Janet Gogerty's Blog: Sandscript - Posts Tagged "romance"
Sandscript in Manuscript
When we stayed for a week in a cottage in a secluded cove, I was glad to discover there was no reception for mobile phones, nor was there a land line in the cottage. At the very top of the cliff, if you held your phone high in the air, you could be lucky and get reception. A peaceful place for a holiday and proof for writers that there are still settings where mobile phones cannot be used; where characters can escape without being traced or where persons in peril cannot call for help.
The plots of crime fiction, spy thrillers and romances changed for ever when mobile phones became ubiquitous. No running along dark lonely roads or knocking on strange doors to fetch help, a quick call on your mobile and an air ambulance or armed response unit could be with you in minutes. No wonder authors enjoy putting their heroes and villains in spots where there is no mobile reception.
But you can’t always trust your characters. Reading through the third draft of the third novel in my trilogy, I realised several of my leading characters, in several scenes, had casually used their mobile phones when they knew perfectly well there has never been any mobile phone reception at Holly Tree Farm. Some minor plot changes were needed for the fourth draft.
Proof reading and editing the manuscript of one’s novel is not just about lost commas, the wrong ‘their, there and they’re’ and ‘from’ turning to ‘form’ when you’re not looking. Whether you work on the computer or from a paper manuscript, continuity is just as important as on a film set. Robertson or Robinson, Thomas or Thompson, Sean or Shaun? Minor characters have no regard for accuracy and frequently change their Christian and surnames from chapter to chapter. On to the fifth draft….
But ‘Lives of Anna Alsop’ will be on Amazon Kindle soon and in the meantime you can catch up with the first two of the trilogy ‘Brief Encounters of the Third Kind’ and ‘Three Ages of Man.’
The plots of crime fiction, spy thrillers and romances changed for ever when mobile phones became ubiquitous. No running along dark lonely roads or knocking on strange doors to fetch help, a quick call on your mobile and an air ambulance or armed response unit could be with you in minutes. No wonder authors enjoy putting their heroes and villains in spots where there is no mobile reception.
But you can’t always trust your characters. Reading through the third draft of the third novel in my trilogy, I realised several of my leading characters, in several scenes, had casually used their mobile phones when they knew perfectly well there has never been any mobile phone reception at Holly Tree Farm. Some minor plot changes were needed for the fourth draft.
Proof reading and editing the manuscript of one’s novel is not just about lost commas, the wrong ‘their, there and they’re’ and ‘from’ turning to ‘form’ when you’re not looking. Whether you work on the computer or from a paper manuscript, continuity is just as important as on a film set. Robertson or Robinson, Thomas or Thompson, Sean or Shaun? Minor characters have no regard for accuracy and frequently change their Christian and surnames from chapter to chapter. On to the fifth draft….
But ‘Lives of Anna Alsop’ will be on Amazon Kindle soon and in the meantime you can catch up with the first two of the trilogy ‘Brief Encounters of the Third Kind’ and ‘Three Ages of Man.’
Sandscript in Love
In a previous incarnation I worked for a catering company in business class lounges at the airport. One Valentine’s day one airline came up with the idea of red foil wrapped chocolate hearts to show their passengers they loved them; it was the only sign the airline had ever shown that they actually cared about their passengers. All that was proved was that most people love chocolate. We staff certainly loved those chocolate hearts, they were chunkily exquisite and temptation got the better of us as we sneaked a good few of them when we were busy, bored or hungry. On Valentine’s Day chocolate will never let you down; it’s smooth, warm and comforting.
Yesterday Cyberspouse and I got an early anniversary card from my brother and sister-in-law which served as a reminder to post a card to them on the other side of the world. My baby brother got married a week after I did. We’re not expecting anyone else to remember to send us a card. All those years back we had thoughts of getting married on my birthday in February, then Valentines Day… problems getting leave sorted out meant the date ended up as the 18th, but at least over the years we have avoided our anniversary being marked by the ghastly gush of pink and red commercialisation and overspending.
Like Christmas and Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day can be a painful reminder to many people that everyone else is having a better day, a better life than they are; they probably are not, but to avoid doom and gloom just turn off the television and the radio and don’t go near the shops.
For those in a new relationship or enjoying the first few dates with someone, Valentine's Day can present the most awful dilemmas. Humorous or romantic card, should you get a gift, what sort of evening out should be planned, low key, surprise, or important statement?
For authors, writing about love is almost impossible to avoid. Even if we have no intention of writing a romantic novel, some of our characters will find themselves in love for better or worse. From my observation writers’ real experience of love varies greatly; some of us are lucky to have long term partners who may not read what we write, but offer financial, technical or moral support. Others, including the great authors, write because they have suffered terrible heartbreak and angst, while a third group are very happy to be living alone, perhaps in the middle of nowhere, free to concentrate on their outpouring of words.
My Brief Encounters Trilogy is a story of music, medicine and mystery wrapped around some very different love stories.
Enjoy Valentine’s Day and long winter nights with the first novel in the series ‘Brief Encounters of the First Kind’ for only 99 pence or 99 cents. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere with autumn approaching, the novel opens at the end of summer.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brief-Encoun...
https://www.amazon.com/Brief-Encounte...
Yesterday Cyberspouse and I got an early anniversary card from my brother and sister-in-law which served as a reminder to post a card to them on the other side of the world. My baby brother got married a week after I did. We’re not expecting anyone else to remember to send us a card. All those years back we had thoughts of getting married on my birthday in February, then Valentines Day… problems getting leave sorted out meant the date ended up as the 18th, but at least over the years we have avoided our anniversary being marked by the ghastly gush of pink and red commercialisation and overspending.
Like Christmas and Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day can be a painful reminder to many people that everyone else is having a better day, a better life than they are; they probably are not, but to avoid doom and gloom just turn off the television and the radio and don’t go near the shops.
For those in a new relationship or enjoying the first few dates with someone, Valentine's Day can present the most awful dilemmas. Humorous or romantic card, should you get a gift, what sort of evening out should be planned, low key, surprise, or important statement?
For authors, writing about love is almost impossible to avoid. Even if we have no intention of writing a romantic novel, some of our characters will find themselves in love for better or worse. From my observation writers’ real experience of love varies greatly; some of us are lucky to have long term partners who may not read what we write, but offer financial, technical or moral support. Others, including the great authors, write because they have suffered terrible heartbreak and angst, while a third group are very happy to be living alone, perhaps in the middle of nowhere, free to concentrate on their outpouring of words.
My Brief Encounters Trilogy is a story of music, medicine and mystery wrapped around some very different love stories.
Enjoy Valentine’s Day and long winter nights with the first novel in the series ‘Brief Encounters of the First Kind’ for only 99 pence or 99 cents. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere with autumn approaching, the novel opens at the end of summer.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brief-Encoun...
https://www.amazon.com/Brief-Encounte...
Sandscript in Short
How long is a short story, how short is flash fiction. How many words must you pen to claim you have written a novel? A story should be as long as it takes to tell a good tale. A couple of years ago I was short listed for the Magic Oxygen 6-word story contest, I didn’t win the £100 pound prize; but how ironic it would have been to win so much for so few words. I enjoyed the challenge and tried to think how six words could encompass the whole universe. My entry was ‘I am starting again said God.’
But most of us want to read and write about every day life, the smaller pictures of human life, not the unknowable frightening vastness of the universe. Indie Authors can write however many words they like, with no publisher to insist on condensing or stretching the word count. Still there is plenty of scope for debate. Flash fiction can be as short as six words and perhaps as long as 1,000 words; whatever the length it should still tell a story or bring a surprise at the end.
Short stories are fun to write and handy for reading in your coffee break. Competitions are popular, especially with the chance to have your story featured in an anthology, but vary widely in minimum and maximum word count.
Until this year I had only written short stories and long novels, but two stories were evolving; a consensus of opinion from other writers was that a novella was between 20,000 and 30,000 words and without planning my novellas evolved to around 27,000.
‘Someone For The Weekend’ finds Selina Harris’ son bringing a very strange guest for the weekend.
‘Durlswood’ is set on a pleasant summer solstice weekend at a country estate; strange events bring two very different young people together, the other main character is a beautiful horse.
The two novellas are featured in ‘Someone Somewhere’ and this new collection is rounded off with four short stories and two chapters of flash fiction. Enjoy topical stories about ordinary people, who often find themselves in strange situations.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Some...
Read more about Someone Somewhere and my other collections at my website.
https://www.ccsidewriter.co.uk/chapte...
But most of us want to read and write about every day life, the smaller pictures of human life, not the unknowable frightening vastness of the universe. Indie Authors can write however many words they like, with no publisher to insist on condensing or stretching the word count. Still there is plenty of scope for debate. Flash fiction can be as short as six words and perhaps as long as 1,000 words; whatever the length it should still tell a story or bring a surprise at the end.
Short stories are fun to write and handy for reading in your coffee break. Competitions are popular, especially with the chance to have your story featured in an anthology, but vary widely in minimum and maximum word count.
Until this year I had only written short stories and long novels, but two stories were evolving; a consensus of opinion from other writers was that a novella was between 20,000 and 30,000 words and without planning my novellas evolved to around 27,000.
‘Someone For The Weekend’ finds Selina Harris’ son bringing a very strange guest for the weekend.
‘Durlswood’ is set on a pleasant summer solstice weekend at a country estate; strange events bring two very different young people together, the other main character is a beautiful horse.
The two novellas are featured in ‘Someone Somewhere’ and this new collection is rounded off with four short stories and two chapters of flash fiction. Enjoy topical stories about ordinary people, who often find themselves in strange situations.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Some...
Read more about Someone Somewhere and my other collections at my website.
https://www.ccsidewriter.co.uk/chapte...
Sandscript Meets A Stranger
Many stories start with strangers, characters who are new in town or perhaps locals who start acting strangely. Even if we enjoy a gentle story where nothing much happens there is bound to be a stranger lurking somewhere for locals to gossip about.
Mr. Bingley arrives in Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' and there would be no story without him for he also brings his friend Mr. Darcy, another stranger.
In Charles' Dickens 'Great Expectations' young Pip meets a stranger far more fearsome, Magwitch lurking in the dark among the gravestones, an escaped convict.
Sometimes even authors are surprised by strangers walking into their novels. When I was writing ‘Brief Encounters of the Third Kind’ a nameless policeman featured briefly in one scene, then he appeared again, in a following scene I gave him a name. After some chapters he had become an important part of the plot. By the end of the novel he was demanding to tell his own story.
A man wakes up on a London park bench wearing another man's clothes and another man's watch. As he finds his bearings he realises the impossible has happened.
This is the preparallequel to 'Brief Encounters of the Third Kind' and second of the trilogy.
In the early years of the Twenty First Century a stranger arrives in Ashley. Only he knows the truth about what will happen to beautiful musician Emma Dexter in seven months time, but will he be able to save her and the others caught up in events that defy explanation?
Julie Welsh is a busy mother with plenty of problems and her life is about to get far more complicated when she stops to help a stranger.
‘Three Ages of Man’ can also be read as a stand alone novel and is now available as a paperback.
https://www.amazon.com/Three-Ages-Bri...
If you want to start reading the trilogy ‘Brief Encounters of the Third Kind’ can be downloaded for just $1.33.
https://www.amazon.com/Brief-Encounte...
Mr. Bingley arrives in Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' and there would be no story without him for he also brings his friend Mr. Darcy, another stranger.
In Charles' Dickens 'Great Expectations' young Pip meets a stranger far more fearsome, Magwitch lurking in the dark among the gravestones, an escaped convict.
Sometimes even authors are surprised by strangers walking into their novels. When I was writing ‘Brief Encounters of the Third Kind’ a nameless policeman featured briefly in one scene, then he appeared again, in a following scene I gave him a name. After some chapters he had become an important part of the plot. By the end of the novel he was demanding to tell his own story.
A man wakes up on a London park bench wearing another man's clothes and another man's watch. As he finds his bearings he realises the impossible has happened.
This is the preparallequel to 'Brief Encounters of the Third Kind' and second of the trilogy.
In the early years of the Twenty First Century a stranger arrives in Ashley. Only he knows the truth about what will happen to beautiful musician Emma Dexter in seven months time, but will he be able to save her and the others caught up in events that defy explanation?
Julie Welsh is a busy mother with plenty of problems and her life is about to get far more complicated when she stops to help a stranger.
‘Three Ages of Man’ can also be read as a stand alone novel and is now available as a paperback.
https://www.amazon.com/Three-Ages-Bri...
If you want to start reading the trilogy ‘Brief Encounters of the Third Kind’ can be downloaded for just $1.33.
https://www.amazon.com/Brief-Encounte...
Sandscript
I like to write first drafts with pen and paper; at home, in busy cafes, in the garden, at our beach hut... even sitting in a sea front car park waiting for the rain to stop I get my note book out. We
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