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 | 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.
The end of British summer time
Yes, it’s the end of British summer time this weekend. We move our clocks back one hour and get up an hour later! Officially, the clocks are changed at 2am on Sunday morning. Unofficially, mine will be changed when I get around to it. It was cold getting up at eight o’clock this morning, it will be worse tomorrow.
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 | 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.
Weekend roundup
This week has been interesting, with news that the building industry is supposed to get a boost from government. More interesting was news from the European Central Bank, that helped stock markets around the world to recover a little. The big news though, was the rain has stopped!
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.
This weeks amazing ideas
When I start a blog, I have to think of a title and then what picture to begin with. It’s not easy! This photo is of the Manor House in West Bromwich, it’s now a museum and open to the public on some afternoons. People overseas keep telling me they want to come and see the places that I photograph. Maybe the Tourist Board should sponsor one of my blogs!
How to write a novel | Colloquialisms
For weeks now I’ve been developing my story about Nick, who has lost his parents in a car accident in California. He decided to sell up and go on a road trip around the English Countryside. I’m getting a little inspiration from the photographs that I took on Sunday. This is as close to the English Countryside that I get!
How to write a novel | character development
If you’re new to my Wednesday blog about writing, the story so far is about Nick. Nick goes on a road trip after the death of his parents and meets Lily, an American from New England who he forms a love-hate relationship with. Most of the story will take place in the English Countryside. I have a picture of a village green in my mind and a village cricket match. They play cricket on the field in the picture and wear whites, it is far removed from a village green, but the scene looks a little like that on a summer’s day. You need imagination to set the scene and the characters; that is what writing is all about. The child who once looked out of the window in the school classroom and daydreamed, often grows up to be the aspiring writer.
How to write a novel | relationships
If you have followed my blog about writing fiction, then you know the story so far. Nick lives in Birmingham, England in his late parents house, near the airport. His parents were killed in a horrible accident while on holiday in America and Nick is now traumatised by those events. He travelled to America to bring his parents home and now hates all things American. He travels around England in a campervan until he meets Lily, a young American woman and forms a love-hate relationship. (more…)
How to write a novel | transatlantic ideas
If you have followed my blog about writing fiction, then you know the story so far. Nick lives in Birmingham, England in his late parents house, near the airport. His parents were killed in a horrible accident while on holiday in America and Nick is now traumatised by those events. He travelled to America to bring his parents home and now hates all things American. He is quite well off, having inherited his parents home and benefited from their insurance. Now he wants to run away and find adventure. He has bought a 30 foot long camper van and has decided to sell everything and drive around the English Countryside and look for adventure. (more…)
How to write a novel | English Countryside
If you are following this series of blog about writing fiction. You will know the story so far. Nick’s parents were killed in America and he now hates all things American. He is going to sell everything and travel around the English countryside, until me meets an American woman and forms a love-hate relationship with her. I think that gives us a basis for a romantic adventure with lots of twists and turns. I still need a name for the woman and I need a starting point for this journey. (more…)
How to write a novel | The story so far
If you have read the previous blogs in this series on how to write a novel you will know that I have some ideas for a novella. The story so far is about Nick, who is an only child and has lost his parents in a terrible accident while they were on holiday in America. He now hates all things American and has decided to get away from it all and travel around England in his camper van. Is he looking for something or running away from something? Maybe both? He does odd jobs on his travels using his skills as a gardener and handyman. He then meets a girl and forms a love-hate relationship with her. She is American! What is her name? I have one suggestion so far; Mauve. Well, I suppose it colourful… (more…)
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