Category: Writing

Full or partly completed drafts of some of the stories I’ve written so far.

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?

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Where to next?

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Hope you’re all well.

I am coming to the end of a very productive Short Story Course (https://www.writers-online.co.uk/writing-courses/courses/short-story-course-first-edition/). The course covers various areas, including ‘Shaping Your Characters’, ‘Narration and Dialogue’, ‘Writing Style’ and more. I’ve been paired with a tutor, Lesley Eames (https://lesleyeames.com/), who has been helpful and provided some very useful feedback. Several things she has advised will stay with me for as long as I write.

Amongst those things was something that makes so much sense but has never been advised to me before. That is:

The tag for dialogue is part of the sentence.

More than likely, that sounds standard to most, but it’s new to me. After the dialogue, you put a comma before the ‘he said’ or ‘she said’ part. I’ve never been told that or come across it before in feedback or otherwise. It makes sense, but I find it strange it’s never crossed my path. One of the many benefits I’ve seen from doing a course on the craft of writing. I never want to stop learning things like this.

I’ve made plenty of notes and devoured all the feedback that Lesley has provided me. But she commented just before I started my current and penultimate course unit, ‘The Writer at Work’, which covers the writer actually doing the work. She said:

This will be the penultimate assignment in the current course, but it’s possible to book some extension assignments if you feel it would be helpful to continue to receive feedback on your writing. Alternatively, you might consider the challenge of a new course such as Fiction, which deals with longer stories, or Crime Writing. Another possibility is to submit work under the critiquing scheme.

             This got me thinking, where to next?

             I’ve always wanted to write a story or two using all the experience I’ve gained from working in the banking sector, which is around 18 years now. The ideas have always been there. But, as I enjoy writing Fantasy and Sci-Fi related stories, I didn’t know how to mesh the two together. And I preferred to write Fantasy and Sci-Fi that in no way involved my working life and to keep things separate. I’m not sure why, but I think it may have been a way of keeping my two worlds apart.

But then, an idea emerged.

This came about when I started to write my journal. The idea revolves around the banking industry and magic. I’m still working it out, but I’m enjoying it, and I’ve started to write it each day on my writing note app Evernote. Well, it’s now almost every day, but it’s moving along nicely.

I am making notes on the story as I go, which isn’t the usual way I like to work, but I’ll stick with it now. If you’d like to know more, see my previous post for more details(https://johnrsermon.com/2021/09/25/a-journal-to-start-and-stop/).

             This idea got me thinking about all the other ideas I’ve had and more so the ones I’ve turned into stories of varying lengths. And what to do with those stories in particular. The one part of Writing Life that alludes to me is being published. I won’t lie; seeing my name on a book I’ve created being published on any scale would be a dream come true. But, how do I accomplish this?

             This thought pushed me to sign up for another course, ‘How to Make Money from your Writing’. I’m hoping to learn a lot from this and take a big step in my writing life. 

             With this in mind, what further writing education have you done? Can you recommend any writing courses?  Please comment below. I’m interested to hear from you.  

A Journal: To Start and Stop. 

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Hello,

As you may have guessed, this post is centred around the art of the journal. If you have any tips on how to maintain the habit of completing a journal regularly, I would really like to hear from you.

So, I’ve been looking for a way to keep myself writing and help keep the ideas flowing. I like to think my idea radar is on point, but the more help the better. I’ve been taking regular morning walks before work, which have become a wonderful habit. The walks are helping the ideas come to me and they are mostly linked to my current WIP. Evernote (https://evernote.com/) lets me jot all of them down as I go. No worries there.

However, recently I have struggled to be as creative at home. As I work from home all day and use the same monitor, and work at the same desk as I would for my writing, I am reluctant to sit down in front of it to write in my free time. This blog post is from my laptop unplugged and moved to my kitchen table. And sometimes outside on my garden table. To try and solve this particular issue, I decided to jump into something I have been considering for a few years now;

The noble art of the Journal. (Or Journal-ing. Journal-isation? Jounal-isting?)

I first settled on the notebook I wanted to use for such an endeavour (see above), bought it and then…struggled to find anything to write in it. I’ve tried to write something every day but some days, I just don’t feel like updating it.

From the updates I have managed, they’ve been very therapeutic. I’ve also unearthed a gem of an idea (I’m a bit biased, but I think it’s decent). It’s an idea that allows me to merge the knowledge I’ve gained from my working life in the banking sector with the type of story I want to write. A present-day Sci-Fi and Fantasy type endeavour. This idea has also allowed me to get into another habit, writing every day. Evernote comes to the fore once again for this one. I write in the morning, so my day starts off on a high. I’d fallen into the habit of doom scrolling across the internet when I woke up. Now, I feel more energised. In more control of my writing. I’m focusing on what I can control instead of what is gone and beyond it. However, this stopped my journal updating progress.

I put this Journal related dilemma on Twitter and got a decent response. One response from ‘Marion Cleborne and the (Hopefully) Final Edits – @MarionCleborne’ said to try a one-sentence diary or one paragraph, which is an excellent idea for where to start. As well as this, I was given good advice about making this a habit and taking it one step at a time. Twitter is good sometimes, isn’t it? Thank you to @iamedterry and @reesepateluk as well for their help with this. 

In conclusion, I’m taking this Journal one step at a time and trying to build a new habit. And also had the side bonus of pushing me to write every day in some shape or form. Long may it continue.

If you have any tips on how to maintain the habit of completing a journal regularly, I would really like to hear from you.

Have a nice day.

Inspiration in Pictures.

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Hello everyone,

Hope you’re well.

During this pandemic, I have felt many different emotions, as I’m sure you all have during this strange and challenging time. I have found that having a routine set around my working-from-home life has helped me to manage these feelings and keep things in perspective. My wonderful fiancé also helps along with my family and friends, who I am more grateful for than ever. My routine is to go for a walk in the morning before work and go for a walk after work. Not ground-breaking I know, but extremely helpful all the same. Each walk allows me to prepare for the day ahead or wind down from it. I have immensely enjoyed my morning walks. During the colder months of December and January, I have got to know the streets, parks, and short cuts near me a lot more. These surroundings have formed the basis for my latest two WIP’s. The idea for each WIP has come from the following pictures I have taken whilst taking a morning stroll:

These pictures were taken after taking a second look at each scene, and an idea popped into my head.

The picture on the left, just beyond the farthest set of trees, is a football (soccer) pitch. In the current situation, no football has been played on there for a while. However, as I studied the picture at home, I wondered, could a football match be taking place behind the white fog? And what would the story be behind that? That wondering brought about one of the current WIP’s. The story of a set of footballers, all just having a late-night kick about, who tragically died when a plane crashed into them some fifty years previous. Every anniversary of this tragedy, they play a game of football behind the fog. But this year, it will be different. They will have a spectator this time in the shape of a man who has become very curious about the fog. And a man in need of a distraction. 

In the picture on the right, I captured this scene because I thought I caught a glimpse of something moving inside the fog, right down the street and beyond the last house that can be seen. I then wondered, what could be hidden in the fog? And what would the thing be doing? This became my second WIP. A man, taking his morning walk, spots a colossal monster inside the thick, white fog. The next time the fog returns a week later, he tries to confront the beast. Only, the beast has other ideas.

I have finished writing both stories, and it has helped me get back into a rhythm and a new routine for my writing. My writing frequency has been all over the place during the pandemic, so I’m happy that I can get some kind of normality back into my writing.

This leads me to ask:

Have you ever taken a picture and written a full story off the back of it? Or, has the picture filled in a plot hole in a story that had held you back from progressing? I would be keen to hear your stories on this. 

Stay safe and have a nice day!

Creative Spark during Lockdown.

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Recently, I’ve been thinking about how I can improve my writing. The lockdown has provided me with plenty of time to not write, but when I have found the time it has been fruitful but not as productive as I would have thought. I started thinking of how I could improve my situation, but I wasn’t sure how and hoped for something to spark my interest. Some kind of inspiration to jump out and slap me in the face. Well, maybe not that because that would hurt but perhaps a nudge or tap on the shoulder. Nothing was happening until I received an email from ‘Writers Online’ (https://www.writers-online.co.uk/writing-courses) which is linked to my ‘Writing Magazine’ subscription. They advertised several courses in different areas, publishing, novel writing, selling your work, but one caught my eye.

Short Story Writing Course.

Now, I’ve been writing short stories for years and reading all kinds of different articles and blog posts on the subject but never took the time to learn the basics. This ever so slightly annoyed me but I only have myself to blame. I consider myself a writer but, after starting this course, a writer that still has a lot to learn.

The course is broken up into 8 units and an assignment that links to each one. You are assigned a tutor to guide you along the way based on your level of experience and writing interests. Mine has provided some valuable feedback on the stories I have written for the first 2 assignments. These were to write a story dealing with conflict (Love conquers All or Man or Woman versus loneliness) and to write a story about an out of work character searching for employment. Each required me to use skills learnt from the accompanying unit. I have learned so much already including how vital a theme/message is to my stories and how-to layout out a short story beginning, middle, and end. Both of these points are things I have considered previously but not put nearly as much thought into as I believed. Though annoying, I am not dwelling on it (well, maybe a little) and aim to improve from here and most likely make more significant strides than I have before.

When I first read about a message driving my story, I immediately thought back to a short story I had completed 6 months ago. Although I like it, it has no theme. It’s just…something that happened. When I thought about it, I didn’t really care about either of the main characters. After the first unit, First Principles of Writing a Short Story, I made plenty of notes about potential improvements. Mainly, what the theme will be and how the characters will develop along with their conflicts. I did all this after reading only the first few pages of the course.

It may seem obvious to learn the basics before tackling anything in life, but it is something I have overlooked. From here, things can only get better for me as a writer. Hopefully.

Have a good day, and thanks for reading!

Editing and The Info dump

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Info Dump – A very large amount of information supplied all at once, especially as background information in a narrative.

Recently, I finished the First Draft of my latest story and found myself in a slight rut. Where do I go from here? After some soul-searching, I settled on my next project. I will go back to a previous First Draft of a different story, finished April 2018, and start a love/hate relationship with it through the art of editing. I think it’s been long enough, right? I have learned about editing in the years since then and actually find myself looking forward to this edit more than I thought. However, this quickly diminished when, as the edit had only just begun, I discovered that past-me liked to use a lot of information dumps. I seemed to be so quick to get my story on the page that I didn’t stop to think at what point that should happen.

The 2018 First Draft is a story about Searchers who hunt down and kill or ‘Search’ for demons around the North of England. There are Searchers all over the country and indeed the World but my story centres around Manchester City Centre and Salford primarily. The main focus is our hero, Aaron Watch, and his struggles to do his job and deal with other issues he would love to ignore. Issues around such things as his family, his love life, his fellow Searchers and the fate of life on planet Earth. Just a few things, not everything. He’s not greedy, you know.

I realised early on that past-me was eager to get out any information to help these elements move along. He did not stop to take a breath. As I’ve been editing, I find myself shifting in my chair as another info-dump cascades all over the page. Thankfully, I’ve just been given a new office chair to work from home, so this shifting is slightly more comfortable than it has been.

In some cases, I have taken the information away and put it somewhere else for safekeeping. In other cases, I’ve just deleted it and never looked back. This initially made me pause and wonder if I was too hard on past-me. Still, soon I started to like the deleting and remembered that I can’t be too precious when I’m editing. This is a first draft after all. I know from past edits that I probably need to be firmer in my editing. That is easier said than done, given that this is my creation. I can’t be mean to it. Can I?

It is, however, a nice way to find out how I’ve changed and grown as a writer. If I was doing the same things past-me did now, I would worry. Although I would think it’s a good idea so I would not worry. Would I be happy with all the info dumps? As I write this, I shift again in my chair.

With that said, the edit is going well so far. I’m only 38 pages into the 155-page novel, but I am getting into a rhythm so that must be a good thing. I also have to remind myself of what the story actually is. On plenty of occasions, I have no idea where I’m going. I rewrite something then realise I need it and have to put it back to make the whole thing keep moving along. I’ve stopped feeling so precious about my writing though, at the beginning I was reluctant to delete, but now I just do it and move on.

Thank you for your time, and I hope you are well. If you’re editing, all the best. It’ll be worth it in the end.

What’s in a dream?

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Hello, 

I hope you are well. 

I almost started this post with, ‘I had a dream’, but I won’t. Even though I kind of just did. 

Anyway, my current WIP revolves around an office worker, Michael, who is plagued/haunted/blessed (not sure which one it is yet) by his dreams. These dreams involve two entities that seem to be trying to make him realise something and/or guide him through his dream. What and Why, he doesn’t know, but as they begin to inhabit more and more of his dreams and impact his working and personal life, he has to unravel the mystery quickly before it threatens to consume his WHOLE existence. 

Well, that’s what I’ve got so far anyway. I’ve had the idea for about a year now. It is based around how dreams can impact our lives if we want them to. After all, we are in control of our dreams? Right?!

I don’t usually dwell on my dreams. It’s only every so often I’ll dream about an uncomfortable situation or distant friend that they sometimes make me think more about it and its source. This always ends up with me shrugging my shoulders and carrying on as they are not that frequent at all. Although, I do have a recurring type of dream. One where I’m late for work. I hate being late. I used to be okay with it. Too laid back, really. But over the last few years, I’ve become more time conscious, and I’m always SO relieved when I wake up, it’s the middle of the night, and I can have more control if I’m late or not. 

This all leads to a dream I had a few months ago, which has helped me much with my current WIP. The dream was about being late for work. I woke myself up from it but found myself in another dream with me being late for work again. Then, I woke myself up from THAT dream to find I was in another dream. This one had nothing to with lateness and made no sense (something about a swimming pool?) before I finally woke up in the real world. As you can imagine, my idea factory went into overdrive. 

What would happen if I kept waking up in different dream levels and never in the real world? 

My WIP has only really come into focus after having that dream which filled a gap in my story idea I didn’t know was there! That’s a decent dream. Wouldn’t you agree? 

So, have you ever had any recurring dreams or woke up to find yourself in another dream?

Stay safe and all the best with your WIP or idea for one. 

The Hunt: Part 2.

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https://johnrsermon.com/2020/01/27/the-hunt-part-1/

The lizard’s arms and legs flailed up and down as it struggled to run away, knocking people into the road and to the ground as it tried to flee. Cars screeched around it and ploughed into signposts and buildings and people. John bounded over the vehicles and quickly helped as many people as he could. He bounced across the vehicle roofs with some people cheering him on as he did so. John stopped for a moment and removed and launched a dagger. He punched the air and gestured to the growing crowd as the blade grazed the side and split some of the scaly skin from the lizard’s tail. The lizard threw up its head and howled as it kept moving.

“Stop showing off. It’s making its way to the tunnel. You know it can escape to the sewers that way, right?” Said Sam as he finished moving down the building and jumped onto the pavement.

“Really? I did not know that. Thank you so much, big Sam, for pointing out the most obvious thing known to any hunter worth anything at all.” John said as he continued and jumped on top of a recently crashed car. The lizard moved fast now, hitting its stride between people and vehicles and towards the tunnel.

Both hunters pushed their way through the panicked or mesmerised crowd and made sure to thank those who actively moved out of their way. The helicopters above followed them with spotlights. Cameras big and small followed them on the ground. Some more heroic passers-by tried to slow their target down but were dealt with efficiently by a powerful lizard limb. The tunnel approached, and Sam stopped on top of a post box. John looked back and groaned through his teeth. Sam took off his coat and aimed his arrow carefully.

A Land Rover coming through the tunnel suddenly started to swerve as the driver let the fear overcome him as the giant lizard hissed closer. Sam aimed and fired an arrow into one of the car wheels that burst and the car jolted and flipped over in front of the tunnel entrance. The crash caused several other vehicles to crash, and in no time, they began to pile up and block the tunnel.

“Dam, you Sam. Don’t put the public in danger like that.” Said John as he watched the lizard scale the cars and scurry up and onto the road running over the top of the tunnel.

“It stopped the demon going through the tunnel did it not?” Sam shouted back. He put his bow away and grabbed his coat before joining John again on the chase.

The hunters scaled the car wall and onto the road. Their target moved at high speed down the middle as cars calmly drove to the sides. Sam and John smiled as they received cheers from the crowd. The lizard screeched back at them before jumping down from the road and into trees nearby losing the helicopters in the process. The hunters warned off the people with their cameras on the ground from following them as they kept chase.

The Hunt: Part 1.

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The monster slithered up the side of the building. One hunter climbed after, and another pursued on the ground. As it moved swiftly between the windows and ledges, the grounded hunter fired his gun, shattering concrete and glass around the target. The climbing hunter stopped and fired arrows from a balcony but did no better and shook his head as the monster disappeared onto the top of the roof.

“Watch your aim, Sam. Stick to the roof and push it towards me. I’m going to try and gain some distance on the target from the ground and catch it as it comes down. Keep it in your sights.” Shouted the grounded hunter.

“Oh, well done. Tell me to run across the roofs instead of on the ground. The harder option and one better for you, John, so you get all the attention. As usual. And keep it in my sights? Such a hard task to do, given that the target is twelve feet long and half that wide.” Bellowed Sam as he planted his feet on the roof and caught sight of the lizard. He quickly fired an arrow, which shaved the side of its head. The lizard stopped on the edge of the rooftop and hissed down at the ground below. Its head bent right around, and it roared at the hunter before leaping across to the next building and landing awkwardly.

“Wind your neck in, Sam. You know I’m not much of a jumper. You excel at such things. We need to catch him.”

“Him? IT more like. And wind my…wind your neck in Johnny boy. And get rid of that smegging bag. It only slows you down.”

“I’ll get you for that Sam. Or should I say, Samwise.” John shouted as he disappeared from Sam’s view. Sam gritted his teeth, and one hand moved naturally onto his stomach. When he realised, he removed it and extended his spear. After five significant steps, he vaulted across to continue the pursuit.

The wind began to make his eyes water as Sam moved between the various obstacles on top of the building. A head followed by a long, greenish-black tail whipped up and down not far in front of him. The lizard slipped and favoured his back-right leg, and Sam saw his chance. He vaulted forward and as he landed the tail of the beast flew across his face, narrowly missing his nose but catching his spear and snapping it in half. Sam was now within a few feet and leapt to grab hold of the creature’s tail, which whip-like smacked him on the head. The lizard spun around and head-butted him in the chest, sending Sam thudding down onto his back. The lizard hesitated for a moment before moving towards the edge of the roof. Sam dragged himself across and watched as it scurried down the side of the building and weaved between ledges and windows. Debris started to fly in all directions and began to rain down onto the people below who rapidly started to scream and run. He glanced to the side to see John running to keep the chase alive.

What NOT to Say to a Literary Agent

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Hello,

I came across this very good and really informative article shared by theryanlanzs ‘A Writer’s Path’ (https://ryanlanz.com/) and originally written by https://katiemccoach.com/. Here’s a sample of the article and click the link below it for the full thing.

‘Recently, I attended a lecture hosted by GLAWS, and the guest speaker for the day was literary agent Steve Hutson. I’m sure you can guess the focus of the event.

What NOT to Say to a Literary Agent (or Editor)

I like attending events such as this because on top of the joy of meeting new writers, it’s always nice to hear advice directly from the pros–the ones who actually do this for a living.

Here are some takeaways from the event that I’d like to share with you. Some of these I’d consider obvious–like don’t pitch a book to an agent in the bathroom, or don’t tell them your mother loved it. But some of these might not be so obvious, or maybe you hadn’t thought about it in the agent’s/editor’s perspective before.

Either way, I want you to have the tools to succeed.

When we talk about editors here, it means acquisition editors in a publishing house, not a freelancer editor (aka moi).

https://wp.me/p4SsOO-pty