More than Writers

Have you felt drawn, over the past eighteen months, to read about plague and pestilence?  Albert Camus’s La Peste , for instance?  Or Man of Glass (Instant Apostle, 2020) by ACW member, Andrea Sarginson, set in Yorkshire during the Black Death?  (I have reviewed Man of Glass on my blog, Dear Reader – a corking book, in my opinion.)  Or have you read The Village or Wind of Change (Books to Treasure, 2015) by another ACW member, Eleanor Watkins, also about the Black Death?  All these books are available through the ACW website bookshop (.  (Not La Peste .  Albert Camus wasn’t an ACW member.) Many of you supported me by completing a survey as part of my research for my article in the March edition of Together , about reading during lockdown – thank you again, if you were one of them.   Most survey respondents asserted – very emphatically – that they didn’t want to read about plague and pestilence, but that was last autumn and this is now. Wo...

  Are you well-liked? How much energy should be spent on being liked? That was the question I chatted about with my daughter. Early Years trauma has elevated and warped this question for her, which would be food for five blogs at least. How far would you go? And why? As we talked, we found that you can’t bribe people into liking you, just as you can’t pay a friend to like chocolate or force somebody to like your hairstyle. We concluded that as God made us, whatever colour top we wear is probably not going to matter after all, for God wouldn’t change His mind on us, just because of a wardrobe failure or bad hair day. I was thinking about this and then I thought about writing. I love writing, I enjoy it, and by the time I publish a book, accidental or not, I’m pretty pleased with the experience and feel I have my money’s worth of fun out of it anyway. Being Dutch, that is really all that matters. Where is your worth found? Until someone writes a kind review. Every time I get a ...

Image Credit:  All images created in Book Brush using Pixabay pictures. I want my writing to show a clear sense of who my characters are so it is their voices you hear and not mine.  A tip I picked up years ago, which has stood me in good stead, is to remember it is the character’s story, not yours.  You, their creator, are merely the conduit through which their story reaches the world.   Does that sound a bit pompous? Not a bit, Allison, I hear you say. It’s a lot!  Okay, but do you really want your author voice butting in disrupting the flow of the actions and dialogue of your created people (or alternative beings? I’ve written from the viewpoint of a mother dragon - as you do - so no species discrimination here, thank you). Hmm… no then. So how to do that?  My way in here is to ensure I know my characters well enough before I write their stories. I do that with a simple outline. Below is something I’ve used as a template. Character Name Character Type ...

 Image: Credit Pixabay Lockdown, Screens and God.   I guess most of us who write have also been communicating with others on screen in patterns which have built up since Lockdown 1 (UK) or your national equivalent. At first, this seemed quite strange even though some previous experience on systems such as Skype may have, in some measure, prepared us for the onset of a far wider range of communication by various electronic platforms. For my wife and I this included the provision of Sunday worship and fellowship for a small group of three semi-rural parishes.     On one morning recently, we drew closer and closer to the time we were due to start the service and only one person had joined us. During those few minutes, we almost inevitably referred to Jesus’ comment recorded in Matthew ch18 v20, ‘When two or three are gathered in my name…   After the service which was, as it happened, finally attended by 20 people, I fell to wondering how  this text s...

Last week I was staring at my computer feeling a rising sense of panic as I fought off the realisation that I couldn't fulfil my dream of completing two new books this year.  Too much time had gone by, days shooting past like a river in full torrent.  It had been lockdown so what had I done with the time? But every day had been full and busy, I'd done this and that, all in the name of ministry.  I'd read books, I'd sorted the house, I'd walked the dog, I'd, I'd . . . But now lockdown was ending, people were visiting again and I'd hardly started!  I'd been so sure I could accomplish this task because after all, one book was to be made up of material I'd already written - devotionals I'd shared throughout the lockdown.  What could be simpler than collating them together into a\book?  It was true I'd already agreed to write another from scratch that would involve a lot of prayer and study as well as writing, but surely I could get it done?  ...

As last month’s post on grammar tips seemed to strike a chord with many (thank you for your kind comments), I thought I’d bring John back this month for some more tips. It’s very reassuring to know I’m not the only grammar nerd 😊 In view of Philologus’ excellent and fascinating post on Monday, though, I’m a little hesitant to offer more. However, on the understanding that grammar guidelines are there to help rather than hinder the reader, here are some more offerings, which I hope are useful. Semicolons Semicolons seem to be a bit of a Marmite thing. Personally, I’m quite fond of the oft-overlooked semicolon – it can be very handy at times. There are two main uses for semicolons. First, to avoid the comma splice, which is considered to be grammatically incorrect. For example: It was raining, so John went indoors, John didn’t like the rain. We could, perfectly correctly, separate this into two sentences: It was raining, so John went indoors. John didn’t like the rain. ...

If you had to pick the three main reasons you read fiction, what would they be? Mine are entertainment, humour and escapism. But our newly formed book club has thrown a stone into my millpond. To some, this is frivolous. There is the reader who wants to learn, reads deliberately and takes time to reflect between sections. Then another who wants to read only 'worthy' books. The fallout from discussion around what constitutes worthiness is worthy of some kind of book on its own. We're a weird bunch. Things came to a head following the reading of Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dosteovsky. To be honest, I baulked after page six. The clue was in the title. So dark! Feedback at bookclub prompted the liveliest discussion yet, with disagreement even about the genre. We're all very good friends by the way. But it has caused me to reflect on why I read what I do. My earliest memory of being transported through fiction was when I found Jane Eyre in a cupboard at primary school. ...

An ugly name for an ugly phenomenon. So why are there Grammar Nazis? Is it really about grammar, or about what the word Nazi represents, which is to say, the desire to control and criticize other people? It’s definitely not about grammar, because grammar is entirely misunderstood by grammar Nazis, and often by their victims too. Grammar is a descriptive science, like botany or zoology. It reports the structures which binds words together to make meaningful sentences, just as botany reports the structures which enable plants to reproduce and grow. In biology, it makes no sense to describe something you’ve observed in nature as wrong or bad. The only ‘wrong’ thing you could describe would be a species of mammal with three heads or with ears on their legs. It would be wrong because such things never occur. But you could correctly describe an insect with hearing organs on its legs — they exist. In the same way, it makes no sense to speak of wrong or bad grammar. The only possible meaning t...

  Inspiration by Rebecca Seaton Waiting for my lightbulb moment... ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ It’s a common question. I thought I’d explore it  as it is one most writers get asked and it’s good to have a response ready when you find yourself speaking about your book or as a helpful reminder for when the ideas seem to have dried up. My reactions to things are often what spark the germ of an idea. Think about what makes you passionate, whether it’s an injustice that makes you angry or something that fills you with joy. Once you have an idea as to why it makes you feel that way, you’ve got the beginnings of purpose for a character. Key events obviously have an impact. Have you ever tried drawing your life so far as a journey? Where have been the important events, good or bad, which sent you in a particular direction? Looking at where God has led you can be a good basis for the inciting incident when you plan your main character’s story. Launch Day People! It isn’...

Have you noticed that almost everything seems to have a ‘day’ these days? Here are a few: 9 th April = National Unicorn Day (a magical day, to be sure) 4 th  April = International Carrot Day (three cheers for carrots) 24 th November = National Editor Appreciation Day (I thought that was every day….) 23 rd May = National Goat Day (don’t forget to celebrate goats tomorrow) 22 nd May = World NF2 Day  "What’s NF2?" I hear you ask. Or I might, had NF2 not rendered me deaf. NF2 – Neurofibromatosis Type 2 – is the name of my medical condition. "But Emily, this is a blog about writing," I hear you say. Or I might, had NF2 not….. Recently, I was struck anew by some words in the hymn, ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind’: Interpreted by love. I am used to interpreters. Occasionally, I’ve been one. More often, I receive from one. Interpreters, in my case Sign Language interpreters, seek to convey meaning rather than literal words. During lockdown, ...

"Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]   - To Him be glory... throughout all generations forever and ever."        Ephesians 3:20-21 AMP (Classic) The above (expanded) scripture was written by Paul while in prison! This month echoing in my head is today's title, and the title song on Michael W Smith’s album 'Hungry'. In fourteen months of lockdown I have written on my Food forThought blog a total of nearly 60,000 words in three series to feed the mind and spirit, and the fourth the body with economic recipes.   It fed me, but how will it find the hungry? After years of writing, the first book of the Hearts Desire Series. book was published in 2007 .  A family saga of life in 1960s & 70s written from the pe...