What's in a name?

I am the worst person at this, ever.

So it comes to sitting down with a new revolutionary great idea for your latest novel. You have the storyline all planned out - you are deadly sure that this book will change the world as it is and will influence many generations to come. You know it should be a bestseller in many countries and appear on various charts as numero uno. There is only one problem - what to name your characters? How to bestow them names worthy of their own characterisations?

I wrote something a long time ago which featured a main protagonist named Ivy. Now Ivy can be pictured into two visualisations here; the first of which is the plant itself - green and poisonous, winding itself onto any surface and digging its roots into foundations, creeping into the inside and snaking up walls, seeking out any possible weakness in structure and exploiting it.
But as for a polar opposite mental picture - Ivy can also be regarded as a beautiful name for a little girl with big green eyes, pale skin and a sweet smile.
This was the character I had dreamed up for that piece of work. I decided to take the name of a devious plant and pair it with a more positive reflection - not only to throw my reader off, but to also surprise myself too.

But how do you know if you've given your chosen character a deserving name?

Imagine how you would expect them to look. Strong jaw? Pearly white sharp teeth? Golden wavy hair? You wouldn't name a little girl Henry and a macho muscled man Sandy, would you? The names completely throw off the character that perhaps you wanted to portray. Little Henry and Sandy have magically transformed into the polar opposite of what you initially wanted.

So what are the right names for your characters?

That is something only you yourself can answer. You know your mental pictures, you know your plot and your scenery and ultimately you know how you want it to end.
For my main protagonists, I tend to pick less popular names that would stick in my readers' minds. In Beneath the Door (uh oh, plug time!) - I chose Terin - not overly feminine, quite strong and harsh on the tongue, which was exactly what I was aiming for.

Overall, in some aspects names mean so much more to a great story than the plot itself. Next time you want to write an epic three piece trilogy about the adventures of Joe Bloggs and John Smith - think again.

-H x

New Features.

Hey guys!, I have taken the decision to introduce some shiny new things to this little blog of mine in order to showcase my talent and that of others as well.

For an example of what is to come; In an ever-changing industry, new bloggers, writers, poets, ect. Find it increasingly difficult to be able to break into the mass net that is social media.

I want to be able to take those blog/pages belonging to those that really deserve some recognition for their work. Eventually, I want to be able to set up awards for this purpose as well - this totally is going to be my new goal for the new year.

Here is an overview of what you can expect coming up;

1) Sunday Spotlights:- Every Sunday I delve into the depths of social media and find nuggets of literary talent to share with you all. This can range from blogs to personal portfolio websites. If you'd certainly like to appear on one of my spotlights, please let me know.

2) Bucket List - Every book I am going to read or have yet to. Any suggestions of course, would be welcomed and I promise to attempt to read all of them! Published and non published included.

3) Reviews - A page dedicated to reviewing the work of new up and coming authors, which will include; pros, cons and constructive critique.

4) Beneath the Door - An entire page dedicated to my later project. On here you will find my progress, characters bios, possible concept art and of course snippets into some of the chapters as well.

I will continue to ad, alter and update as I go along and improve the usability and readability of this blog. Suggestions are welcome, as are requests, questions, ect.

Until then, stay frosty. (Can I pull this off?)

H x

Never be afraid to use personal experiences!

In fact, this could be one of the best tools that you'll ever use in writing.

But let's back up a second here; firstly, why would you feel the need to Influence your story with your own personal experiences? Why should you, especially when the experience may perhaps daunting and unwelcoming?

Closure and feeling.

There are plenty of pros and cons to this. It's a tricky skill that can either make or break the novel. I put it down to working out exactly what kind of novel that you want to write, firstly. Now close your eyes and imagine that you are the story and you are the protagonist. Maybe you want your story to be told? Put your main character in your position and get them to experience the memory or event. How do they feel? What is their first reaction?

More often than not, it will be your feelings and reactions coming through the words. Having done this before, the last emotion I was expecting to feel was shock. Shock that I were seeing my innermost secret feelings and experiences laid bare in front of me under an alien alias that was my protagonist.
However, in an odd way this is a good opportunity to also connect with your character, to share and through doing so, to heal as well. Your secrets are out, as are your deepest emotions. Now sit back, take a breath and enjoy your freedom.

Influencing your story doesn't have to involve negative experiences however. What about the first time you held your newborn child? The feeling of falling in love for the first time and the sheer anticipation of awkward first dates? There are so many events that can be drawn upon that inspiration is everywhere.

So, the next time you feel the snag of Writers block? Look a little closer to home for inspiration.

Bloggity Blog #1

I write this to you, sat on a bus on the way to work amidst a chilly Friday morning. Of douse I don't want to be going to work, I would much rather spend the day in pajamas with hot chocolate and going over the manuscript of my latest project, but we can't all be picky.

Welcome officially to my first proper 'Bloggity Blog' - entries that reflect just what exactly I spend my days doing, instead of getting on with writing. You're now in the very inner sanctum of my mind where it's filled with sarcasm and procrastination. Enjoy your stay!

I now unfortunately must arrive at my desk and pretend to look busy, but watch this space!

The real thing.

In one of my previous entries, I pulled across the point of going through something you or I have written, and editing it within an inch of its life, until the entire story flows like chilled water.

Sound familiar?

I just wanted to take a moment and reflect back on this because I have since looked at my half-finished manuscript of my latest project; "Beneath the door" - and thought that this was the most opportune time to go back through all of the chapters I'd written for it and note down it's flaws.

When I'd finished, I was absolutely aghast at the amount of threads I'd pulled from the manuscript and flagged up. Plot holes, bad characterisation, boring mundane scenes and different writing techniques. 

Eventually the list ended up as an A4 sheet of paper, but the very last feeling I thought I would feel looking down at this list - was determination.

I want to be able to tell my story and I want the sheer pleasure of seeing it sold in bookshops one day. Looking down at the list of discrepancies, only made me plot out possible solutions and outcomes that I could pull my dead manuscript out of the depths of mundaity and turn in it into a work of art that I could seriously be proud of.

Now because of the little revelation, I have decided to do a little more research, write up a proper bio from start to finish and plan out my story better and more accurately. 

All in all, this experience has taught me that self-evaluation is not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to reading back through work - if anything, only yourself can accurately tell whether you are telling the story how you envisioned it being told. At the end of the day, you are the story teller.

- H.

 

The Bitter Truth

Okay, so you have half of your latest epic novella written, spell-checked and neatly printed out and stacked into a readily waiting plastic folder with the rest of its predecessor chapters, all eagerly waiting for the day that the last chapter is added to the collection - so you can smile happily, make a dozen copies and chuck off to the nearest big time publishers, right?

Only in a perfect world.

Finishing the first draft is only the sure beginning to the journey of getting your epic adventure out there into the world. Strap on your harness and pull out your Indiana Jones hat, because it'll be a bumpy ride, full of pitfalls, self esteem slumps and the overwhelming desire to give up and find another job/hobby.

Writing for pleasure or profession both commands a certain amount of dedication, blood, sweat and tears. You are pouring every ounce of creativity into your project, you are feeding the flames and forging something new, shiny and beautiful. You are a writer, ultimately a literary warrior. If you want it, you fight hard for that first book to hit the shelves, you battle for that first book signing, the first person to ask you about your inspirations, ect.

We all have dreams - to do what we want most, we edit and edit and edit. Done editing? Comb back through the entire book for a second and third and maybe even forth go. Print out copies and distribute out to friends and family to get their opinions and reflections on the characters/plot/feel of the entire thing. Scour the bookshops for anything remotely similar that you may want to distance yourself from. (A prime example of this would be vampires!).

The bitter naked truth lies here: Draft, Edit, Comb, Edit, Opinions, Edit and finally then perhaps ready to be flooded out to publish.

Good luck, we all need it.

Beware your language!

All writers are guilty of it at some stage and I am no exception. Its a universal faux pas that we have all experienced and in cases, a bloody hard habit to climb out of the depths of. But also is inevitable to pick up at one point or another.

Yes boys and girls, I am referring to language. Did anyone else just have a flashback to their English lessons?

With the way we are all connected via the internet and all other mass media channels, we can access content and entertainment from all corners of the globe. I tend to immerse myself in the sunny world of the US a lot of the time, ranging from watching my menagerie of Friends to Desperate Housewives to House. And then of course I have shelves filled with American authors from Julie Krantz to Dan Brown.
Lately, I have recieved a few reviews on my latest project and the one that seems to crop up most; are the amount of Americanisms I've adopted sub-consciously.

Not that im saying Americanisms aren't cool. No, I love half of my weird and wonderful sayings that some people just don't 'get' - family included. But as someone who wants to be recognised at a British author, it's a little frustrating to write and then read over my workings to find that I had written 'gotten' as opposed to 'become'.

I think I can safely say that I've learned something from this experience though.

First Look: Beneath the Door - CHAPTER EXTRACT.

“I’m dreaming aren’t I?”

The blonde girl momentarily looked up from the freshly made daisy chain between her slender white fingers.

“What makes you think that?” She smiled sweetly, lips as rosy as her cheeks.

“The sheer fact I’m dreaming about someone I hardly know. Someone I met in the storeroom

of a mental institution. What does that say about me?” I could have smacked myself.

Rebecca’s ice cold eyes danced with amusement. She continued her daisy chain, humming under her breath as her fingers expertly tied each small flower to another.

“Don’t blame me. This is your dream.”

“Do me a favour and get out then.” I spat and moodily began to tear handfuls of lush green grass from the field we were sat in. A cool breeze swept over the cliff tops from the cerulean sea somewhere down below and carried the sound of seagulls and crickets singing, whilst the sun beat down comfortably from ahead.

To the left, was the big white door that I had long since given up trying to open. Rebecca finished her flowery new accessory and hung it proudly around her pale neck, surrounded by waves of her luxurious blonde curls.

I scowled at my strands of flat auburn hair and bitter-down nails.

“You need to relax.” Rebecca sighed. Even her sighs sounded musical.

“Sure, no problem. Attempted murder victim, psychologically damaged and socially handicapped. But I’ll stand over there and recite ‘knock-knock’ jokes, shall I?”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Mature. No - I mean you need to stop thinking and start living."

“I haven’t killed anyone yet. I think that’s a job well done if you ask me.” Who was she to start trying to be my personal life coach? I already had one annoyingly-enthusiastic blonde in my life. I didn’t want to start collecting them.

“Don’t you see? You’re so wrapped up in the injustice of what has happened, that you aren’t even bothering to live!”

“I am living!” I snarled. “Don’t dare try and tell me how I feel.” I was thoroughly tired and wound up. Rebecca barely battered an eyelid at my extremely crap mood and laid back on her hands, stretching and wiggling her naked toes in the long grass.

“I was just making an observation.” She sang quietly.

“Well, don’t. Keep it to yourself. Get out of my dream.” I rolled over onto my other side and viciously tore more grass from the field, balling it together in my hands. Silence gratefully filled the space and I stupidly thought for a second, that she actually listened to me.

Golden hair invaded my face, my eyes. She was stood above me, ice blue eyes gleaming under the thick curtain of her hair. She pierced me with those eyes and stripped me bare to my very core. I was both utterly bewildered and terrified at once.

“If you want things to change.. You change.” She whispered. “This concerns more than just yourself now.” Rebecca grabbed my arms with cold prying vice-like fingers and prodded me towards the door. For a fleeting moment, I thought she was going to kill me.

Her blue eyes softened, she smiled ruefully. “I’m not your enemy.”

“You aren’t a friend, either.”

Pink lips curled upwards. “I’m not a friend.”

Comments, opinions, feedback? Leave them in the comments below and thank you for reading!

- Holly

Does a degree define your skill?

We have all been there. Throw yourself back into the last months of mandatory schooling - that freaky feeling where you are on the very edge of the world and about to take the last breath and jump head fast into reality. Those who are confident of what they would like to do career-wise, fall into safety nets on the way down, whilst you're left free-falling and wondering where you would like to land. Years pass by, you've done nothing that you wanted to do and you're feeling panicked as life trickles by.

For those few lucky people who have fallen into nets and have ended up going to University and obtaining themselves a shiny new English or Creative Writing degree - well done you guys, you worked hard and was rewarded for it! But what about those who neither had the choice nor the money to be able to work for a degree? Does that make them any less of a writer?

Reading a LOT of literature in my 20 years on this little planet, I have read amazing works from both sides of the spectrum. But I never once noticed purely from the content, who was the Author with the full education and who ended up in full time employment. 

But DOES a degree define your skill as a writer?

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

- Holly

Self Publishing versus 'The Good Old Fashioned Way'

If you're a keen writer/novelist/poet - or whatever you want to call yourself - you have successfully stayed in touch with the fast news and goings-on within the literary world - go you!

The act of Self-publishing has always had a negative edge to it. Publishing your own book? PAH. That just means that you aren't good enough to be properly taken on by a wildly amazing publishing house! Right?

No, wrong. Sooooo wrong.

In fact, more and more writers are now considering the option of taking their works into their owns hands and going that extra mile to do all of the hard slogging themselves. Aided by a literary consultant or Self-publishing houses, and of course a fair amount of money - it is becoming increasingly common to self publish.

Of course it will not completely take away the stigma, nor the fear of failure and a lot of hard work should the venture fail, writers are now keen to take their future into their own hands and make the dream a reality.

Admittedly, I have been doing research on the same issue. Yesterday after a long day at work, a literary agent from Author House called me and we discussed the highs and pitfalls (although declined to discuss pricing at this stage, there's a shocker).

The point is - dont be afraid to avoid the conventional route and shy away from hundreds of possible rejections from publishing houses. Do a little research into taking the time to control your own journey, and see where it takes you.

- H x

Beneath the Door.

'Sup!

Which translates to 'what's up' for those of you, who aren't 'down with the kids'. Maybe you'll surprise the young'uns with your new found language skills the next time they spout endless reams of unidentifiable syllables. Enjoy the blank stare you'll receive - half full of confusion and contempt for you.

But anyway, moving on.

As mentioned in my previous posting, I wanted to get my latest Story 'out there'. This ideally would be the first book I would like to get published, although being a young inexperienced author - it will be a lot of work I imagine. Someone suggested I should also create a Google+ page in terms of marketing (I rely way too much on Facebook and Linkedin!) Although I've always silently hated the idea of Google+ - has anyone tried it and/or can recommend it to be worth while?

Right well, my latest workings I've decided to title 'Beneath the Door' - Why did I decide on it? Well, you'll have to read it to find out ;)

The story circulates around my protagonist - Terin. A young woman plagued by fears, emotion and amnesia, this is her journey to not only to find 'herself' but to solve a few personal mysteries as well. This is the admittedly the darkest thing that has fallen out of my mind and onto paper, with also a few of my own personal elements interjected as well (couldn't resist!) 

The orginal story for this came about whist I was in Primary School, although it was almost a completely different plot. A couple of years ago, I was stuck for inspiration and thought that I wanted to continue this further, thus over the many months that have flown by, I had tossed around ideas and possible scenarios - now only sitting down properly to do it justice and write the thing!

So what have I learned from this experience?

Don't procrastinate, If you want to write a good story - sit down and get on with the damn thing!

- H x

Update.

I write this to you sat in a semi-melting Dentist surgery, watching as the other half gets his mouth hacked into and I, watching amused from the other side of the room with a bag of sweets. What a rebel.

So how has my writing been lately? Pretty sparse to be fair. I have been lax with updating my personal archives with the amount of things that have happened as of late. But that's cool, I will get my groove back soon!

Which brings me onto my next point - as this is my very own blog with entirely my own material and inner-thinkings, i can shamelessly plug my own work! Yay!

My latest project has led me to an entirely different genre that i haven't explored before - Psychological Thriller. Out of my comfort zone and armed with good ideas, good characters and an exciting plot - I am about 12 chapters into the first draft and counting. Woah.

I will post a description and a snippet of it soon for you guys, watch this space!

Until then however, please enjoy this doodling of me at my desk.

Over and out.
- H x

Starting Out.

(Cue really dramatic opening film music)

Hi Guys!

..

Yeah that was actually my well though-out attempt at a good opening for my first official blog. Creative huh?

Well I've finally found some time within my work/family/other half-filled life to actually sit down and take this writing thing seriously. Although I do wish that this room wasn't currently melting around me with mid-summers' heat - It's making me feel sleepy and lethargic - not a good combo for an aspiring young author I reckon.

So yes anyway, back to the point of this fantastic new page - This, ladies and gentlemen is the start of my journey to setting out what I've always wanted to go - become a writer. (I've left out the 'successful and rich' aspirations for my new career *sad face*)

What's that I hear you cry? It's a tough ol' line of work? Why yes there Jimmy, it is. But admittedly it's one that I've always wanted to follow ever since I was old enough to grasp a pencil in my chubby hand and attack any sort of writing surface with - thus, this will be my unedited, undiluted truth of the highs and the lows of being a budding young writer.

It's scary, new, big and blood sweat and tears will be spilled. Who said that writing was boring and unexciting?!

But I'm taking you all with me.

Good luck Holly!

- H x