How to write a memoire
A guest post by Fairy Dharawat
Mémoire writing always fascinates me. Reading your memoire is like a time capsule – a peek in to your past at a particular time. It is interesting to write about a part of your life which gives you a glimpse of how you have grown. There are many sites that talk about how you can write a memoire and here I give a brief on memoire writing and what it means to write the story of a small part of your life. Let’s talk of memoire writing and how fun and important it can be.
Imagination and creativity
I took this photograph on Sunday of the Ridgacre canal. Not very pretty is it? But look again and use your imagination. What would it look like in summer? If the canal was cleaned out and fish added and then a waterfront cafe built and some other features, would you visit? How about apartments overlooking the waterfront?
How to start a blog
If you want to start a blog, you have to think about a few things. You are going to be publishing articles and maybe photographs too. You can choose a number of ways to do it. I use WordPress but I have used Blogger. You also have to think about who will read your blog. Who will your articles appeal to?
How to write a story
You can write a story about anything. Even something as mundane as going to the supermarket. If you want to write fiction, then writing a short story can be a good way of starting. You can make it a few thousand words or very short and try to pack it into 500 words.
Writing for an emotional response
Whatever you are writing, you want some kind of emotional response from your reader. You want them to say to themselves, ‘that’s clever’ or ‘that’s funny’. Better still, you hope they will share their thoughts with their friends.
Walsall author on the radio
You might remember that I mentioned Martin Webb’s novel last month when he gave away Kindle copies of one of his novels from the Jake West trilogy. You can now hear Martin on the radio talking about writing and publishing his novels. That will be on radio WM tomorrow about 11am. You can listen to that on-line tomorrow. (more…)
How to write fiction
Usually on a Wednesday, I do my how to write a novel articles. If you want to write fiction, it can be a good idea to start with short stories. You can make a plan of what you intend to write. I wanted to write a short story for Christmas and I wanted it to be funny. (more…)
How to write a novel | Ideas
If you have been following my series of articles on ‘how to write a novel’ you’ll know I’m writing a short novel, a ‘novella’ about a love-hate relationship between a young Englishman, Nick and a young American, Lily from New England. Last week Nick got dismissed from his job as assistant gardener by Terrance, the Lord of the Manor.
How to write a novel | the ante climax
If you are following my series of articles on how to write a novel, you’ll know my story is about Nick and Lily. They have formed a sort of love-hate relationship. This isn’t a thriller, we don’t want car chases or murders in the story, but we want a little excitement and a few twists and turns
How to write a novel | antagonism
If you have been following my story, you will know it’s about Nick, who went travelling in a camper van, after his parents were killed in a car accident. He met Lily, an American and formed a love-hate relationship. He is now working as an assistant gardener for Terrance Knight, the Lord of the Manor.
How to write a novel | different scenes
If you’re following my story about Nick and Lily, you will know that the narrator is telling the story. There are different scenes, when dialogue between the different characters, adds to the story. So far I’ve concentrated on telling the reader about what happens to Nick. I can have scenes that don’t feature Nick, but feature Lily instead.
How to write a novel | Inspiration
If you’re following my story about Nick and Lily, you will know they have travelled by camper van to Shropshire where Lily is staying with her friend from her university days. She is staying in the lodge of a country estate with Victoria and her grandparents Matt and Margaret; while Nick stays in the camper van. I’ve started today with a woodland picture for inspiration.
Name that river!
I used a photo from last year to start today’s blog. We haven’t had very much sunshine this year. Locals can try to guess where it is and the name of the river. We only have one river though so if that isn’t enough of a challenge, check out the flood light in the background between the trees. Where is that? (more…)
How to write a novel | creating a mood
If you’re following my blogs about writing a novel, you’ll know my story is about Nick. His parents were killed in a car crash in America and he went on a road trip in a camper can. He met Lily on his travels and they have formed a love-hate relationship.
How to write a novel | grammatical tense
If you’re following my blogs about writing a novel, you will know that the story I’m writing is about Nick and Lily. Nick’s parents were killed in a car accident while on holiday in America. He took to the road in a campervan and met Lily, a brash American. They are opposites but attracted to one another and so have a love-hate relationship.
How to write a novel | Writers block
If you’re following my story about Nick and Lily, you’ll know that they have a love-hate relationship. Nick is typically English and Lily is American and almost his opposite. I need humorous dialogue between Nick and Lily, but I can’t think of any. Is it writer’s block? Do I need to be inspired? Maybe, I am approaching the problem wrongly.
How to write a novel | comedy dialogue
If you’re following my story about Nick and Lily and their love-hate relationship, you will know that they went to visit Victoria, Lily’s friend from university. Mr Knight is the Lord of the Manor and Nick has a job working for him as an assistant gardener. The comedy must come in the dialogue between the characters and most of all in the dialogue between Nick and Lily. I need an event to trigger some dialogue.
How to write a novel | suspense
If you’re following my story of the love-hate relationship between Nick and Lily, you’ll know that they have travelled in the camper van to Shropshire and Nick has been taken on as an assistant gardener working at a big house. The Lord of the Manor is Mr Knight, the antagonist in our story.
How to write a novel: narration and dialogue
If you are following my story, you will know it’s about the love-hate relationship between Nick and Lily. Nick is typically English and reserved; Lily is typically American and extrovert. Nick’s parents were killed in an accident, he felt alone and set off in a camper van to tour England. He didn’t get very far before he met Lily.
How to write a novel and make it plausible
If you’re following these blogs about writing a novel, then you will know the story is about Nick and Lily. Nick is typically English and a little reserved and Lily is American and extrovert. So far they have travelled in Nick’s camper van to Shropshire in England, after being thrown together by circumstances. That sounds plausible, doesn’t it?
How to write a novel | Imaginary names
If you have been following my series of blogs about how to write a novel, you will know the story so far. Last week Nick and Lily were on their way to see Lily’s university friend Victoria who lives with her grandparents in a gatehouse to a country estate. I have used a picture of a Manor House, this week for a little inspiration. I imagine the Manor House on the estate to be a little like this. An old black and white building and the gatehouse would be very similar except very much smaller.
How to write a novel | Character development
Last week in my how to write a novel series, I looked at the emotions of my characters. This week I want to develop a new character. You might remember that Nick and Lily have formed a love-hate relationship and are on the road in a camper van; having stopped off at Nick’s house where they spent the night together. I shall be going back to that and developing that part of the story. Now they are on their way to meet Victoria, Lily’s friend from university.
How to write a novel | Emotions
If you read last week’s post then you will know that my protagonist, Nick has met Lily and they are forming a love-hate relationship. They decided to stop at Nick’s home in Birmingham on the way to see Lily’s university friend, Vicky. People are interested in people, what they do and how they feel. Writing a novel is about people’s emotions. This one is meant to be humorous, but doesn’t need to be a laugh a minute. The drive along the motorway would give a lot of opportunities for humorous dialogue.
How to write a novel | the ante climax
If you’re following my story about Nick on his road trip. You will know that his parents died in a terrible road accident in California. He has meets Lily on his road trip and forms a love-hate relationship with her. We have to have an introduction of some kind, then the story moving towards a climax and finally the ending. The anti climax is a bit of excitement, before the climax of the story.
