February 4, 2019
A few weeks ago, I met someone who had been one of my closest friends as a teenager, but whom I'd not seen for decades. We'd lived in the same town for most of those years, and could easily have bumped into each other shopping, but we didn't. That's probably more remarkable than the fact that when we did meet, in ludicrous circumstances, we still recognised each other.
It was a real coincidence, and if I write a memoir I might put it in, but if I ever tried to base a short story around it, it would probably flop. The reason? Because coincidences always come across as unbelievable and plot cop-outs in fiction. Even fictionalised accounts of history struggle to make coincidences acceptable e.g. when Richard III was crowned there was an eclipse, which in those superstitious times was taken as a bad omen. That was fact, but any reader not knowing this would think it a totally over-the-top creation of the author–too far-fetched to be true.
There are instances when plots have relied on coincidence and got away with it. In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë has the eponymous heroine in dire straits in the middle of nowhere, rescued by people who turn out to be cousins she never knew she had. What are the odds? But Jane Eyre was a ground-breaking novel whose other aspects were far more likely to cause controversy, such as a hero who keeps his mad wife in the attic and attempts bigamy, and a feisty heroine who speaks her mind. Charlotte Brontë was no second-rate author. She created memorable characters and evocative settings, so she can be forgiven for any unwieldiness in her plot. Other authors are unlikely to be as lucky.
I'm not saying that coincidences should be avoided in fiction altogether, only that if you don't want your readers to feel cheated, you need to treat them with caution.
Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
January 22, 2019
When I first saw trailers for
The Favourite, I was delighted.
I've been interested in Queen Anne's reign since someone gave me G. M. Trevelyn's England under Queen Anne when I was a teenager. It's a period that gets little attention compared with the Tudors or the Napoleonic era, yet it was pivotal in many ways. Not that I expected the film to be a history lesson. After all, it's a drama, not a documentary, so I wasn't disappointed that the film concentrated on the relationships between Queen...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
January 13, 2019
I watched too much television over Christmas. I don't suppose I'm alone in that, but I probably watched more bits of things than most people because I didn't buy a TV guide in the mistaken belief that I wouldn't be tempted to watch as much that way. Consequently, what I saw had an element of pot luck.
One of the things I almost missed was
Going Postal, the television adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel. I love Terry Pratchett's books, and I've wanted to love previous television ad...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
December 31, 2018
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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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
December 24, 2018
If you get a moment after the last-minute shopping for the festivities, and find yourself without a plate or glass in your hand, you might take stock of what's happened and what you've done in 2018. You won't be alone. Most of us do it at this time of year: another 12 months gone, and what happened to all the things you thought you'd achieve?
I know there are plenty of things on my list that I haven't been able to put a tick next to yet. Some things are no longer a priority, others have progr...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
December 16, 2018
When someone finds out I'm a published writer, I can guarantee I'll be asked one of two questions: 'Does it pay well?" and/or "In anything I've heard of?" Whether it pays well depends on whether you're used to champagne and flying on private jets, or dine regularly in your bedsit on beans on toast. Some people think that unless your earnings are in the J. K. Rowling bracket you aren't a proper writer. Maybe a list of my credits would impress them more.
I've had hundreds of pieces published or...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
December 4, 2018
One of the great things about the internet is that it's easier than ever to have your say about things. Put up posts on social media, blogs or reviews and potentially your views will be seen by a worldwide audience.
However, being persuasive means doing more than firing off Tweets as the impulse takes you. Look at the derision President Trump's brought on himself, and the ammunition he's handed to his detractors by not checking for typos. It always pays to spend a little time shaping wha...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
November 19, 2018
When I was a member of a science fiction writers' group there was always one topic that would liven up the conversation: what is science fiction? If Third Flatiron Anthologies' latest offering,Terra! Tara! Terror! had been around then we would have had plenty to wrangle over. There are SF stories with elements of fantasy or horror, fantasy with twists of SF, folktales, and myths brought up to date. In fact, there's the full range of speculative fiction in all its wonderful mutations.
There...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
November 9, 2018
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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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
October 28, 2018
Does your vote count? Did your favourite couple get voted off Strictly? Did your friends choose the worst film to download? Fear not, there are places where your voice will be heard.
If you enjoy a book, you can give it five stars on sites like Goodreads or Amazon, and if you really want to make an author's day, you can vote for their story in a magazine or competition readers' poll. Which brings me to the Pen 2 Paper competition. This year's finalists are now online at
https:www.txdisabil... Continue reading...
Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Competitions
