Showing category "Inspiration" (Show all posts)

Writing Left Unread

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, December 2, 2024, In : Inspiration

People write for many reasons: to record something for posterity, or to jog their own memory; to entertain, to inform and educate; to communicate something to others. It had never occurred to me until recently that anyone would write something without intending it to be read. At first, I thought the notion was ridiculous: what would be the point? However, the more I thought about it, the more reasons for doing it I found.
It was after completing a joint project with the writers' group I go to...
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Anyone for Tennis?

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Thursday, August 8, 2024, In : Inspiration

Am I the only one who finds it incredible that we are already more than two thirds of the way through summer? I confess to spending quite a lot of time watching lawn tennis and reading the pile of books I acquired at the last book group picnic I attended. However, I contend that I haven't been lazing around.
Tennis tournaments have a gladiatorial aspect with heroes and villains; past favourites against newcomers, athleticism versus experience, wiliness versus strength. How do the players cope...
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Zooming in on Success

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, June 9, 2024, In : Inspiration

The week before last was exciting and scary in equal measure. I received an email saying that two of my three entries in the Wildfire-Words Flash Fiction 150 contest had been longlisted, then I received another congratulating me on winning second place, and inviting me to a showcase on Zoom of all the longlisted and winning entries.
When I'd come down from the ceiling, the reality of having to read out my entries and get to grips with unfamiliar technology hit me. My only previous experience...
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Ready, Steady, Read!

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, December 2, 2023, In : Inspiration

Is there a writer on the planet who isn't an avid reader? That might be why the recent Northampton Book Group's 'picnic' was attended by so many writers. They weren't there to plug their work although, naturally, they mentioned it, but predominantly they were there for their love of books.
We chatted about what we'd been reading recently, favourite authors and genres, and what started us reading, as well as swapping books and trying new genres. What was obvious was the pleasure reading brings...
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Poetry Power

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, October 8, 2023, In : Inspiration

National poetry day took place last week. I never used to regard myself as a poet. I felt my efforts at traditional verse with rhyme and metre came out as contrived or clichéd, and doubted my free verse was much better. Since then, I've been lucky enough to enjoy some success, but even when I thought the results were poor, the process of writing poetry was invaluable.
Distilling my thoughts and ideas into exactly the right words required a balance of focus and freedom that shut out any trivi...
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Creative Paralysis

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, In : Inspiration

I know I'm not alone in finding that rather than inspiring me, catastrophes seem to paralyse my creativity. Many people were inspired by COVID-19 to write poetry, essays, diaries and more, whereas I struggled even to find a tweet on the subject. Now, just as the worst of the disruption caused by the pandemic appears to be over, another catastrophe has emerged, with bombardment, death and grief, and I find myself without words adequate to the situation. Writing fiction feels too trivial. What ...
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Best Regards

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, January 16, 2022, In : Inspiration

Pardon me, but I want to mention one last thing about Christmas before everyone starts thinking about St Valentine's Day. One of the maddest things of all the Christmas madnesses can seem like sending Christmas cards. It can feel rather pointless and simply an extra chore that people only do because it's expected of them. To be sure that the people you send cards to know that you've truly given them some thought and care, you don't have to buy big, fancy cards that will cost as much again to ...
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Resolutions

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, January 8, 2022, In : Inspiration

I don't believe in 'em–New Year resolutions that is, mainly because I know I'll have fallen short before the end of January. However, I do have a long writing to-do list.
While I was writing the Exiles of Ondd novels, I gathered a big folder of ideas for everything from novels to essays, micro-fiction to monologues, and I want to dive into these. I'm not daft enough to think I can write them all in a year, even if I did think they were all worth it, but I should at least be able to finish s...
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The Three Rs

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, February 8, 2021, In : Inspiration

Not reading, writing and 'rithmetic, but repair, reuse and recycle. They apply to writing just as well as they do to saving the planet.
Every writer has a problem piece of writing, one that doesn't want to be pinned down to a page, that refuses to turn out as you envisaged, or that pings back at you with a 'thanks, but no thanks' every time you send it out. Instead of giving up and consigning it to the bin, try applying the three Rs.
Can it be repaired? Make yourself a checklist of features t...
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Tweet Mining

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, January 25, 2021, In : Inspiration

Hashtag writing prompts on Twitter are great fun and a good way to find other authors. I know I'll like their work, because I've already seen lots of examples online. These fellow authors also know about the ups and downs of writing. For the most part, they are happy to give other writers their support and encouragement.
Many of the regular hashtag prompts are for tweets from or relating to works in progress. I consider Discord's Child and Discord's Apprentice to be parts one and two of a lar...
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Excuse Me!

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, October 18, 2020, In : Inspiration

I recently enjoyed my annual reread of A Room with a View by E. M. Forster. On this occasion, I found myself strongly sympathising with one of the characters. Lucy? Mr. Emerson? Cecil? No, it was Freddy.
It was the scene where the reader meets him for the first time at the beginning of part two. He was studying a 'small manual of anatomy' and 'From time to time he bounced in his chair and puffed and groaned, for the day was hot and the print small... and his mother, who was writing a letter,...
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A Gym-free Work-out

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Thursday, August 6, 2020, In : Inspiration

Exercise is good for you. I'm not talking about abandoning your office chair or going for the burn, although taking a physical break regularly is undoubtedly wise. The kind of exercise I'm thinking of, is for your writing 'muscles'.
It can be anything from doing a newspaper crossword or wordsearch while enjoying a cuppa, to writing a paragraph about what you can see through your window. There's no need to be stuck for ideas. As long as you have a dictionary, all you need to do is open it at a...
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From Fault to Advantage

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, July 4, 2020, In : Inspiration

Last year, I would no doubt have been watching tennis on TV and feeling a little guilty about not writing. From the French Open to the end of Wimbledon, I find it hard to tear myself away. I tell myself the season is short, and it'll have to last me all year, but I still get twinges unless I get a morning's writing in before the matches start. Of course, in England I can usually rely on plenty of rain breaks to catch up with the things I should be doing.
Binge-watching tennis isn't all bunkin...
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Home Travels

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Thursday, June 18, 2020, In : Inspiration

I should have been in Dubrovnik now. I accepted even before the lockdown that Covid-19 would make it unlikely the holiday would take place, and for the most part it hasn't entered my thoughts. When it has, I've reminded myself that this pandemic has robbed people of far more important things than a few days away. This week, however, I have to admit it's been on my mind.
A dew days in a strange setting, trying to manage in a different language, tasting the local food and enjoying new activitie...
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Take a Different Route

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Thursday, June 4, 2020, In : Inspiration

Before we were locked-down, you might have traveled along a familiar road, perhaps a daily trek to work or to the supermarket, and not remembered the journey when you arrived. It was probably easy and pleasant and left your mind free to wander, but did you notice anything along the way? If someone was to ask you for directions to somewhere on the route, could you tell them whether it's the second or third turn on the left, opposite the postbox or past the big iron gates? Probably not.
As with...
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How Do You Read?

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, May 23, 2020, In : Inspiration

There are different ways of reading. I don't mean whether you do it on the bus or curled up in bed, or whether you start on the last page before flicking to the first, or reading a whole novel in one big chunk. I mean having a different mindset.
I recently discovered that I can have a split personality when I read. The book involved was The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell. It was chosen (pre-lockdown) as a book for discussion with several friends to keep our brains active. Knowi...
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Doggy Diary

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, January 27, 2020, In : Inspiration

Does anyone remember 'Urban Dog'? It was a column in The Telegraph about the real life 'adventures' of a Scottie dog, Parker, and its owner, Will Cohu. I used to love it, and when my husband and I brought home two Bichon Frisé puppies, it prompted me to start a puppy diary.
Our previous canine companion had died two years earlier, and while I had many wonderful memories of what she used to get up to, I was sure there was much that I'd forgotten. I didn't want that to happen with Harry and So...
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Up the Garden Path

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, September 23, 2019, In : Inspiration

I'm amazed there aren't cobwebs and half an inch of dust over everything. Two weeks away from home and I find the spiders have taken over when I get back, and it's been longer than that since my last blog. I apologise. You've often been in my thoughts, even if I haven't been sitting with my fingers poised over my keyboard.
The fact is that when daily life hasn't muscled its way in to what I laughingly call my writing routine, I've succeeded in tripping myself up. With the only deadline for th...
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Happy Accidents

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, July 27, 2019, In : Inspiration

I have to say thank you to all the people who listened to my attempts to speak Spanish with such patience and good humour while I as in Bilbao. As always, while I was away I jotted down a diary of what we did. It wasn't intended for publication, only to jog my memory, but the friend I was with said ominously that she would like to see it. I'm not sure about that, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to put an extract on here, so be warned. What follows is the written equivalent of being invited to a sl...
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Foreign Tongues

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, July 14, 2019, In : Inspiration

Here I am again–only a few days until I go abroad and having nightmares about it. Why do I do this to myself? Because I know I'll have a great time when I get there, and I'll find so much inspiration. On top of experiencing new places and cultures, I'm hoping that I'll gain more than new material.
I always try to learn at least a few words of the host country's language. I'm not sure how much use my few sentences of Castilian Spanish will be as I'm going to Bilbao (I'll at least learn 'yes...
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Everyone's a Critic

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, February 11, 2019, In : Inspiration

Inspiration doesn't always appear when you want it to. When you're short of ideas there are several recommended ways to get your creativity flowing. You could try an exercise like describing the room you're in, or writing a letter to a friend (real or imaginary), or simply writing down the first things that pop into your head without attempting to edit them. These are all good, so take your pick.
One of my favourite ways to get my writing brain working is to write a review. There are benefits...
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Resolving to Think Lateral

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, December 31, 2018, In : Inspiration

Where did this tradition of making resolutions at the new year come from? Frankly, I haven't a clue, other than the link with new beginnings, but it's very hard to escape it. Perhaps the reason so many resolutions are broken before the end of January is because they are half-hearted to begin with, made for form's sake rather than a true desire for change.
I'm not going to suggest what promises anyone should make themselves, and if you're heartily sick of being asked what your New Year's resol...
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A Week in the Life

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Friday, November 9, 2018, In : Inspiration

A writer's life consists of sitting in front of a computer, tapping at a keyboard and pressing 'send', doesn't it? Not quite. Even when real life such as shopping, doing the laundry and walking the dogs doesn't intervene, things are rarely so straightforward. This is how my week went from Friday 2nd to Thursday 8th November.
As usual, I started the day on Friday by checking my emails, Facebook and Twitter pages. Even if I don't post a tweet, I like to respond to any likes and retweets, and...
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So It's Said

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, October 7, 2018, In : Inspiration

Whenever I check out Twitter or Facebook I'm bound to come across a host of inspirational quotes about saving the planet, becoming a better person, the good old days–whatever subject you can think of. I confess to scrolling past most of them, but I can never resist the ones connected with writing. Here are some of my favourites, found in all sorts of places from social media and the back notes on novels to how-to websites and radio interviews.

"To hold a pen is to be at war." Voltaire

A fre...
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Home Thoughts

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, June 30, 2018, In : Inspiration

I've just spent some time in beautiful Verona. The home of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and his Two Gentlemen of Verona, it would be a poor writer who didn't find some inspiration in this city. So why, you might wonder, didn't I post a stream of Facebook bulletins and tweets while I was out there?
The problem with being a writer is that you can't even leave a note for the milkman without wanting it to be well written. 'No milk today' might suffice for some, but what about the back stor...
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Take Note

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Tuesday, March 20, 2018, In : Inspiration

Some places still have snow, but as far as the birds and the daffodils around here are concerned, it's already spring. In fact, when the sun's out, it feels like spring to me as well. My advice to anyone venturing outside to see whether the birds and daffodils are right, is to take a notepad with you. This is a time of year that tends to stir inspiration, and it's a time of change. Without a notepad you risk forgetting the ideas and sensations around you.
You can record things on your phon...
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Warm Wishes on a Cold Day

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, In : Inspiration

We're lucky where I live, we rarely get the extreme weather that's suffered in other parts of the country, but even here there have been a few inches of snow in the past few days–enough to persuade most people that they'd rather stay indoors.
Snow can be magical, but it can also give everyday things a feeling of unreality. This got me thinking about how snow and cold affect the senses; how they change the light–especially at night, how sounds can seem muffled or echo, the way the air ...
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Take Note

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, October 2, 2017, In : Inspiration

I always try to keep a notebook cum diary when I'm on holiday, so I can stock up on ideas and tweets. On my recent holiday, what I wrote about mostly was the weather, not just any weather, but more specifically rain. As I once tweeted, 'England's been having such changeable weather–sudden downpours, drizzle, persistent rain, showers, light precipitation, squalls... ' A fortnight of heavy showers interspersed with steady rain has added to my store of descriptions.
There's the type of rai...
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Dull Light, Dull Writing

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Tuesday, September 26, 2017, In : Inspiration

I've just returned from the rainiest holiday I've ever had. The week I spent in Brighten when I was 10 comes close, but my memory of that is coloured by a child's perspective and my desperate desire to play on the beach.
It would have been nice to see the sea last week without it being screened by rain, but as a writer, being kept indoors shouldn't depress me (you might think). What an opportunity to write without any of the usual distractions! If I can produce a few thousand words with th...
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Going with the Flow

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Thursday, June 1, 2017, In : Inspiration

I've been trying something completely different. Usually, I know I want to write about a subject, or I've had an idea, and I plan as much as I can before I start writing, but for the past few days I've simply written whatever comes into my head. I haven't had any characters or story in mind, nor have I attempted to shape my thoughts. I've simply daydreamed on paper. In fact, as far as possible, I've avoided censoring or editing what I've written. If I try to think of what might happen or deli...
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Keep On Keeping On

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, April 10, 2017, In : Inspiration

It took a couple of days longer than I'd planned, but Discord's Child and Discord's Apprentice were finally unleashed as paperbacks from CreateSpace and Amazon last Monday (3rd April). There was a last minute hitch–the discovery that moving one little hyphen had had a knock-on effect throughout a whole chapter. I could have left it, I've seen other novels with words hyphenated across pages, but once I'd spotted it, I would never have been happy knowing it was there. Anyway, the paperbacks a...
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Open Channel D

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, November 13, 2016, In : Inspiration

Most writers can name a particular author who inspired them to write, but I owe a great debt to Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Pitched somewhere between James Bond and The Avengers, the show had style and sophistication, due largely to its stars, who could talk into pens rather than write with them, escape killer foam or prevent baddies melting the polar ice-caps as if it was all perfectly plausible. My favourite was Robert Vaugh...
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Sporting Drama

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Friday, August 19, 2016, In : Inspiration

Searching for an Olympics-free zone? Perhaps you've sought refuge in music and found inspiration for the Proms contest I mentioned in my last blog. If you're a television fan, the likelihood is that some of your favourite programmes have been replaced by sport. It's also the time of year when many series come to an end too, so you could be feeling withdrawal symptoms. In my case, it's missing The Musketeers and Versailles. But you know what they say: 'If you can't beat them, join them.'
T...
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Not Bard Work

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, In : Inspiration

You might have heard this already: on 23rd April it will be 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare, arguably England's or even the world's greatest playwright and poet. It seems everyone in the arts world or who is interested in it will be doing something to celebrate. I don't want to be the exception, so what am I going to do?
The most obvious and easiest thing would be to go and see one of Shakespeare's plays or read some of his poetry but, let's face it, I can do that at any ...
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Give Yourself a Break

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, March 28, 2016, In : Inspiration

Research has once again show what writers have instinctively known for years–letting your mind wander and spending a few minutes skiving can make you more productive.
One of the latest surveys to hit the headlines is that for the National Bureau of Economic Research. It confirms previous studies, such as that by the University of Melbourne in 2011, that workers who mentally play truant to surf the web or daydream for up to 20 per cent of the time, become up to nine per cent more product...
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Connecting

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, In : Inspiration

Last week I responded to a request on a writers' forum for people to relate the catalyst that inspired a novel. I wrote about the incident that eventually led to Monkey-tail, which is awaiting a rewrite. I was on holiday with my husband in Cornwall when we saw a man fishing without a rod in the sea from the rocks. He constantly cast and drew in the line, so that my husband said he looked as if he was conducting the sea. I was rewarded for the tale by someone sending me a poem by William Carlo...
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Yippee!

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Wednesday, March 2, 2016, In : Inspiration

It took more hours than I care to admit and my jaw still aches from gritting my teeth, but I've done it! I've fought my way through a first draft of the story that didn't want to be written. It isn't fit for anyone else to read at present, but at least I have something I can work on and shape. If I had given up, I'd have nothing. Sometimes all you can do is plod on.
When you're struggling through a patch when it's tough to find the right words–or any words, for that matter–it's all too...
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Avoidance Tactics

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, February 22, 2016, In : Inspiration

There's a story I want to write. I know the plot, I know the main sequence of events and necessary scenes, I know the characters and I have a deadline. I want to write it, really I do. So why do I have this urge to turn on the television? It will only irritate me and I know I won't write if it's on. Perhaps I should make another cup of coffee or check my emails again or do the ironing first, so the knowledge that a pile of crumpled laundry is waiting for me won't put me off. I even started wr...
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Spooks and Other Things That Go Bump in the Night

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, October 31, 2015, In : Inspiration

In case you hadn't noticed, tonight is Hallowe'en. If you thought about it three or four months ago, you could now be celebrating winning a ghost story competition or having an article on the scary season accepted. If so, congratulations! There are certain themes and events that are popular every year, yet it's all too easy to forget about them until it's too late. Bonfire Night is less than a week away, and while it might still be possible to write something for a competition about it, there...
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Now, I'm Not So Sure

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Friday, October 16, 2015, In : Inspiration

I couldn't decide what to blog about. It's been that sort of week. I haven't been blocked exactly, I've just had so many odds and ends of things to do (such as emails to respond to, like the one from Bruce Harris letting me know that Writing Short Fiction appears to have found a new editor) that I feel as if I haven't really done anything.
Indecision is a real killer for any sort of writing. Sometimes it might be choosing between two words that apparently are equally apt that brings you to...
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You Are Important

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, August 31, 2015, In : Inspiration

I had already written a blog for this week when I came across Neil Gaiman's lecture for The Reading Agency on 14th October 2013 and decided it could wait. I don't know how I missed the lecture before, but if I did, others who might benefit from Neil Gaiman's words have probably missed it too, so it's worth mentioning here.
The lecture gives reasons why literacy and universal access to libraries are so important. Not least of these is how reading fiction stimulates children's imaginations. ...
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What Do You Read Again?

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, August 17, 2015, In : Inspiration

Apparently, Christopher Lee used to read The Lord of the Rings once a year. This was a habit he began decades before playing Saruman. He isn't alone. Many people have a favourite book that they read over and over, without it ever becoming stale. If you ask me, the definition of being a successful author is writing something that people not only remember, but enjoy re-reading. Strange as it may seem, not every novel on the bestseller lists has that quality. What is it that keeps readers coming...
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I Confess

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, August 10, 2015, In : Inspiration

I was going to sit down and write this blog last Sunday–that's not yesterday, but the Sunday before–but I made the mistake of sitting down to read a chapter or two of a novel. It was Ross Poldark, the first of Winston Graham's bestselling series set in Cornwall that's now all the rage again thanks to Aidan Turner. After the first two chapters, I thought I'd just read the next one, then the next and before I knew it, it was time to draw the curtains and put the lights on. The following day...
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Feeling Rejected?

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Thursday, July 16, 2015, In : Inspiration

Nobody likes being rejected, but believe me, there's hardly a writer on the planet who hasn't had to cope with rejection from time to time, so if you want to be an author you'd better learn how to deal with it.
There are usually three stages to coping with having the work that you've sweated and fretted over unceremoniously rejected. The first is distress or depression. You feel that your work, and therefore you, are useless, worthless, unlikable, talentless... the list of negatives you ...
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A is for Alphabet

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, February 22, 2015, In : Inspiration

Sometimes subjects to blog about are obvious, for instance, when there's news of a publication or event. At other times, it isn't as easy. The trouble isn't that I can't think of anything, but that there are so many subjects, it's hard to pick one. Today, I have come up with a solution. Starting next week, I shall choose a subject to blog about according to the alphabet. I've already made a list, and I have enough ideas to keep me going for at least the next five years! They are the usual mix...
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Anti-social Media

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, February 8, 2015, In : Inspiration

This week I was invited to an adult education class. The tutor had to hang around at the main entrance to let all the students in, and as they arrived at the classroom in dribs and drabs I was struck by a certain lack of hospitality. I would happily have introduced myself and tried to make small-talk to break the ice, but everyone was too busy texting, playing games or looking something up on their mobiles. Their impoliteness was not confined to ignoring me, but ignoring each other as well. T...
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One Little Word

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, September 8, 2014, In : Inspiration

People who don't write usually don't understand how those who do can agonise over a word. Would it be better to use a name or a pronoun? Is 'indicate' a better choice than 'show'? It isn't only a matter of getting the grammar right, or even of making sense, but a need to convey a mood, capture character or to be beautiful or striking. Does a word have the right rhythm? Will it maintain the pace and flow?
A single word might have to fulfil several functions, such as showing a character's at...
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Don't Fight It

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, July 28, 2014, In : Inspiration

It's been almost too hot to think. It's hard to plot stories or craft beautiful sentences when you're wilting. Not that I'm complaining. Who knows how long the lovely weather will last? I would encourage everyone to avoid spending all day at their computer, if they can. Slap on the suncreen, don your sunglasses and possibly a hat, and set your chair up in a shady spot outside.
You can write just as well with paper and a pencil. Should the piece you intended to work on become a sluggish tri...
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Waste Not, Want Not

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, July 20, 2014, In : Inspiration

Researching a novel can be fun or frustrating, but it's always time consuming and, all too often, the facts that you find the most fascinating never make it into the finished work. That doesn't mean that the hours spent checking websites, hunting out books and talking to experts are wasted.
The more background information you have, the more confidently you can write. You'll know your characters better and won't have to waste time rewriting because you've placed them in impossible situatio...
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A Room with a Different View

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, July 14, 2014, In : Inspiration

When you go on holiday, it isn't unusual to see people taking photo after photo, barely taking the time to focus. In fact, they're so intent on getting the shot that they don't even really look at the things they're taking photos of. When they look at them afterwards they probably have trouble remembering that they were there.
Writers are always told to carry a notebook with them, and I second that, but there's a danger of becoming like those photographers. Somehow a balance needs to be found...
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It's a Hard Life

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, July 5, 2014, In : Inspiration

There'll be no blog next week. I shall be hard at it carrying out research, interviewing people, trudging around the heart of the city... okay, I'll come clean, I shall actually be eating ice-cream and sampling the local vino. Who could pretend that visiting Florence will be anything other than a joy? However, I shall be taking my notebook and camera and hope to return inspired by acres of art, wonderful architecture and glimpses of characters who could people any number of works of fiction, ...
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Poet of the Day

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, April 7, 2014, In : Inspiration

The literary world is currently celebrating the centenary of William Stafford. This remarkable man wrote a poem every day for more than four decades, including the day he died. Even if a proportion of his prodigious output was duds, his discipline meant that over his life he published more than 22,000 poems in 65 volumes of poetry and prose.
I'd be happy if I could keep up that regime for even a year. That would be 365 poems instead of my usual handful. As it is, I struggle to create a tweet...
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The View Outside

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, March 16, 2014, In : Inspiration

Sometimes a subject for a blog presents itself without having to think about it; something happens or a thought arrives in your brain and the words almost write themselves. At other times, the search seems impossible. You can trawl through old notes, leaf through the newspapers, go for a walk and nothing hits the right note. There's nothing for it, but to tie yourself to the desk (metaphorically or not, depending on whether the latter provides the kernel for a story about hostages or a magic ...
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Is It Worth It?

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, February 24, 2014, In : Inspiration

This blog was going to be all about publishing Discord's Child and Artists & Liars on both Smashwords and Kindle, with the annoyances caused by not formatting everything properly the first time around. (I thoroughly recommend making sure that all original formatting is taken off before you begin and starting again from scratch, having backed everything up first, of course.) However, the news that Alice Herz-Sommer has died made that seem rather trivial.
Alice Herz-Sommer was believed to be th...
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Composition and Composure

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Wednesday, February 12, 2014, In : Inspiration

Last week, National Grid dug up the street where I live. Traffic drove over the footpath spreading claggy clay mud everywhere, the drill sounded like a headache and my concentration packed its bags and departed for somewhere sunny. It was time to do something to stop me making excuses and kick me into action. Luckily, I had an invitation to an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Christopher Fiddes, organised by Primrose Gallery and held at The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Museum, 78 Derngate...
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My New Favourite Number–Eleven

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, December 15, 2013, In : Inspiration

This week I was privileged to be invited to give a talk about being a writer to a school reading group of around 20 11-year-olds. I alternated between excitement and terror beforehand. It's a long time since I was 11, and I was unsure of the right level at which to pitch what I said. I was also conscious that most of my audience wouldn't have met an author before and might be expecting someone far more witty and glamorous than me. If I disappointed them, I might turn them off writing forever....
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Yes, Seriously

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, November 17, 2013, In : Inspiration

If you want to be taken seriously as a writer, you need to act like an author. That doesn't mean donning a cravat or reciting poetry in the pub when you've had a few. It means having the attitude of a writer. If you don't value what you do and believe it's a justifiable occupation, no one else is going to. Drop your writing every time someone wants a chat on the phone or wants your help with their pet project, and not only will you never finish it, but everyone will regard what you do as 'a n...
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A Break in the Clouds

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, October 27, 2013, In : Inspiration

With the clocks changing and the weather forecasters predicting floods and hurricane-strength winds tonight, perhaps this is a good time to prepare for a night indoors.
I could settle in front of the television to watch a film and call it research. Or I could read a book–ditto. Or I could sharpen my pencil, sort out a pad of paper and write about the storm. How will the wind sound? Will it whistle down the chimney? Will the rain rattle on the door trying to get in? Will the trees thrash abo...
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Crossing Borders

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, September 30, 2013, In : Inspiration

Fiction that crosses genre boundaries is increasingly popular, so much so that many sub-genres are popping up, such as steampunk, paranormal romance and Western science fiction. Reading Map of Bones by James Rollins recently, I was struck by how easily the plot could have been adapted for a fantasy novel. Map of Bones is a fast-paced action-packed thriller involving secret societies, undercover agents with special abilities and a race to stop an evil sect from gaining ancient knowledge that w...
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Revisiting the Past

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, July 14, 2013, In : Inspiration

If you have time to sit outside and make the most of the summer weather, and you can't find anything you fancy on your bookshelves, try reading some of your old work. Don't fancy that? Why not? If you don't think it's worth a second look, why should any other reader? Okay, so you already know what happens–or at least you think you do. If you haven't looked through a story, poem or whatever for some while, you could be surprised at how differently you remember it. Not only will you be coming...
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Homework

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, May 26, 2013, In : Inspiration

It's a bank holiday, the sun's shining at last, so what am I doing indoors blogging? I couldn't stay away, not when I have some information about something to put in your diary. The artists at The Grid studios in Harborough Magna will be taking part in Warwickshire Open Studios from Saturday 29th June to Sunday 14th July. It's a chance to meet the artists and see how they work as well as get a first glimpse of their latest pieces. Go here to find out more.
That's it, I'm off to do some readi...
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Playing Games

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, April 27, 2013, In : Inspiration

There's a saying that the more you do, the more you can do. This is why it's important to practise writing every day, if possible. You don't have to actually get words on a page, although jotting notes down will help to take your thoughts further, and give you something to come back to. Playing 'what if?' using characters you see in the street, topics that are in the news, conversations you overhear and situations you come across all serve to get your imagination moving and the ideas flowing....
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Spring into Action

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, April 7, 2013, In : Inspiration

Today the sun is out and for once the wind isn't trying to saw people in half. It's enough even to tempt a fireside cat into the great outdoors to listen to the sparrows squabbling. Now the snow has finally gone, I can see just how much the garden needs tidying and for once, getting on with it instead of writing, won't be procrastinating. If anyone else has detected springlike signs in the air, get outside and breathe it in. You can sit in front of your computer tomorrow, by which time the sk...
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If Only...

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, February 17, 2013, In : Inspiration

I don't usually do this, but this week's blog doesn't have much to do with writing. Correction, it has everything to do with putting off getting on with it, but sometimes real life doesn't want to let go of your thoughts and you can't get the imagination started to travel to the far-off land where you left your characters. For this piece of procrastination I can thank my brother-in-law who posted this link www.youtube.com/JustJesse197 on Facebook.
People who don't like dogs probably won't...
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Contact

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, November 25, 2012, In : Inspiration

You can never tell what's around the corner. I've been to book fairs and not bumped into another author, yet when I went to the Christmas get-together of the Samba Bandits (the band I used to play with) recently, I was introduced to Heather Day, who happens to be an author of erotic fiction.
It was good to be able to chat about the joys and the problems of writing, and to hear another person's experiences. Writing's a solitary activity, and even with all the writers' forums (fora?) that are ...
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Beautiful Cornwall

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Wednesday, August 29, 2012, In : Inspiration

I'll soon be off to beautiful Cornwall again. As well as pasties and clotted cream teas, I'm looking forward to rambles down narrow lanes gathering blackberries, going for a hack over the downs and the exhilaration of walking the coastal path. When I get back to the car or the holiday cottage, I'll make notes. In the past, these have come in handy for all kinds of things–characters, descriptions, plots–even poems. One Cornwall-inspired sonnet, won me second prize in Northampton Literature...
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Simply Relax

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, July 29, 2012, In : Inspiration

It worked! (sort of) The dull tasks I tackled last week in hopes of gaining inspiration didn't produce any flashes of genius, but they were useful in themselves, and I felt virtuous enough afterwards to grant myself leave to sit in the garden a while and read.
The book I chose was one I first read many years ago, What Do I Really Want? by Lloyd Lalande (Harper Collins, 1995). It was interesting to find out whether I felt the same way about the book after such a long period. I have to say t...
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Umm...

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, July 22, 2012, In : Inspiration

Here I sit, fingers on keyboard wondering what to write about. The sad fact is that I can't think of anything, except what to do when you can't think of anything to write. Some people hold that you should keep plugging away, writing anything that comes into your head even if it's rubbish, and eventually something usable will occur to you. It can work, but today it hasn't, so I'm going to put the other theory to the test. Instead of trying to force the words to come, I'm going to walk away ...
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Problems? Opportunities!

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, June 17, 2012, In : Inspiration

This week I went to see Royal & Derngate's production of Euripides' The Bacchae, which is part of the theatre's Festival of Chaos. It was an innovative production, not least because of the way it made use of the venue–the former print rooms of the Chronicle & Echo, by setting the play in an underground car park. I don't know whether the adaptation was written to suit the venue or whether the venue was chosen to suit the adaptation, but it proved that it's possible to perform drama anywhere....
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Puppy Diary

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, In : Inspiration

Yesterday was Harry and Sophie, our bichons', fifth birthday. They are such a huge part in my life, that now seems like the ideal time to look back at when they first came to live with my husband and me. (Before anyone coming to this blog looking for writing tips turns away in disgust, there is a writing angle to my reminiscences.)
From the first moment that we brought Harry and Sophie home, I decided to keep a puppy diary of all their funny ways, their personalities, the mischief they get up...
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Rain and More Rain

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, April 29, 2012, In : Inspiration

England is currently in the middle of its monsoon season–the ideal time to get some writing done. You can't do the gardening, or go for a picnic, so there's no excuse not to concentrate. Actually, there is. Letting your mind wander as you listen to the rain beating on the windows can be far more creative.
You could start by writing a description of the weather. How fast is the rain falling? What does it sound and feel like? How do people react to it? How do they move? What are their ...
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More Rejects

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, April 15, 2012, In : Inspiration

One of life's more annoying facts is that it's usually the phrase/sentence/paragraph that you're most pleased with that you end up having to cut from your final draft. In fact, always be suspicious of your finest lines. What makes them memorable is usually that they are different from the rest of the piece and indicate a change of style that creates an (often inappropriate) jolt. They're often descriptive so they could slow down the pace as well. Hardening your heart and killing your 'bab...
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How to Win

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, April 1, 2012, In : Inspiration

Writing is supposed to have therapeutic qualities. Setting things down on paper is meant to help get them out of your system. I'm not sure how true that is. Reading through what you've written afterwards might make you see how ridiculous you or your worries were, on the other hand it might keep old grievances alive.
For writers, there's always the benefit of being able to use your outpourings on paper in future work. Writing about arguments can be particularly satisfying. You can make you...
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Sound Advice

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Saturday, March 24, 2012, In : Inspiration

In An Essay on Criticism Alexander Pope writes: 'The sound must seem an echo to the sense.' He continues:
'When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw,
The line too labours, and the words move slow:
Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain,
Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main.'
It's still great advice, and I endeavour to follow it. More than that, I find that it isn't only the words that change tempo, but the speed at which I write them. If I'm writing somethin...
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A Bolt from the Blue

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, March 19, 2012, In : Inspiration

Tell someone you write and one of the first things they'll probably ask is where you get your ideas. My usual answer is, "I only wish I knew." This week I'd be able to tell them something more definite, if not more useful.

1. A television programme about moving house visited the river side in Bedford and sparked a memory of playing in a samba band at the festival, and the basis for a short story.

2. In another television programme, a soprano spontaneously bursting into an aria in a town squ...
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Tweet, Tweet

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Thursday, February 23, 2012, In : Inspiration

I'm not sure whether I'm more admiring or envious. Since joining Twitter, I aim to tweet something of my own at least every couple of days. Often it's a struggle. I'm constantly amazed at how some people come up with not one or two tweets a day, but more than a hedgeful of sparrows. Where do all the ideas come from? How do they find the time? Do they do anything else? Why do they do it? There are some people (myself included on occasion) who tweet to draw attention to their other work...
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A Private View

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Tuesday, November 1, 2011, In : Inspiration

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the private view of artist Pauline Wood's latest exhibition in Northampton. I love her work - it really sparks the imagination. I've found it hard to keep up with all the weird and wonderful ideas it's inspired since.
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Playing Truant

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Thursday, October 20, 2011, In : Inspiration

I've often seen advice in publications for authors, that the best way to be productive and to avoid writer's block is to establish a routine for writing. Set aside a regular time slot, preferably daily - even if it's only for ten minutes or so. If you're struggling for ideas, write about anything that comes into your head - but here's where I see a problem. If you're so bound by routine, where's the room for new ideas to enter your life or for creative thought?
I recently broke with routin...
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Less Is More

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, May 2, 2011, In : Inspiration

I'd been trying to find ways of describing the sunny weather, struggling to find fresh metaphors and to recreate how it felt to experience spring. Then I remembered one hot summer's day last year when I kept cool by reading Ernest Shackleton's account of his ill-fated Antarctic expedition, South. He used little figurative language. He simply told the tale, and somehow that simplicity was more moving than any number of adjectives. Without endless metaphors or descriptions of how it felt - ...
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Short But Sweet

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, April 17, 2011, In : Inspiration

When it comes to tweeting, I'm a novice. I first started looking at Twitter a few months ago, and was impressed by how many really inventive and literary tweeters there are out there - and how prolific they are! So far, I'm following Gayle Beveridge, Simon Sylvester, Nanoism, and Henry Leland (Olde Yeller Cat), and the list is growing all the time.
This week I was thrilled not only to gain a new follower, but to be retweeted for the first time. The tweet was an extract from one of the so...
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The Aliens Among Us

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, March 13, 2011, In : Inspiration

If you ever want proof that fact is stranger than fiction, I recommend watching the David Attenborough series about Madagascar. The wildlife there is far more peculiar than most of the aliens dreamed up by science fiction or fantasy writers - giant lemurs that dance and skip across open spaces on two legs, miniature ones with huge eyes to see in the dark, chameleons, millipedes and more. All of them are fantastic, but they have all evolved to take advantage of the environment.
Watch man...
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Excuses, Excuses

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, March 6, 2011, In : Inspiration

I've spent a lot of time this week staring at a blank page. There can be little more frustrating than knowing what you want to write but not finding the right way to put it on paper. It doesn't happen when I'm writing non-fiction. Then, I simply make a start and keep going until it's done. Luckily, the April issue of Writing and Writers' News dropped through my letterbox, so I had an excuse to procrastinate - until I read the interview with R. J. Ellroy and the article about Robert Louis ...
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