 At night I dwell in spacious places
Roaming sleepless through capacious valleys, Cavernous office complexes, hollow caves, building sites, wind howling through my head, Floating wide eyed and awake. My thoughts become spacious places Yawning chasms, sprawling ruins Reaching skywards, stretching planetwards, to the galaxies and dark matter beyond. Then at some point and with no warning I crash through the abyss Into the smallest of places And nestle there Hunkered down, asleep.
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A white mansion. Tall trees. A steep slope, down, down. Two twin houses. Grey and square. Down. A small detached dwelling. A lofty garden swing. Down, down. Down. A long plateau. A set of semis. Sombre and grey. Down again. Down, down. The blue-grey ocean. A heartbeat line of waves. Golden sunset.   This is kind of blog part two listing 29 wonderful words Mervyn Peake’s novel, Gormenghast.
I previously listed 38 words from the first in the trilogy, Titus Groan. I love words. I love their exactitude. Their nuances. Do you know all of these?
JRx Trying something different this morning: free writing to a song. This is called ‘Aqua’ and I wrote it to ‘The Wind that Shakes the Heart”, with minimal editing. Do listen and read if you have the time. JRx
I see aqua. Aquamarine. Open waters. The golden sovereignty of sand. A line of foam. Feel the sun’s hot fingers stroking my neck. There were only two places I burned there. Once in Tanzania. Once somewhere else. Israel? Florida? Indonesia? Dubai – I don’t recall. But the heat. It lingers in your mind. On cold days like this. To float on the waves. In the waves. No cares. Freedom. Scuba diving over a jagged reef. The glittering, glimmering coral. Transfixed by the beauty of fish. Lost. The depths beneath. Stretching down to death. Resting above it all; knowing I’ll stay up here. Held aloft by the air in my lungs. The density of my bones. My kicking flippers.  I love words. I love their exactitude. Their nuances. The following 38 words are from Mervyn Peake’s Titus Groan. See how many you know, and leave me a comment below.
JR x  I’ve written this blog post to encourage you to write great character voices. Character dialogue - or monologue if your character is a narrator - takes real skill. But it’s worth developing. I have read a lot of books where it’s hard to tell the difference between the voices of different characters. Even some of my favourite authors sometimes show an inability to create a good range of authentic voices. One always uses long cynical lines for multiple characters across many of his books!
So, how do we, as writers, develop character voices? Here are some suggestions. 1. Live your character. Get into your character’s head and spend some time there. We need to think about how they communicate, and ‘hear’ their individual voices in our head. 2. Their inner thoughts. Speech is reflective of how a person thinks. Is your character nervous or fearful? Reflect it in their communication! Do they have grand ideas? Are they an introvert or an extrovert? Use their thoughts to inform their voice. Caleb Noble and Daniel Harcourt, in the 5fingers stories, are strong leaders, and their words are sometimes pointed and forceful. 3. Range of vocabulary. Do they speak in slang or use business expressions? Perhaps they have a specialist mode that includes legal or financial words. Rachel is a tough but emotionally-complex teenager who has never left her hometown Griffton. So, she speaks in a particular way. 4. Their region. There might be particular words that are used in New Jersey, or Leeds or Brittany. Make sure you use them. Rachel’s dad, Eddie, is from Solihull, so he uses Black Country slang when he’s tired. 5. Long/short sentences. Some characters will use long phrases and others will use short sentences. Use punctuation – commas, colons, semicolons and exclamation marks to help you. 6. Listen to conversations. Take lots of notes. Use real phrases. And have fun! JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  You might be asking: what should I call my book, or what title should I give my story? Well, if you are wanting to know how to name your story, I may not be able to give you the perfect title but I can give you some principles that have helped me. Ready?
Last year, when I was around 10,000 words into the 4th 5fingers novel - 5fingers: rescue - we started the naming stage for book 5. So, I asked the pupils on World Book Day for their suggestions. They brainstormed loads of fantastic ideas, such as 5fingers: gone, 5fingers: final, 5fingers: endgame, and 5fingers: freedom. I like to have a title before I write the book for a few reasons. a). Marketing: when you and the publishing company have a name, you can tell people about it and produce marketing material. b). Focus: having a title helps me to envisage the completed manuscript. It’s motivational! In terms of the title itself, for me, it’s really important to have one that is catchy, original, and reflective of the content. So, you might like to think about: 1. Your subject matter. Try to pick something that matches your story and genre! 2. Originality. Google your proposed names to see if they are original. 3. Title length. Consider long or one word titles: both have done well in terms of popularity (eg The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.) 4. Finally, make it interesting! Maybe go for a double meaning; a play on words; a person or place name; or a line from your story. Above all, have fun naming your story! JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  Are you wondering how to write longer stories, or how to write more in general? Maybe you want to know how to write for long periods of time. If so, here’s my best advice! I have been writing professionally for over three decades. My writing includes news stories, features, scripts, books, speeches and blogs. Plus I’m on my 10th book - 5fingers: freedom. But do you know what? Whilst writing is hugely enjoyable (if you are wired as a writer), it can also be real work! And that’s point one. 1. There are no short cuts! To write longer stories, chapters or for longer periods of time, you need to put in the hours. That takes hard work and persistence. Remember – you are a soldier – a soldier wielding a pen or a keyboard. Motivate and encourage yourself, run at the enemy and never give up. Ever. 2. Quantity leads to quality. I have written literally thousands of news stories and features, plus poems, blog posts and stories. That equates to hundreds of thousands of words. As a result, I’m a better writer today than I was 25 years ago, or 15 ago, or even last year. So, go for quantity, and go for quality! 3. Develop regular writing habits. Stop putting it off! You’re a writer, and a writer writes. Give yourself ten minutes each day to write a diary entry, a poem or a blog post. Or an hour to write fiction every three days. Put it in your diary. Protect the time. And, as you put in the hours regularly, you’ll reap the rewards without even realising it: higher-calibre writing. Longer pieces that flow out of you. Energy, capacity and stamina. You are a writer. Now go and breathe new life into blank sheets of paper! JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  Your novel setting or story location is important on so many levels. The first obvious thing to note is that novels are made of many scenes, settings and locations.
That said, there is generally a larger over-arching setting, whether that’s London, a cruise ship or an alien planet. My 5fingers series of books sprawls across many international locations: such as New York, Bolivia, Bali, Nepal, Scotland, China and Tanzania. But the main locations are Griffton, a seaside city based loosely on several UK ones, and the Mezzanine World, a fantasy land with its own bizarre landscape and internal logic. With this in mind, here are some pointers to help you develop your own story locations. 1. Try to write from what you know. I have been fortunate to travel a lot as a journalist and also personally, and try to write about locations I have spent time in, as it makes them more credible. If I haven’t been there, I research them deeply. I advise you to do the same. So, choose a setting you can write a lot about because you know it intimately. 2. Choose locations that add to your story. Within my stories, I carefully select scenes that will help enhance the story’s atmosphere or mood, plot, conflict, movement, character development and so on. So, you’ll find a hospital at night, a windowless library basement, a corporate office, a set of echoing caves, and so on. 3. Have fun with your locations. Enjoy researching and visiting your locations. Think of your favourite places and explore new ways to describe them. Try making them either complementary to the atmosphere (a scary graveyard; a romantic beach) or contradictory (a funny morgue; a frightening playground!) Go forth and create great settings - you can do it! JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  Want to know how to stay positive as a writer, or in fact, how to stay positive and motivated in general?
Is it even possible to stay positive through the whole writing process? After all, it’s such a rollercoaster! You write a great chapter and you’re ecstatic. You pour out your heart on the page and you’re exhausted. You hold the first printed book in your hand and you’re euphoric. You maybe don’t sell as many as you hoped right away, and you’re disappointed. You get a good review and you’re elated. And so it goes on. So, how to be positive. This is going to be practical, so pay attention because there are things you can change right now that will make a difference. Here we go. 1. Develop a healthy lifestyle. Exercise, eat and sleep well, and pray and trust God if you’re inclined to! Raise your level of endorphins; get the right vitamins and minerals; pursue peace – drop grudges and forgive people! Don’t sweat the small stuff. All of these things will help. 2. Surround yourself with people who encourage you and believe in you. In real life and in the virtual world. Spend more time with them. Spend less time with the others. Also, allow yourself to be encouraged! Don’t dwell on mistakes and failures. Remind yourself of your successes and strong points. 3. Stop reading unhelpful stuff! You know the books, blogs, mags and Tweets that get you down. Or the less helpful talks, interviews and videos. Take control of what you allow into your head. Take your thoughts captive! Throw out the bad ones. 4. Start reading positive stuff! helpful books, blogs, magazines and Tweets, or helpful talks, interviews and videos. Whatever works for you! Make time to ‘feed’ on things that will do you good. It really is worth spending time developing yourself, because you are amazing and you are worth it! JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  My aim with this short post is to steer you in the right direction when it comes to creating plot, and to help you think practically about your plot outline. This is whether you are writing a short story, a screenplay or a novel.
I have now written around a dozen books and thousands of short stories, news stories, magazine features and other articles. The principle is always the same. If you plan your plot well from the outset, your house of words is likely to be strong. 1. Map out the beginning, middle and end. Ask yourself: where do I want to end up with the story? Consider writing the end first to give you a destination. You can change it later. 2. Work out what your story turns on? There are just SO MANY options here. Your story might turn on a central point of conflict, intrigue or interest. It could be a big event, a surprise, or a conversation. How about a betrayal, catastrophe or discovery? Novels often have a number of these as part of the plot. I love throwing cliff-hangers into the ends of my chapters and books. 3. Get your plot down as a flowchart or series of headings. These should describe the course of your story. Dickens did this. I do this with the 5fingers books. If you try to imagine it as a mountain range, it will have a number of valleys and peaks. Break your story into essential scenes. Give your characters physical story ‘goals’ such as breaking free or solving a problem. Go, create excellent plots, my friends. I believe in you! JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  Ever wondered how to keep writing a novel once you’ve started? Or how to keep going when you’re stuck? Then this post is for you.
I frequently have to create, whether I want to or not, because I write for a living. Whether I feel like it or not is irrelevant! On days when my head’s fuzzy, or I’m tired or have to work sick, I still try to be creative. This might mean I craft fewer sentences on a particular day. I might have to lie down a lot during the working day. I also get out into the fields near my house and ‘work’ while I walk. These things work for me, and they might for you. The following three things might also be worth trying out and they should help you to keep writing your novel. Give yourself small, achievable, writing goals. Taking the whole day to write fifty or a hundred words is absolutely okay. Give yourself a break! Then, on days when you can take on the world, go for three or four thousand. Stay creative. Whatever it takes. Make a point to do something creative every day. It could be writing, sketching, playing an instrument, cooking. It doesn’t have to be writing. Just create. Have fun. Enjoy your writing. Write without any specific purpose, from time to time. Try automatic writing, brain dumps, funny poetry, song lyrics, crazy short stories, a secret diary, or a blog based on your opinions or observations. Write yourself a letter to be opened in the future. Have fun! Always remember why you do what you do, and keep going. I know you can do it! JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  A lot has been written about how to create good characters for a story. So, I’m going to make this guide more of a character creator checklist.
The aim of all best-selling writers is to build characters who are believable. That’s the same whether you want to create characters for a novel, a short story, a screenplay, a TV drama or a movie script. If you include the following elements, you will create strong characters who come alive on the page – even just using a few words! 1. Appearance - their face and features, head shape, hair, build, clothes and style, stance and gait (how they walk). 2. Communication - how they speak, tone of voice, how they use their hands, or greet someone. 3. Loves and hates – do they love tea but hate Coke? Love rain but hate the sun? Do they fear crowds? Why is that? 4. Relationships – who are their friends, who do they love, and who can’t they stand? 5. Experiences – what has shaped their character? Have they gone from poverty to riches? Did they live through a war? Have they suffered loss, or travelled the world? Script writers call all this a ‘back story’. 6. Responses – how does your person respond in different situations and why? Think: emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. In my 5fingers series of novels, I have created credible teenage characters like Rachel and Lake; rounded adults such as Caleb, Serena and Daniel, and villains such as Kumiko, Benson and Zed. With all of my characters, I’ve tried to develop them deeply, even if they only appear for a short time. So, watch people closely. Try to base your characters on real people. Ask loads of questions about your characters’ personalities. Put them in different scenarios in your head. And have fun! JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  Today, I’m looking at: how do I deal with criticism, bad reviews, a critical review, bad feedback - all that character-building stuff. I hope my advice below will help you to deal with critical people in a positive way. Here we go.
There’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like your writing. We all have different tastes. That said, a huge part of the writing journey is being read by strangers and dealing with their reactions. You might get any of the following responses: Positive (“I love your writing!”) Negative (“you stink as a writer”) Indifferent (“Oh yeah, someone gave my your book last year. I haven’t read it...”) I remember a couple of critical reviews I got early on, amidst a tonne of great feedback. It was the tough comments that stood out and eclipsed the: “5FINGERS IS FANTASTIC. I LOVE IT” ones. Eventually, I realised I have a choice. And so do you. So, here’s my advice on dealing with criticism. 1. Pause. Breathe. Give yourself time to choose your reaction. 2. Evaluate. Is the criticism true or false? Did the critic have a bad day? Are they vindictive, jaded or jealous? 3. Learn. Extract the positive from the criticism. What can you learn to make you a stronger writer? Where can you improve? 4. Forgive. Forgive your critic. If you have contact with them, respond kindly. Maybe thank them for being honest. It may take time to really forgive. But it’s worth doing, so you can be free to soar again. 5. Move on. Get your laser focus back and keep going with perseverance and confidence. Run your race. You ARE a good writer, that’s why you’re doing this thing. And you’re going to be a GREAT writer. JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  This is a great question, particularly if you’re a new writer or want to experiment. You have a massive paint pallete of genres and styles available for you, and combinations are fine.
Like primary colours, there is a set of basic genres. These include: action, adventure, comedy, crime, fantasy, horror, mystery, political, romance, science fiction and thriller. Each has its own conventions and reader expectations. If you pick up a James Bond action story, you expect spies, fights, explosions, gadgets and daring escapes, right? You don’t expect a dinosaur to appear. Fantasy, on the other hand, has different attributes: magic, supernatural forces... Each category has sub-genres. Fantasy includes epic, high fantasy and science fantasy. You also have sword and sorcery, blending the heroic with adventure and horror. Horror is also a massive category in itself and includes monster, occult, slasher, survival and apocalyptic strains. Sci-f's also very diverse. Within it are apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, cyberpunk, space opera, feminist sci-fi, space westerns, steam punk, bio-punk - the list goes on. Before you throw your hands up in despair, if you read widely, you will already know a lot of the conventions and traditions in your gut. So, write from your gut! It’s what I do. My 5fingers series of novels are poly-genrre, with supernatural elements - angels and demons - as well as being firmly rooted in the real world. I use action and adventure cliffhangers, as well as and horror and thriller conventions to create mystery and suspense. As the series progresses, it becomes more dystopian. Some purists think you should stick to a genre closely. I disagree. After all, it’s a rich paint pallete and it’s at your disposal. So, pick and choose from its shades and hues, my writer friend. JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  Why do you want to be a writer? It's a question worth asking. Do you want to get famous? Is it all about the money? Maybe you want to have a bestseller or be adored? Unfortunately, these things may not carry you all the way!
Perhaps you enjoy the writing process. It could be your love for the written word that motivates you. Do you have stories in your head you just have to get down? Is there a burning passion to tell people about something you believe in, or something you’ve conquered? For me, I just began writing from a young age - it kind of flowed out of me. I was born to write. Is that you? So, my sister and I made a hundred books when we were small kids: cartoons, stories, songs... Then, when I was a teenager, I wrote longer stories. Short stories, poetry, song lyrics, novellas. Then the novels came. Dreamscape, The Shore, Submission, Sleeping Dogs. They were my children. Meanwhile, I was reading anything that would feed me: Dickens, William Gibson, Tolstoy, Tolkien, Kafka, Austen, Joyce, Coupland, Stephenson, Moorcock, Woolf. At first I wrote for myself, from my gut. Coming to terms with life, love and a broken heart, callous bullies, the death of friends, weighty disappointments, the hope of faith. I wrote for my own survival. To stay sane. I wrote because my heart burned and I had to write to put out the fire. By the time I came to write Wings of an Angel and the 5fingers quintet, I was writing with you in mind, writing to inspire and entertain people. I wrote because the fire just would not go out. Ever. So, what about you - why do you write? JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  Every best-selling author, every novelist and short story writer grapples with inspiration at some point. Fortunately, writing prompts can come from anywhere at any time – so be ready!
In my previous blog, I recommended you take notes whenever, wherever. That's my starting point here. 1. Watch real life. Closely! Listen to conversations. Take notes. Look at how people sit or walk. What's the story behind what you're observing? Why are they carrying that? Why do they look frustrated? 2. Think about your experiences. We write best about what we know. Use your memories for inspiration: good, bad. Your emotions. New experiences. That holiday – the smells, sounds and sights. 3. Write the story in your head that needs telling. You know what it is. It comes from your gut. It speaks of that betrayal, love, obsession or profound loss. It radiates the joy of a deep experience, or talks about a reunion that changed everything. Write to tell the story, so others can live it. Just write. Closing thoughts. Listen to music and lyrics; read poetry; watch the news; travel; go to the theatre or a gallery. And take your notebook or note-taking app wherever you go! Happy writing! JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks!  Writing books is fun, exciting and fulfilling, right? That's certainly my experience with 11 novels and several non-fiction books under my belt. But it can also be challenging, particularly if you've decided to create a longer work: perhaps a novel or screenplay.
But we do it because we're writers. And because the process is enjoyable, magical and therapeutic. And, at the end of it all, you've got something to show for all your hard work. So, down to business. How do you start writing a book? 1. Have a plan. Map out your story - start, middle, end, and all the twists. Schedule your writing sessions. 2. Note your ideas. Whenever. Wherever. Look, listen, think. Plot. Do word sketches. Record phrases. 3. Write each day. One day might be 100 words, another could be 3,000. Doesn't matter. Just write. Closing thoughts - Read more. Good writers are strong readers. Climb out of your comfort-zone. Read Cyberpunk; historical romances; TIME Magazine; blogs. Reading strengthens your writing. It's that simple. Okay? Go for it! And keep going! JRx Did you like today’s post? Please ‘Like’ it, Tweet it, and Like my Facebook Author Page! Thanks! |
