6 Questions To Go Deeper With Subtext In Fiction

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Subtext is a quick effective way to deepen your fiction? Here are 6 ways to achieve better subtext (that invites your readers deeper into your story).

6 Questions To Go Deeper With Subtext In Fiction

Hello,

Here’s an interesting article from the Writersinthestorm.com blog regarding subtext with some decent examples of how it can be done correctly.

I try and keep subtext in mind with my writing as it can help to avoid having to write sometimes clunky dialogue.

Click the link above (6 Questions To Go Deeper With Subtext In Fiction) for access.

Hope you enjoy it.

Travel Tips from my Three City US holiday.

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Hello everyone,

I hope you’re well.

I recently returned (22/06/2023) from one of not the best holiday I’ve ever been on, which had been a long time in the making. And I wanted to talk about it and give some travel tips I found along the way.

Me and my amazing fiancé had planned a trip to the USA in 2019, which was all booked and paid for. However, the travel agent went out of business, and thus our trip was cancelled. We got a full refund and went to Budapest instead, which was lovely. I recommend trying the ruin bars scattered all around the city if you go.

Then, 2023 came around, and we decided to try again; this time, it worked! We booked it, and the trip went as follows:

San Francisco for 3 nights.

Las Vegas for 4 nights.

Los Angeles for 3 nights.

My 40th birthday was also during this excursion and while we were in Vegas! It involved a steak dinner and a nice walk up and down the strip. One of the best birthdays I’ve ever had.

Each place was decent in its own way. And 3-4 nights are long enough to get the most out of each destination, but you could stretch it to 5 nights if you looked around enough. We could have visited some museums if we had one more day in each.

The first part of the trip took us to San Francisco. We managed to take in the Cable cars, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, and Dolores Park in San Francisco. The views of San Francisco were excellent from Dolores. See below (and Lombard Street plus the Golden Gate Bridge):

The second part was Las Vegas.

This seemed to have everything and be everything all at once (lights, glamour, glitz, gambling, fancy hotels, big screens, lights again to name a few). We managed to sample the Grand Canyon, a Beatles inspired cirque du soleil show, a shop dedicated to Stranger Things, and a bit of gambling. A few more pictures below:

The final part of the holiday was to Los Angeles.

This was more than match for the previous two destinations. We took in a trip to Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach, the Hollywood Walk of Fame (which was near our hotel and is well long. It seems to go on forever), and the Universal Studios Tour. I was buzzing when going around Universal Studios and the pier and beach were also awesome.

During our trip, we found the public transport easy to use and paying for stuff was a doddle (We used a Wise card). This was following in holiday researching and dealing with some grumpy bus drivers and malfunctioning ticket machines. We did loads of walking, so we only used the transport to and from airports and mostly in Los Angeles (to the pier and to Universal Studios. It’s an easy system to use).

Overall, Americans are very polite, and we had very little in the way of problems. The food was good with massive portions including the buffalo wings in particular. We only didn’t tip once during the whole holiday and that was because the food was awful. Even as polite I think I am and as polite I know my fiancé is we couldn’t justify a tip on a single occasion.

There were a few things we wished we’d known before our trip. So, if you ever travel to the US and specifically the destinations above these tips may come in handy. Apologies if some of these sound obvious.  

Tipping and paying for food and drinks in restaurants and bars. 

  • The waiter will give you a receipt with the total of your bill without the tip and suggests what you could tip.
  • When you’re ready, they will take your card, swipe it (or whatever they do), and bring back two receipts:

One is your copy.

One is the merchant’s copy.

  • If you choose to tip using cash, just write ‘CASH’ in the tip area of the merchant’s receipt and put down the cash tip. This ensures that only the bill’s total is taken as you’ve paid the tip in cash. Don’t write the amount of the cash tip in the tip area of the receipt as they will take the cash and tip again electronically.
  • If you choose to tip straight from your card (electronically), write the tip amount in the tip part of the receipt and the grand total below.

Consequently, the total BEFORE tip will be taken from your card. Then, about 7-10 working days later, the tip will be taken. Ensure you have enough funds to cover the tip for 7-10 working days after going to the restaurant and/or bar. This bit confused me. Why not take the whole thing at once?!

Guidance per city. 

San Francisco:

  • Tickets for the Muni system of travel (Buses, Trains, Streetcars, and Cable cars) can be bought using a Clipper Card. You add funds to the card to cover your trip. This can be bought from the ticket machine.

For example, if you’re taking a one-way trip (there will be a price guide on the machine) costing $10 then you need at least $10 on your Clipper Card or ticket. Once the Clipper Card value is used up, it will flash for you to add funds.

If you have a paper ticket and the value of it has been used up, the machine will keep the ticket.

  • The Cable Car costs $8 for a single ride. You buy separate tickets for the journey to Fisherman’s Wharf and then the journey back home.
  • You can jump off the Cable Cars whenever they stop. Just ask the driver/conductor before you do so.
  • For Buses, have the exact change ready to pay when you get on. We didn’t and got lucky as they just let us on and didn’t ask later for the money (I doubt this is common).
  • Book any trips you want to do (Alcatraz for us) in advance before you fly out. And check the details of the trip to see what’s included or not.

Transportation Basics: How to Get Around San Francisco | San Francisco Travel (sftravel.com)  

Las Vegas:

  • The CX bus goes from Las Vegas airport Terminals 1 and 3 to near the strip. It costs $2 per person and the buses run every hour from the airport and goes in a loop. The bus doesn’t go down the strip so you’d need to get off just before at the Bellagio. CX (Centennial Express) – Airport to Fremont Street (lasvegasthenandnow.com)
  • You need exact change for the buses.
  • If you can, get to the CX bus stop early. We turned up 15 mins early to get the bus back to the airport. The bus turned up a full 10 mins early. And set off shortly after that (8 minutes early to exact). If you turned up bang on time you would’ve missed it. Even though we got the bus I found it well annoying.
  • Check the small print when booking trips. For example, we booked a Grand Canyon trip with a third party and found out, while on the trip, that we had not paid for everything we wanted so had to buy it while on the tour.
  • There are plenty of things to do for free. A lot of the hotels have their own attractions (Bellagio – Botanical Gardens, The Flamingo – Mini Zoo for example) so do some research into these. You’ll be presently surprised.
  • The casinos are very expensive for food, drink and such. Go to ‘The LINQ Promenade’ for slightly cheaper bars, restaurants, and attractions on the strip. This is between the Linq Hotel and the Flamingo Hotel.

Los Angeles:

  • The Metro travel system (Trains and Buses) uses a TAP card and is the best way to travel around LA. This can be bought from the ticket machine.

You buy different types of tickets (1-way trip, Day Pass ((24 hours)) and others) that are added to the TAP card.

  • If using the Metro Stations, you tap the card onto the circled-shaped pad and it will show the card’s balance on the screen above it as it lets you through.
  • If using the bus, tap the pad usually found to the left of the door as you get on either at the front or the middle.
  • You tap in at the start of your journey and for each connecting journey you do whilst underground. You DON’T tap out when you’ve arrived at your final destination.
  • The Metro’s run between 4am and 11pm.
  • If you visit the Griffiths Observatory, get the Metro Train to the Vermont/Sunset stop and get the bus from the station right up to the Observatory. You can also walk up to the Observatory if you get off at the stop before, which is the Hollywood/Western.   

These are a few things we encountered but they were simple to pick up. The whole holiday was awesome and if you can I’d recommend taking a trip to any of these three places.

Have a good day and thank you for visiting.

Short Story – For the love of the game. Part 3.

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Saturday 18th December.

Richard made a list of chores he hoped would make the day quicker. He made swift work of it until he reached the final one.

“Go for a run.”

He warmed up as he got changed. He left the house and was at the park quickly. Running along the path and weaving his way through other people, he turned a corner and continued around the pitch. He glanced down and tripped as he stopped.  

“It’s just below the height of the grass,” he whispered.

The day was clear and cold as he examined the best he could while running. Richard ran laps off the pitch before making his way home.

Later in the afternoon, he joined his friends on a video call, and they watched the last ten minutes of the football for the day. As they finished, Richard sat back in his seat.

“That was a decent afternoon of football,” said Richard.

“Yeah, I agree,” said one of his friends. “And Richard, you seem more upbeat than usual.”

He frowned.

“Mate, in a good way. After what happened with her, on calls, you’ve been a bit quiet. Nice to hear the real you coming back.”

“I know. Sorry. She just…well. You know what she did,” said Richard.

“She let you down, mate. You’ve been friends for years, and then she gets a boyfriend two months ago and ignores you? I expected more from her.”

“Yeah, so did I,” Richard said.

As a lump built in his throat, he let his friends talk for a while. He went to exit the call.

“Rick, is that football anniversary coming up? I read something the other day.”

Richard coughed.

“It is. Tomorrow. I might pay my respects.”

He spoke for a while about the tragedy and the match before stopping.

“Mate, keep talking. We’re just glad you’re getting back to your usual self.”

An hour passed by before they signed off. Richard decided against walking to the takeaway and cooked something himself. He walked into the park afterwards. The fog had grown and was now covering the pitch. Only the trees closest to him were visible. 

He sat down on the bench, and all the while, the mist did not move.

“No training the night before,” he said.

*

Sunday 19th December.

Richard smiled as he took his morning walk. A few passers-by sent funny looks his way, but he continued on. He stopped to check the weather on his phone.

“All the fog. All the time,” he said. 

Richard stopped and surveyed the mainly white and almost smoky view in front of him. 

“I’ll come back later,” he said.

Richard lost track of time as he settled into this settee and caught up with his family over the phone. He laughed and talked as he walked around his house. The night drew in as if a curtain had sharply closed on the day as he looked out of the window. He finished his last call with his Mum before opening his French doors to his back garden. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Only the sound of cars from nearby filled his ears and he smiled. He checked the time.

He slammed the French doors shut behind him, locking them quickly and went upstairs to get changed. He double-checked he had everything, and he took a few moments to shut the front door as he left the house. As he approached North Park, he checked his watch.

“Not long,” he said.

Richard slowed and rubbed his cheeks to get some feeling back into them. The fog arched over the path and got lower as Richard made his way towards the pitch. As he had hoped, the entire pitch but not the park, was hidden beneath a thick, white mist.

“Five to midnight.”

He looked around and could see no one else. The houses surrounding the park were masked by the cloud, with only a few lights peeking through.  

“Just watch. Just appreciate,” Richard said as he sat on the bench.

His eyelids became substantial as he took a deep breath of the cold night air before shoving his hands into his pockets. As he did so, his eyes closed. The fog cleared as they reopened. A rich, green football pitch with thick white lines to mark its dimensions lay before him. Richard looked behind, and the fog made a wall around him and the field. The referee, the only man in black amongst the twenty-two players, eleven in blue and eleven in red, brought the captains of each team to the centre. He flipped a coin, and the red captain motioned that he wanted to stay on his side. All three nodded, shook hands, and the captains joined their teams. Just before he blew the whistle, the referee looked over at Richard, nodded, and put a finger to his lips.

The smile across his face rarely faded as Richard watched the game. He looked to each face, some with long sideburns and mops of hair to others with quiffs and combovers. Each face was lit up with a smile or a laugh. Richard did not fail to notice that some of the goals were spectacular. Multiple passes strung together, coupled with decent positioning and an incredible piece of skill that ended with the net rippling with satisfaction. The goalkeepers were making the occasional save as Richard sat back and laughed as the players bantered. The referee blew his whistle as another goal nestled in the back of the net.

“Full time, lads.” 

Each player shook hands and spent a few minutes chatting and hugging. Then, after each player and the referee had spoken to each other, they all returned to their starting positions on the pitch. Richard stood up. The players turned to him and gave a slight bow. He felt his bottom lip quiver as he bowed towards each team in reply. The referee walked over and put out his hand. Richard reached out, only for the referee to point at a non-existent watch. Richard frowned before falling back. He opened his eyes. The mist had returned, and the players were gone.

“Thank you,” he said, as the tears fell down his cheeks.

Short Story – For the love of the game. Part 2.

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Thursday 16th December.

Richard woke up and got ready for his morning walk. He opened the curtains, and a thin, white cloud covered his garden and the road beyond it.

Leaving his house, his eyes widened as the cold air hit his face. The night was still fierce, but the morning light peeked through. He reached North Park and stopped at the football pitch. A thin layer of mist hovered above it. He glanced at a small plaque that commemorated the tragedy and sighed. The grass crunched under his boots as he walked across it.

The fog moved around his feet. He turned and looked at the rest of the park.

“Thick fog here. Thin fog there,” Richard said.

He checked his watch and headed home to start work.

His working day flew by, and he stood up, stretched, and went downstairs. He glanced out of the window and paused. His garden had a light sprinkling of snow, which melted into mist before his eyes.   

“Can’t be,” he said.

He shook his head. When he looked back, snow rested on his neighbour’s garden while his remained covered in mist.

*

Friday 17th December.

He re-read the same few articles regarding the crash as he worked.  

“Richard, are you okay?” said his manager.

He blinked and sat forward.

“Sorry. My connection went funny,” Richard said.

A few members of the team nodded, and a conversation followed. Richard closed his personal laptop out of sight.

The meeting ended, and his watch ticked over to lunchtime. He closed his work laptop and opened his personal one.

“Come on!” he said, punching the air, “For each anniversary, the weather around the park was the same. Thick fog and barely visible conditions. Commented as being almost the same as those from that fateful day.” 

His working day ended, and he ordered a takeaway, killing some time before taking a late-night walk.      

A few cars passed by, as did a few people walking their dogs. Soon, he reached the park. The fog settled calmly on top of the pitch, and Richard sat on the bench pitch side. He watched as the fog changed. Wisps, twirls, and divots appeared before whipping into a circle and settling back down.

“Are they training? They did train on a Friday,” he whispered.

His eyelids became heavy.

‘He can watch the game. Could be a nice change.’

‘As long as he stays quiet. No noise. Just watch. Just appreciate.’

‘Kick-offs at five to midnight on Sunday, lad.’

Richard’s eyes shot open. The fog was still.  

He sat up and stared into the mist.

“I’ll be here,’ he said. 

Short Story – For the love of the game. Part 1.

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Hello,

I hope you are well.

I started this short story during lockdown and finished it 6 months ago. It’s just shy of 2000 words long, so I’m going to post it in three parts.

It centres around a mid-thirties man named Richard. He is becoming slightly obsessed with the anniversary of a plane crash that happened in a park near him almost fifty years before. As he tries to get his friends interested, it becomes clear that he is using this to ignore some more pressing matters.

I’d appreciate your thoughts, and I’d be happy to return the favour. Apologies for grammar and punctuation errors this is a 3rd draft (I think)

Part One – Sunday the 12th December to Wednesday 15th December 2021

*

Sunday 12th December.

“Two football teams, playing on a Sunday morning at North Park almost fifty years ago, were tragically killed when a plane crashed into them. But, with each anniversary, it’s said that a dense fog covers the pitch, and from within you can hear them playing that fateful match. The fiftieth anniversary is next Sunday.”

“From within?” she said.

“Yeah. I thought it added something,” he said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes.

“Could you close the window? I hate the sound of cars from the main road.”  

“I quite like it,” he said before closing the window.

“You told me this already, Richard. I’m late to meet Lucas.”

“Stay a little longer. Please? We’ve spoken about the crash for months. You were interested….”

“I’m not interested now. Lucas thinks honouring something you’ve no link to is stupid.”

Richard stood up from his settee.

“And what do you think, Lucy?”

He waited for the answer as she looked at her phone, stood up as it buzzed a few times, and wrote a reply. 

“I don’t care. It’s stupid. You have no link to it, so why are you wasting your time, Dick.”

Richard walked to and opened his front door. Lucy’s eyes bulged before she regained her composure.

“We’ve been friends for years. In all that time, you’ve called me Dick once. And I told you then I didn’t like it, so you stopped. I don’t know who you are, Lucy,” Richard said as tears glossed over his eyes. 

“I have to go,” she said.

Lucy walked by Richard and out of the door.

“I’ll miss you,” he said.

She stopped halfway up the driveway for a moment before walking away.

*

Monday 13th December.

Richard strained to push the covers off him as he sat on the edge of his bed. He stretched his arms before taking a deep breath.

“The whole day to myself. Hmm… the sun does rise later,” he said looking out of his window through the blinds. The night sky was total, and stars were looking back at him. He checked his watch.

“I thought I dreamt that,” he said.

As he realised the whole day had disappeared, his bottom lip quivered. The tears began to flow as he got back under the covers.

*

Wednesday 15th December.

“Falling from the sky and crashing into and killing all twenty-two players contesting the season’s final game. No fans were in attendance due to an incident the week before. The managers and staff managed to get clear,” Richard said.

His friends smiled or raised an eyebrow over their video call. Richard clenched his fist out of sight.

“Look, mate, you’re better off without her. We’re glad you’re up and about,” a friend said.

Richard tried to get them interested but instead just listened to them. His fist unclenched as he began to join in. In no time, the call ended.

Richard smiled and went up to bed.

*

Writing Sprints and the progress they bring.

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Hello everyone,

I hope you’re having a good week so far.

I attempted NaNoWriMo 2022 with varying degrees of success. On the one hand, I didn’t reach the 50,000 word target but I did find my way to a method of writing which, at one point, made me think I could reach the glory of 50,000 in a month. That was:

The Writing Sprint.

This method involves setting a timer, which is usually between 15 and 60 minutes, and writing non-stop until the time is up.

I did sprints of either 15 or 20 minutes and set the timer on my phone. As the timer was on my phone this meant that I could NOT use my phone for all the procrastinating goodness/badness it brings. I had to wait until the alarm rang to say I was done. And I learned to love and hate the alarm sound in equal measure. It didn’t sound too lovely at first but I’m now conditioned..sorry..prepared for the relief the alarm gives me. I wonder why?

If I received an important call or message I would stop but other than that I would keep writing. I would also try to eliminate all other distractions so I could focus on the writing alone. As my phone was and is my main distraction the fact that it was now my method of telling the time meant I could write with not many interruptions. The point as well for a writing sprint is to not stop even though you may feel like you want to do some editing or you feel some dialogue or description or anything has fallen flat. The main thing is to get as many words down during the time frame you have given yourself.

I have also found that making a small plan before each sprint helps me a lot to make use of the time well. If I know what I’m going to write about or roughly know, the time gets used more effectively than if I go in blind or with a wisp of a idea.

Here are a few Pros and Cons that I’ve found while using Writing Sprints:

Pro’s

  • Knowing that I only need to put aside 15 minutes and I will make progress with my WIP.
  • WIP progresses at a steady pace.
  • Increased focus when writing outside of doing the Sprints.
  • Can be done multiple times a day and does not necessarily have to be all at once.
  • No time for editing as you go.

Con’s

  • No time for editing as you go.
  • Can feel like a bit of a chore.
  • If your writing is not flowing you can be tempted to clock watch.
  • Can feel like the time is hanging over you instead of helping you move your WIP along.

Overall, discovering Writing Sprints has been a game changer for me.

This all leads me to a question, if you already use Writing Sprints, how did you first find out about them?

Romance Webinar and What I took from it.

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Hello everyone,

I hope you’ve had a good week so far.

On Wednesday, 22/02, I (virtually) attended a webinar entitled ‘How to write Romance that Stands Out’ via Reedsy and hosted by Michelle Hazen (https://michellehazenbooks.com/). This was a really useful and informative webinar about how to approach writing a romance story and some tips about how to make it all pop off the page.

I’ve been thinking about writing a romance story for a while now, and this webinar has put me on the right track.

The webinar discussed providing three things to clarify a story; Make it Specific. Make it Personal. Make it Visual.

Following these main tips as you write your story can help it become more unique. And in a genre that has regularly been a top many a best-selling list, this could be crucial. The webinar also detailed 7 principles to follow as you are writing. These are:

  1. Meet Cute – How your characters meet and make it unique.
  2. Demonstration of Value – Show, don’t tell something about the love interest that makes them more attractive to the other.
  3. What are your readers expecting? – Give them what they want. Which, amongst other things, is that the two love interests get together at the end of the story.
  4. Flipping Stereotypes and Genre shortcuts – How to do things that don’t conform to usual stereotypes of shortcuts for the Romance genre.
  5. Time for date night – Think outside the box for what the character’s first date will be and how it happens.
  6. Mid-Book Reversal – Big change mid-way through the story that keeps things interesting. For example, the couple breaks up when one decides to make the decision thinking it’s best for the other.
  7. Grand Gesture – Make it personal, show time and effort, and something symbolic of the relationship.

For the entire webinar, please visit the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D_DjKSLdFc&t=7s.

The main thing I took away from this was that to make your story stand out, it should be as unique and specific as possible. Say, instead of having the two main love interests meet on a date in a coffee shop or bar, how about they meet another way? By accident or on a rock-climbing holiday or when you, and they, least expect it?

These types of things happen all the time in real life. For example, you decide to do something slightly different on your lunch break from work and suddenly discover a new place to eat or a new route to walk. It’s a small example, but you get the point. Why not have your characters do something different to what you might do in their shoes and see what happens?  

Currently, my love interests meet in a coffee shop and bond over a common interest. Not until later do they realise they work in the same company and are not particularly fond of each other from a work perspective. I have already written a short story for this, and I’m excited to flesh out the details and see where it takes me. The webinar has helped me in that respect and will guide me until it’s done.

I’ll end with a question, how do you try and make your Romance Story unique?


The Desk or the Lap?

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Hello everyone,

I hope you’re well.

Recently my weeks have been filled with trying to get into a new writing routine. Or at least back into my old one. I attempted NaNoWriMo 2022 and finished on 36k words. I’m happy with that. More than happy. And although I missed the target (50k words) along the way, I’ve found that writing on my laptop while on my actual lap is my favoured way to get things done.

I work from home 2-3 days a week, and the thought of finishing and returning to the same desk to write on my personal laptop doesn’t fill me with much joy. It makes writing a chore, which I definitely don’t want AT ALL. Writing is in my heart. Forever. So, just the act of writing directly to the laptop, either on my lap or on a different part of my desk or in my house, has helped a lot. Seems simple, but it’s a game-changer for me.

And I’m looking to start writing using a pen and paper as well.

I have plenty of notepads and got a nice new fancy pen for Christmas, so writing a story entirely on a notepad looks to be the logical choice. Though, I’m not sure my hands can handle it. At work, when I make any notes that go over a few sentences, I can feel my hand begin to cramp up. Which is a bit scary but understandable. I do mainly type at work, and notes are few and far between. Having said that, I have begun to write in my new notepad, and my hand is holding up well.

I completed a short story writing course last year, and one of the assignments was to write a story in a genre different from my usual (soft sci-fi). I decided to write a romance and loved it. I didn’t think I would, but putting the thing together, about a man meeting a woman in a coffee shop and bonding and later falling for each other over their shared love of a particular author was brilliant. So, I’ve started to write the whole thing on one of my notepads. This one, in fact:

(Also, The Dark Crystal rules, by the way)

I’ve noticed I’ve had to slow down my writing pace, as when I try to write as quickly as I’m thinking, the words turn to scribbles. On a laptop, it’s not a problem, but handwriting is another animal. I’ll get there.

This all leads to me ask a question to finish the post. It would be great to hear what you think.  

Do you like to write on your laptop, or do you prefer via a keyboard linked to a monitor?

My Favourite Film and Its Influence on My Writing.

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Favourite Film: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Influence: Well, where do I begin?

I don’t remember the exact time I first watched The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly but I do remember only realising it was over 90 minutes long, which was the time I’d allocated to watch a film before bed. So I had to watch it in two parts. I was loving it but my eyes told me sleep was needed.

When I did watch the rest of it, and then it all at once, I knew I’d found my favourite film. Acting, score, story, direction and all the things in between, in my opinion it is a masterpiece of cinema.

The characters The Good, The Bad and The Ugly all have cool moments and also not so cool moments but throughout you know who they are and what they’re about. None of them steer from Good to Bad to Ugly or any of the variations. Although I like stories where characters grow and change, with this, they are already fully made. You don’t necessarily need to know how they became that way, you accept them for who they are and follow their story.

I am a fan in my own writing of character progression but I am also a fan of supporting characters just being who they are and accompanying the protagonist on their journey. I think when I consider my protagonists I have The Good (Blondie) in mind for his calmness, intelligence, and ruthlessness. I don’t want a cheap knockoff of Blondie in my stories but I think he’s always there in some way, shape, or form.

As for my antagonist(s), The Bad (Angel Eyes) and The Ugly (Tuco) are always floating around in my mind. They both know who they are and don’t apologise for it.

This is one of my starting points when creating a villain for my piece. I consider the villains position and motivation and come to why they are classed as the villain. As I’ve formed their identity I can consider how they go about their day. Usually, this involves a steely determination to get their job/plan/goal complete. Much like Angel Eyes in a sense. He knew how to survive and this gave him determination.

As for Tuco, he got things done in anyway he could. Even sacrificing his own friends and pushing away his family. None of this mattered if it meant him getting what he wanted. I use this within my villains at the start and usually they stay the same. Sometimes they grow but not drastically.

Having analysed my process against my favourite film, I’m pleasantly surprised how much of an influence it has on my writing.

Which leads me to a question and I’d like know your thoughts, Is there a film, favorite or otherwise, that influences your writing?

My Morning Journal and How It Makes Me Feel.

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Hello everyone,


I hope you’re well.

If you write a journal, for whatever reason, how has it helped you and/oryour writing?


Since the turn of the year, I’ve been writing at least one page in my journal. I’d heard of the theory that writing down whatever is in your head in the morning can help you focus and prepare for the day ahead. I also heard it can help bring about some ideas and be a kind of therapy.

In practice, I’ve found these two theory’s to be true.

I started by writing whatever it was that was in my head. Sometimes it made sense and sometimes it did not. This then morphed over the course of a few days into making sense. I then used it to get out any frustrations or insecurities I had in my working and personal life.

Once I’ve written some grievance down I then tend to keep writing until working out why I’m annoyed and come to a resolution about the whole thing. Although this can take a few days of writing to do, it has been very helpful indeed.

It has and continues to help me overcome any negativity and anger I have about the particular situation I’m in. This has also allowed me to tackle similar circumstances from a different and more productive angle. I’m much calmer for it as well.

As a writer this has assisted my growth and development. I’ve been writing for years and this is a dimension I didn’t know I needed.

And it makes me realise how bad my handwriting has become. It was never exquisite to say the least but it has gotten worse. I do work on a computer in my day job but hopefully journalling will help sort this out. And build the strength back up in my hand.

If you write a journal, for whatever reason, how has it helped you and your writing as a whole?

Thanks for reading and (maybe) contributing. Have a good day!