June 4, 2020
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 well-worn paths, so with writing. It's easy to fall into using the same style and structures without even noticing. What you write can become like yesterday's reheated leftovers–okay, but boring. How can you alert yourself to limited vocabulary, repeated phrases or awkward sentence structures?
A good way to start is by using your computer's proofread facility, if it has one. This will offer you alternatives to convoluted phrasing. Doing a search for certain words you think you might be overusing is also a good idea. It's hard to recognise your own bad habits, so a beta-reader or, if you can afford it, a copy-editor should spot the repetitions you miss.
Setting yourself strict word limits helps you identify words you don't need. Exercises such as writing a paragraph only using words starting with the same letter will help you bring out vocabulary that's stored on the dusty shelves of your memory. Finally, read as much as you can taking note of how other authors tackle narrative, descriptions etc.. Don't worry that you'll copy or plagiarise them. The idea is to defamiliarise writing to make you more aware, so that you look at your own work anew, and arrive at The End refreshed.
Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
May 23, 2020
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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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
April 22, 2020
Spring-cleaning isn't everyone's idea of fun, but with most of us being confined to our homes for the foreseeable future, they could soon be the cleanest and tidiest they've ever been (providing you aren't home-schooling, of course). Once everything in the house and garden has been titivated to the 'nth' degree, what are you going to do?
Inspiration might be in short supply, and it can be difficult to focus your imagination if you're worrying about the current situation. If you're struggling ...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
April 14, 2020
It seems particularly cruel that the Easter weather was fantastic. For so many people this was bitter-sweet as they were unable to get out in it, or to share it with family and friends. There's virtually nothing that can compensate for that, but maybe some free entertainment can go a little way.
I had the great pleasure and surprise of discovering my stage play,
Antarctica, which was recorded by The Playhouse Theatre in Northampton last year, has been uploaded to Facebook, so if you go to my ...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
March 25, 2020
There's no denying that these are trying times. No doubt over the coming weeks we'll learn what's truly important in our lives, what we need to change, and what we can happily do without. For many people, being at home will mean money worries, health scares, illness, loneliness, or at the very least, disruption to cherished plans.
There aren't many positives to this situation, but as a writer, at least I can carry on working. I am used to being on my own, and there are likely to be fewer inte...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
March 13, 2020
Having stupidly missed the broadcast of my play,
Wingbeats, on
http://www.wcbe.org, I couldn't wait for it to be uploaded to Midnight Audio Theatre's website (
http://www.midnightaudiotheatre.com). I finally got to listen to it a couple of days ago, and I'm thrilled.
The play is about a girl who emigrates and arrives on the doorstep of her aunt hoping to enlist her help to find work so she can send the money home. Everyone involved in bringing the play to life has done an excellent job. The po...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
March 1, 2020
The long wait for
Wingbeats to be broadcast is over. At 11pm CST it went out on
http://www.wcbe.org as one of Midnight Audio Theatre's three winning plays of 2019. If you missed it, it will be available at
http://www.midnightaudiotheatre.com in a few days.
The first of the trio,
The Wild Hunt by Jim McDoniel is on the website now. I recommend listening to it. The play concerns a soldier's search for a man, thought to be the victim of a supernatural hunt. It's a chilling way to spend 20 minut...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Coming Soon
February 9, 2020
At the moment Storm Ciara is bringing havoc to the gardens and rooftops in the neighbourhood, which reminded me of my favourite piece of 'windy' writing. Many writers include storms or hurricanes in their novels, which may or may not have a symbolic function–the chaos of the weather matching the turmoil experienced by one or more characters, or they might simply be a vehicle for fun. They feature in everything from James Clavell's
Tai Pan to A. A. Milne's
The House at Pooh Corner, but the o...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
January 27, 2020
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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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
January 8, 2020
It's strange how things can be under your nose for months without you noticing them. It wasn't until I logged-on to my dashboard at Smashwords last week that I noticed it has a facility for checking which country your sales have come from. I've never noticed it before, but now I've looked at it, I think I'm hooked.
It turns out that most of the people who downloaded my books in the end of year sale came from the US. No surprises there, although I'm based in the UK. The sales in Canada and Aus...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
