Competition: Holiday Hop!

It's Chriiiiiiistmaaaaasssss!

Well, nearly. Close enough. And to celebrate, I'm running a new competition to coincide with the exciting Holiday Hop. Don't know what a blog hop is? Have a look at the Holiday Hop blog page (http://www.holidaybloghop.blogspot.com) and all will be revealed.

As you'll see when you look at the Holiday Hop page, the grand overall prize is a fantastic Kindle Fire! So it's got to be worth entering, just for that!

The hop runs from 15th - 25th December, and after that I will pick 5 winners from my own competition. Those winners will go into the Hop draw, along with the winners from all the other blogs involved, for the Kindle. Easy peasy.

So, my competition is this:

My novel, Mother's Helper, begins with the following line: What’s the point? she asked herself desperately...

All I ask you to do is write your own (up to) 200 word story that continues that first line. The above words don't count in the 200, and neither will a title should you choose to give the work one.

When it's done, just paste it in the body of an email, along with your name and address (in case you win ;) and send it to mothershelper@hotmail.co.uk

And the reason to do this? The prizes, of course!

Overall 1st Grand Blog Hop Prize = Kindle Fire

And the five best stories that come to me in this competition = a paperback (ebook if you prefer) copy of Mother's Helper, and a 2012 calendar magnet.

Good, eh? And when you look at all of the other blogs involved in the hop you'll see some other fantastic prizes including Amazon gift cards, gnome candles and a carved malachite elephant!

Good luck, and don't forget the closing date is Christmas Day!

Flash Fiction: See A Penny

The dapper man picked up a penny. He rolled it around in his fingers, enjoying the coolness of it. It was raining, and he had had only seen it because the bronze colour had shone up in the middle of a shallow puddle.

The dapper man remembered a rhyme he had heard when he was tiny. See a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck. He thought there might be more to it than that, but that was enough for now. He had a Very Important Meeting to go to that afternoon, and if a bit of extra luck came his way, so much the better. He slipped the penny into his pocket and strode onwards, letting the rain hit him as hard as it could, challenging it to. He was that sort of man.

The meeting went well. Very well. So well, in fact, that the dapper man started to plan his early retirement, complete with yacht, summer house in the South of France, and ridiculous sports car that no one could really fit in well enough to drive.

His plan also included spending a lot of time in Monaco, and possible Las Vegas. He wanted to gamble and this deal would give him the money to do it. The dapper man, with his lucky penny and his six figure business deal decided that now would be a good time to start. He strode into the bookies and placed a bet. A few bets. Many bets. All were for tomorrow’s races; he could sit at home and watch the money roll in.

The dapper man did sit at home. He did watch the races. He lost every single one of them. And as he was telling himself not to worry, it didn’t matter that he’d just lost all of his savings because the Very Important Deal would fix everything, he got a phone call. The deal was off. It was a shame he hadn’t actually signed anything during that Very Important Meeting.

It was also a shame he’d forgotten the second part of the rhyme; See a penny, give it away, and your good luck is bound to stay…

©Lisamarie Lamb 2011

Sheppey Writing Workshop: Editing

We were given a wonderful simile for editing this week. Once the story or novel or chapter is finished from start to The End, leave it to rest like a piece of roast beef. But, for how long? An hour? A day? A few weeks? I left Mother's Helper for five years! But would it have made any difference if I had started my editing novel the week after I finished it instead?

For me, yes, it would have. The book needed all that time - I needed all that time - to mature, to be the best it could be. But that's not necessarily the case for everyone. If you can finish writing one minute and start editing the next, good luck to you.

But however long you leave it, the basics of editing remain the same.

Self-Editing:

Ah yes... Editing. Whether it is a source of pleasure or pain, it has to be done. Well, it should be done. If it's not, how can you be sure that you're offering your best work? Can a first draft ever be the best version of a piece of writing? It does depend on what the writing is for (a note to the milkman probably doesn't need to be pored over), but generally I would say no. No, it is not the best. And I can't imagine many serious writers would be happy with letting the general public read anything that wasn't as close to perfection as possible.

So what should you look for when you come to edit your piece? Obviously, obvious mistakes are... obvious. Spelling, grammar, syntax all need to be checked and made right if there are any errors.

The content also needs to be looked at. Does the story make sense all the way through, or are there enormous plot holes that need to be filled? I recently wrote a piece for the Sheppey group, and discovered (after I had given it over for peer editing - more on that later) that the ending was confusing as I had missed out a chunk of narrative. I knew the story in my head, and had forgotten that readers were coming to it fresh!

It may be a good idea to read the work aloud. The voice in your head is a forgiving one, which will happily gloss over missing words or clunky syntax. Speaking the words will alert you to where the mistakes are. It helps you to go through line by line.

Taking bits out of a piece of work you've slaved over can be hard. But, in editing one must be honest. Does the word or sentence or paragraph actually add anything to the piece? If not, be ruthless - it has to go. Your readers will thank you for that.

Peer-Editing:

Once you've done your bit, it's worth asking someone else to look at the work. An outsider's view is often invaluable. As long as it's an honest one. And to get an honest point of view, the right peer editing must be chosen.

But who? Should it be your nearest and dearest? A critical friend? Online support group? A writing group that you already belong to?

It should be whoever is going to give you an honest response. That may well be your husband, wife, mother, father, sister, brother, best friend. Sometimes, however, as much as these people are interested, and are keen to help, because they are so close to you they may not be entirely honest. Not due to a strange mean streak, but because they love you and fear hurting your feelings.

If you want these people to be your editors, make sure that they know you want the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. Make sure they won't shy away from telling you what doesn't work. You need to know all this. And to help them, don't take it personally. Don't become defensive. Take what they say and thank them. Whether you agree or disagree is something you can keep to yourself!

And what if you are asked to be an editor for someone? Exciting! You now have the opportunity to help shape a piece of writing, to help create a wonderful story. Be sensitive, and be honest. Give criticisms, but also give praise where it is deserved. Offer opinions, alternative ideas, ask questions. Be specific if you can!

Just don't try to write it for them...

Poem: Any Time After Now

Any Time After Now

They’re calling, I can hear them,

And I wonder who they are

And how they know me.

And they do know me so well.

Maybe I am one of them;

Are they calling me home?

Calling me to join them?

I think I want to follow,

But I know I don’t;

I can’t – how can I?

How can I even when they want me so badly?

It’s terrible timing.

My life keeps taking and grabbing

And I cannot stop it.

They are silent now, of course.

They’ve given up – given up on me.

Decision made.

Not my fault, nothing to do with me…

Innocent innocence.

But I would have gone, followed, left,

If they had asked

Any time after now.

©Lisamarie Lamb 2011

Published: At The Water's Edge

Flash fiction, that favourite of mine, that tale in a thousand words (or fewer), is in. It is the thing. For me, anyway. I don't get much time to write at the moment. I try, but especially at this time of year (NaNoWriMo - eek!) it seems that I can sometimes only squeeze in 30 minutes to an hour a day.

And the thing with me is that I don't like leaving things unfinished. The thing with me is, I worry. My novel is causing me panic and stress because I am constantly thinking of new plot twists, characters, pieces of dialogue to squeeze into it, and I will do until it's finished (and even then I'll have trouble letting go, but that's another post...). And although I enjoy it, and wouldn't not be writing it for the world, it is nice to finish something. To simply sit down for a finite time with a finite number of words, and complete a story.

That's why I like flash fiction.

It is also why I decided to send a submission to Brazen Snake Books' Rattles Flash Fiction anthology At The Water's Edge.

There was a picture, a woman standing on a beach or perhaps a pier, the waves creeping towards her, and she was looking out over the water. At something. Or maybe nothing. That was the challenge - to take the picture and make a story from it in under 1000 words.

I love those challenges.

I'm pleased to say my story, 'Her House', was chosen for inclusion within the anthology. Mine is a story of loss and life. I hope it grabs you and saddens you and makes you smile just a little.

At The Water's Edge is available from Amazon for just 86p, and the print edition will be out soon.

Don't forget, Rattles Flash Fiction has a monthly prompt for inspiration, and plans more flash fiction anthologies, so there's no reason not to get involved!

Published: Satan's Toybox - Demonic Dolls

Lately I have become addicted to submitting stories to anthologies. It started just a few months ago after a chance remark in a forum; I clicked on the link, followed the instructions, wrote and submitted a short story and BANG! I was accepted and was going to be published.

It was a nice feeling, a great feeling, so I searched for more anthologies, and eventually came across Angelic Knight Press. They were looking for horror stories for their Demonic Dolls anthology. And the deadline was in two days. It seemed perfect for me, just the sort of thing I enjoyed reading and writing. But to come up with a short story, complete and edited, in just two days? This on top of a day job and a toddler? Somehow, I did it. And I'm so glad that I did - my story, 'Mr Doll' was accepted and became part of this terrifying anthology.

Here's the blurb:

"Remember when you got your first doll, that loveable companion who saw you through the best and worst of days? Remember when Barbie was the doll version of who you wanted to be when you grew up? Be careful what you wish for…

"In the world of Satan’s Toybox, nothing is ever what it seems, and being Barbie might not be all it’s cracked up to be. None of the dolls in these stories are the harmless comforting companions you may remember. From a haunted dollhouse to possessed porcelain dolls; you’ll find mischief, mayhem and bloody murders in these 18 tales.

"You’ll find Mexican "Worry Dolls" who will make you worry, a lonely woman's cherished companions, a little girl's vehicle for revenge, a beautiful doll with a strange taste for blood, an adult movie star's look alike doll, the strange world of Barbie, an evil doll maker’s minions, a witch's influential dolls, a dollhouse with revolving occupants, living dolls who punish the criminal, a foreign clown doll intent on possession, a lonely child's one true friend, a demon doll who collects the souls of the innocent, and a doll possessed by none other than Jack the Ripper.

"So go ahead, turn out the lights, cuddle up and prepare to be terrified. Just don’t take your eyes off the toybox…"

What more could you ask for? Every story in this anthology lives up to the promise - creepy, chilling, sleep-reducing stuff. And there's a new anthology on its way from the wonderful Angelic Knight Press; Satan's Toybox is filling up, and this time he's got his toy soldiers out to play...

Satan's Toybox - Demonic Dolls is available for Kindle and will soon be out in paperback.

Sheppey Writing Workshop: Plotting

Plotting... I've been doing this recently. Not only is the dreaded/longed for (delete as applicable) NaNoWriMo coming up in a matter of days, but I've got deadlines. Quite a lot of deadlines. This is not something I've ever really come up against before since until a few months ago I only really wrote to my own tune. Or something.

What I'm trying to say is that since I've been actively searching out writing opportunities, I've had to plot. Otherwise I'd never get anything finished on time. I've had to be organised and dedicated. I've had to stop being a pantser, which is something I never thought I'd say (for a variety of reasons). But the thing is: I love to plot! I can't believe I've never done it before! It makes writing so much more... fun. It also makes it more successful. For me, at any rate. And plots can change, of course. I can still do a little bit of pantsering (I made that word up, but you know what I mean) if the mood strikes.

Last night's third meeting of the Sheppey Writing Workshop dealt with plotting. We broke the plot down into its fundamental elements: structure, motivation, subplots, outcome. And from what you find here, you should be able to write one sentence which sums up your entire work, from flash fiction to an epic novel. And then you should be able to write the book or story.

Try it.

It works.

That should be enough to get a very basic plot for your story. Of course, there will be a lot of filling to do, that's what writing is about, filling the frame so that a picture emerges. Chaucer was one of the first writers to use the framing technique in his story-telling. Think of the Canterbury Tales: the frame here is that a group of pilgrims are travelling to Canterbury and each one has a story to tell. Within this simple frame, the stories provide the picture.

We also discussed what happens when a piece of writing simply isn't working. It happens. And it seems such a shame to delete the entire thing when a game of 'what if?' might just save it...

What if... you mix genres or change genres?

What if... you swap the main plot with the subplot?

What if... you change from first person to third person or vice versa?

What if... you change the structure, start at the end, in the middle?

What if...

But remember, don't alienate the reader. Remember who you're writing for. In the 1960s there was a movement of writers who thought that 'shuffling the pack' would be a good idea. Sounds interesting, right? It meant that the writer would complete their novels and then 'shuffle' the chapters, picking them randomly, putting them back in a different order. This piece of experimentation didn't last long.

Strangely, I'm tempted to give it a try (for my own curiosity's sake anyway).

The next meeting is on 14th November, and by then we need to have a first draft of our story... Now that it's been plotted, I need to get writing!