I was aware of it. She then wanted to talk about my options.

I told her I couldn’t talk about it because I had a migraine and needed to go back to bed.

Later on she phone again, she was sorry to bother me again, but about the large sum of money. Then the questions started what were my plans. Was I going to go back to work etc?

My much beloved and Me

I want to cry… I see myself as working. Building my dream, planning our future. Being happy to feel fulfilled.

The house will be paid for in December, we haven't outstanding debts, we're very careful with money. My much Beloved is working and my son. I’m not claiming anything off the state….

So why am I feeling so down?

When my much beloved came home, he took one look at me and said, “I saw this coming, you silly thing, everything will be all right. I believe in you."

 

One step at a time and keep on believing....

 

Jarmara

Now I've got it!

Over at Tossing It Out, Arlee Bird was asking if we his readers had read J D Salinger’s ‘Catcher in the Rye’.

I said I hadn’t that I would put it on my 'read before I die' list.

'Catch 22' was a book I tried reading in my youth and found it very hard going. Years later, I came across it as an audio book and listened to it. It was a great book and I got it, I understood it totally.

This has made me wonder whether there are books and films that we need read or watch when we’ve reach some sort of maturity. Was I too young when I tried reading 'Catch 22' as a teenager?

Is there any books you’ve come across that you have read later in life and finally fully understood what it was the author was saying?


Happy Reading and Writing.

Jarmara

Okay, so what has James Dean got to do with my posting,
The rebellious teenager... hmm, or is it because there are still some things which look just as good at any age :-)
Maybe.....

Sometimes I'm just too quick.

I have removed my last posting after I sleeped on it. I'm all for helping others especially fellow writers, but I feel I should be careful about commercial enterprise. As you all can see I don't have any advertising on my blog and are not out to make money from it. I shall, in the future make sure I shall read a little more carefully before I posts any advertisement for anything which is commercial. I will, of course, let you all know about fellow writer's book launches, book festivals and Writing Competitions only. 

Good Luck with all your writing projects,

Jarmara

Oh, to be the best!

You know how it is? There was I looking up Mullein Formula on the internet because I had run out. When I came across the Guardian Culture pages date 20 August 2011. And there was a list of the highest-earning authors.

Please take a deep breath and let it out slowly before you start reading it.

The top 10 in full is:

1. James Patterson ($70m)

2. Stephenie Meyer ($40m)

3. Stephen King ($34m)

4. Danielle Steel ($32m)

5. Ken Follett ($20m)

6. Dean Koontz ($18m)

7. Janet Evanovich ($16m)

8. John Grisham ($15m)

9. Nicholas Sparks ($14m)

10. JK Rowling ($10m)

Okay, now start breathing normally and think about this before you throw in the towel and walk away from your keyboard.

James Patterson

Do you want to write like James Patterson? I love his early stuff, but I’m not a fan of his very short chapters. In the article, it said that James Patterson has signed a 17 book deal in 2009 through to 2012, which means he has to write just under six books a year.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’m up to speed quite yet to be taking on that sort of contract. As much as I would love to know I had enough people enjoying reading my work to earn that sort of money. 

All the best Mr Jameson. And if you have any hints you would like to pass on, if you have the time, please feel free to let us know.

Happy Writing,

Jarmara

Is getting a book published too easy?

Can you imagine writing your book in long hand, or writing it with a feather and ink?

Would you have even bothered to pick up a pencil to start, if you didn’t have your computer? Yes, the process of writing is far easier now. Look back even thirty-five years ago and half the people writing now would never have even thought about becoming a writer.

Just think about the simple fact of having to keep rewriting out a page if you make a simple mistake. Even writing short stories, let alone a novel, must have taken hours, days or even years. All those hand written notes, details of plots. Can you imagine the time it took Tolkien to create a language, a place etc, to write Lord of the Rings without the aid of a computer.

If only there wasn’t computers real writers would have the chance to see their work in print.
I remember how hard it was for me when I first started writing my first novel twenty-two years ago. Not only did I have trouble with spelling and grammar I didn’t even have a typewriter. I was writing everything by long hand. If I had wanted to see my work in print back then I would've had to pay someone to type it up as none of the publishers or agents would have taken the time to read my work.

Technology is making every aspect of our lives easier and cheaper, so we can’t expect to be paid lots of money for our novels these days as it takes less time and energy to get a book ready to go to a publisher. This means there are more people willing to write the book everyone is suppose to have in them as well as having the means to make it easier for them to edit and polish it before sending it off to the agent or publisher.

With email making it less expensive to send work off so new writers don’t think twice before doing so which also means agencies, publishers and magazines have more choice.

Happy Writing,

Jarmara

Watch it again.

I've just check for anyone who missed the 'Faulks on Fiction' programme it is available on BBC Iplayer.
Watch and enjoy!

Understanding Great Characters in Fiction....

Did any of you watch BBC 2 New Series ‘Faulks On Fiction’ 9.00 Saturday night? It was brilliant!

Novelist Sebastian Faulks whose novel ‘Birdsong’ tells the story about the First World War effect on the soldiers and their families by redefining heroism by presenting valour, not as gung-ho bravado, but as fear and the numbing endurance of pointless suffering.

In the first of the series Faulks talks about heroes of popular fiction. He tells us that it is the characters that are remembered more that the writers. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is known to us all even as children. I clearly remember as a small child watching the TV series on a Saturday and wanting to go out a built a den in the garden.

Other characters covered in the programme were Kingsely Amis’ Lucky Jim, which had a defined the direction of English post-war fiction. Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones, or giving it its full title ‘The history of a Foundling. The book when it was first published in 1749 rocked London to the core as it showed the truth about the double standards which were rife at that time in the capital, and maybe still be even now.

Another novel with a great character we could all relate to is George Orwell’s 1984. Its character even by his name was to reflect his ordinariness, Winston Smith. Winston worked as a low ranking member of the ruling party at the ministry of truth where he alters historical records. The world in which Winston lives and works is known to all of us even though we may not have read the book or seen the film, but we all know and understand what is said by ‘ Big Brother is watching you’ and ‘Room 101’.

Another unlikely hero was Becky Sharp in William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. She was a girl who knew what she wanted. She wasn’t after love, but money and a place in high-society. Becky wasn’t interested what was in a man’s heart but what was in his wallet. Vanity Fair or to give it is full title was a ‘Novel without a Hero’ was first published in 1847.

No programme on fictional characters would be complete without Sherlock Holmes. Faulks points out with the help of the crime writer, Ruth Rendell that Dr Watson would be nothing without the mind of Sherlock. We seem to overlook Holmes' drug addiction or the fact he's a clinical depress man. Millions of people around the world believe that Mr Holmes was England’s great detective who ever lived, which goes to show what a great fictional character he was. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle even tried to kill him off, but had to bring him back after his fans were out raged by his death.

Faulks next programme is going to be about ‘Lovers in Fiction’. I’m so looking forward to hearing what he has to say about Heathcliff and Mr Rochester.... God, I do hope he doesn’t tell me they were never real men ;-(

On Friday, I went to the Citizens' Advice Bureau to find out about paying my taxes now I'm no longer at work.  Problem was solved, but what I wanted to tell you all was I'm now classed a white, British other as the nice lady I spoke to had to ask me some questions.

 When she asked me what my ethnic background was I said proudly that I was English only to be told she didn't have that on her list only White British Other. Oh, I said ask a Scotman if he's British. 'Well,' said she, 'I don't have Irish, Scot or Welsh on my list.'
So I would like to say  "Hello to my fellow 'British Other' whoever you maybe." :-)

Happy Reading,

Jarmara

Just Loving It:

Suddenly life throws you an upper just when you need it most. Now my dream had become a reality and it isn’t about to disappear I’m beginning to feel more settled and less guilty about being at home. I think my husband and son are enjoying having me at home too. :-) Yesterday two wonderful things happen that made me want to dance around the room.

Firstly, on opening the March Writing Magazine I found in among the Writers’ News supplement an article I sent in about my success with my short story. I loved the title they gave it, ‘Whitby casts a long spell over Paula’ [my real name] and how they edited the piece too.

My second moment of pure pleasure was read the critique which came back from the Writers’ News Service. My selected reader was Marie O’Regan. After reading through opening chapters and synopsis I sent in for my £49 Marie gave me lots of detailed feedback on areas where I need to take a closer look at. I wasn’t at all sure about my opening chapters before I sent it off to the service so now I’m very glad I did as it has been money well spent.

Obviously to be told that your story idea is a clever one has help boost my writing confidence no end, but most importantly it’s having the grey areas pointed out to you which can help you most of all.

So I'm giving the service the thumbs up.

Jarmara

Over the last three days I’ve had plenty of sleep, but when I woke this morning I found I was feeling 100% better.

So after spending the morning baking, cleaning and finishing off a few odd jobs I sat down in front of my computer to find out how my eyes felt about looking at the screen. Yes, this may seem odd to you, but if my eyes aren’t happy then my brain starts upsetting my tummy and I have to take to my bed again.

I’m very pleased to let you know my eyes are very happy....

Over the last couple of weeks I have read three great books that I would like to tell you about. The first is Bryan Sykes ‘The Seven Daughters of Eve’ (ISBN0-552-14876-8). It was an international bestseller. And tells the astonishing true story of how each of us can trace our genetic ancestors. In 1994 Professor Bryan Sykes, a leading world authority on DNA and human evolution was called in to examine the frozen remains of a man trapped in glacial ice in northern Italy five thousand years ago. Remarkably, professor Sykes finds he is able to track down a living relative of the Ice Man living in Britain.

How did he do this? Well, this book takes you on his amazing journey which will show you how we (Europeans) are all related to one of seven ancient women. I found the book to be both fascinating and easy to read and understand. It certainly makes you stop and think and about just where you family roots may lay after you’ve got as far back with your family tree as you can go.

The second book I read is by a new writer. Over Christmas I followed her book with interest as it moved up the Amazon Ebook list as the book most readers were downloading. Me being old fashioned and still in love with books that have covers bought the paperback of ‘Remix’ by Lexi Revellian.

Remix (ISBN 978-0-9566422-0-2) tell the story of Caz Tallis who restores rocking horses in her London workshop and how she wakes one morning to find a dead rock star asleep on her roof terrace. Reluctantly she is drawn into investigating the rock star’s murder and solving the case the police had slammed shut three years earlier. Caz finds out whoever it was who wanted Joe dead is willing to kill again and this time it might just be her too.

I found the book to be fast moving, with great characters and a wonderful plot.

The third book was one of the TV Book Club summer read. I first knew about this book on the ‘Youwriteon.com’ site.

The Legacy by Katherine Webb (978-1-4091-1716-2) tells the story of two sisters and a house where they spent their summer holidays as children. As the youngster of the two girls sort through her late grandmother’s belongings she begins to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of their cousin, Henry and why their grandmother was such a bitter woman full of dark hatred for her own mother, the mysterious Caroline Calcott.

If you are like me a love a great mystery then this is the book for you. The characters are well written and the plot will have you hooked as soon as the story starts to unfold.

I hope you will check out at least one of these great books.

Now all I have to do is get back to my own book and who knows one day you might be review my book for me....:-)

Happy Writing,

Jarmara