tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90411146710587140182024-03-14T03:10:45.878+00:00PAT NEWCOMBE, RomanticThriller Writer's blog, (aka writing saved my life)I blog about writing romantic thrillers - and sometimes things that go bump in the night! Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.comBlogger237125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-85740683828861682402015-05-17T11:55:00.003+01:002015-05-17T11:55:51.478+01:00T is for Terror
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NX-IVm-mb5zSncd30URIeFIK57BOaMYkxa7F5PzV5uq_XdQzy7lqYKjRoQUkV8f4ceL162drOFW9q6vMF6KCK5PUWu-DNy1Zym1jXtERW_Xfm2ZGBhXYohiMXm4vINrUUcw1nFO72SbH/s1600/MP900414035%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NX-IVm-mb5zSncd30URIeFIK57BOaMYkxa7F5PzV5uq_XdQzy7lqYKjRoQUkV8f4ceL162drOFW9q6vMF6KCK5PUWu-DNy1Zym1jXtERW_Xfm2ZGBhXYohiMXm4vINrUUcw1nFO72SbH/s200/MP900414035%5B1%5D.jpg" width="158" /></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Terror, according to my dictionary is the feeling/emotion
of great fear. I imagine it to be fear almost at the point of paralysis… A
frightening place indeed. ..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">No one word sums up the aim of thriller/horror writing
as this one word does. All horror stories aim to engender this feeling of fear
in the reader and the most successful stories do just that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQLQqeK2HKaZ8FIiGrqGq_SKpl1DoUZQY6xxgC6XITQNI4TJmU3jH1VbqzzyrrMrrhn03YGPy0j66vX5nhZ_eqYgwbEzsNMj3m7Um2ySKiQb1gLJ2Y9QlKeeBN9btY4PV-AXkr1qyLszf/s1600/MC900445027%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQLQqeK2HKaZ8FIiGrqGq_SKpl1DoUZQY6xxgC6XITQNI4TJmU3jH1VbqzzyrrMrrhn03YGPy0j66vX5nhZ_eqYgwbEzsNMj3m7Um2ySKiQb1gLJ2Y9QlKeeBN9btY4PV-AXkr1qyLszf/s200/MC900445027%5B1%5D.jpg" width="154" /></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Fear is one of the strongest emotions and it creates a
powerful response; it is a fail safe for humans to alert them to danger and
ready their bodies for ‘fight, flight or freeze’. You can see where this comes
from in prehistoric man, when faced with a threat they either had to run for
their lives, stood and fought, or froze to make themselves invisible to
predators (rather like rabbits in the headlights). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The hormone responsible for this mechanism is
adrenalin and we produce it whenever we feel scared or afraid. It readies our
muscles for action (wobbly legs and shaking), it revs up our heart pump
(pounding pulse) and increases our breathing rate ready to supply extra oxygen
to the large muscles of the legs. Our eyes open wide ready spot the danger and
our brains and senses become extra sharp. Skin tightens and pales as blood is
diverted away to the major muscles and our stomachs contract down so as to not
interfere with the process. All major organs of survival go on high alert.
Adrenalin can even make the bowel and bladder muscles relax involuntarily. Fear
is so powerful that it can be totally disabling in the wrong circumstance i.e
when the body is not under threat but nevertheless the emotion is running amok
and irrational fears/terrors are born. (Terrified people are generally those
who are so disabled by fear that they literally freeze.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">It is also true that people can become addicted to
adrenalin. They love the ‘high’ it produces and search for ways to initiate
this response, for example, putting one’s life at risk by participating in
dangerous sports.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">But for most people, the way they get their thrills is
by watching a high action/scary/ movie or reading a book that’s full of
jeopardy and danger. They can imagine themselves in the risky situation and
that is enough to produce the adrenalin response. This is why people watch and
read thrillers – that is the thrill – but in a safe way. In other words people
want to be scared!! Then, when they come out of the reading experience, they
can feel relief that what they read was not real and return to their everyday
world feeling safe and secure.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAWWUqLLZxtxjX8aSnZ_y42TnTARJinmvpRNaxoxlnRxQfuZheHNhoQPEDl_l_A3mHAbHqFlMn94JHeUwnWtqM1b8-Ug6oCf-NYqHZAGiVwHgOnQ8iW9KxxiGsr4NvOr_rBIUKXxvMm2b/s1600/MP900315650%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAWWUqLLZxtxjX8aSnZ_y42TnTARJinmvpRNaxoxlnRxQfuZheHNhoQPEDl_l_A3mHAbHqFlMn94JHeUwnWtqM1b8-Ug6oCf-NYqHZAGiVwHgOnQ8iW9KxxiGsr4NvOr_rBIUKXxvMm2b/s200/MP900315650%5B1%5D.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The way I see it, the fiction writer’s (or thriller
writer’s) job is to increase suspense and ratchet up the tension to produce
that feeling of fear, usually empathising with the main character. So the
reader is in a steady state of fight or flight waiting for…. Whatever!</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">As Alfred Hitchcock said, “There is no terror in a
bang, only in the anticipation of it.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">So, what do you think? Are you scared reading
thrillers? Do you feel ‘terror’ or is your emotional response a little less
scary? </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-30104155544838275952015-05-05T16:54:00.002+01:002015-05-05T16:54:29.761+01:00Premonitions and Prophecies.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYKBsPoV9pwVkEi2cgpcAaIGLu4QvEN2wtjlGa1EdfDHnvoalOvr-MakuWEOow1hfIZncyFTAgVPpc7zfFGwyaQL_O1xy-CweGh__R3H_XvTESapz1g_uXZkPHDfuk6Decuz559XtGxOg/s1600/MP910221032%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYKBsPoV9pwVkEi2cgpcAaIGLu4QvEN2wtjlGa1EdfDHnvoalOvr-MakuWEOow1hfIZncyFTAgVPpc7zfFGwyaQL_O1xy-CweGh__R3H_XvTESapz1g_uXZkPHDfuk6Decuz559XtGxOg/s1600/MP910221032%5B1%5D.jpg" height="185" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Premonitions may be quite a useful tool in thriller writing. They
can and do indicate future things (usually going horribly wrong) - and they are often
arbiters of death, dying or some other catastrophic event.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Premonitions fascinate us because our understanding of how
things can be foretold (or foreseen) without the aid of the usual human senses
does not lie within the normal limits of our innate abilities. How can a person
look into the future and – some would say - why would a person want to look
into the future? </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Through the ages, from time immemorial, there are countless
instances and stories about premonitions and seeing future events that could
not possibly have been foreseen. Or so it seems…</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think most of us would agree that there are stories where
we are stumped for answers and a quick straw poll of any largish group of
people would, I am sure, come up with one or two stories that defy the laws of
existence. And it all adds to the mystery…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the most famous people who claimed to foresee the
future was, of course, Nostradamus. His writings and prophecies are with us
still today – 500 years later. When I looked up his work and his life I found
the following:</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemxzRTxs_pFwFQb50SHfnkMYnF9l-FRudctVGy254G-3PgV_sIul71yowZLZY7sMO9MNQlwythHCSqgPg_2kXhlZuRFs_gZmd2Gy9FhSGeTZDs2HUYMbcsjduMqgK2pvBQbiZws3bwGyq/s1600/nostradamus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemxzRTxs_pFwFQb50SHfnkMYnF9l-FRudctVGy254G-3PgV_sIul71yowZLZY7sMO9MNQlwythHCSqgPg_2kXhlZuRFs_gZmd2Gy9FhSGeTZDs2HUYMbcsjduMqgK2pvBQbiZws3bwGyq/s1600/nostradamus.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Recent research
suggests that much of Nostradamus’ prophetic work paraphrases collections of
ancient ‘end of the world’ prophecies (mainly Bible-based), supplemented with
references to historical events and anthologies of omen reports. He then
projects those into the future in part with the aid of comparative horoscopy.
Hence the many predictions involving ancient figures such as Sulla, Gaius
Marius, and Nero, as well as his descriptions of "battles in the
clouds" and "frogs falling from the sky."<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But even when all
the charlatans are taken out of the equations we still remain fascinated with
the idea that some people can predict the future and some ordinary people can
have ‘once in a lifetime’ premonitions ( especially about a loved one). </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoi0fD9oJFSDZzxV6aaI7yQ4ewLFTRfbREj1hFOK9cetGzl5Mha83qCGw7tbuNvbAlUzy8qYw9mG5gqGevBBJs5CjPN9heSusUBso8KtIzhP1bSW-DTh6pG_xb5Jgw2URAZZHHIWfIgS_/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoi0fD9oJFSDZzxV6aaI7yQ4ewLFTRfbREj1hFOK9cetGzl5Mha83qCGw7tbuNvbAlUzy8qYw9mG5gqGevBBJs5CjPN9heSusUBso8KtIzhP1bSW-DTh6pG_xb5Jgw2URAZZHHIWfIgS_/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" /></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In my own writing
(<a href="http://tinyurl.com/mcry9kb" target="_blank">The Witcheye Gene</a>) I used the concept for one of my characters but the visions
only came about because of a particular familial characteristic of different colour
eyes. And it was quite limited otherwise it can seem contrived and in the worst
way seem like a ‘deus ex machina’ . But I did find it quite fascinating to
research and include it in my plot. It actually ratcheted up the tension when
one person could foresee something but no one else believed</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
them. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So do you use the idea of premonitions in your writing?</span></span><br />
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-75676717160134158522015-04-07T11:30:00.003+01:002015-04-07T11:30:43.939+01:00Expecting the Unexpected.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVux7LtiagerbY3rh4DnRRymsUVSAQBdj8bsjRW4jGxn92rSKiBX6CkvPaSMcOin8GQkcq4hd1J2ZJYOA1zADDrT80aeYWAspxR7YR5Kyi4hyphenhyphen7rGrt9rDrwYiYgoLTue98oXG6Ce0ZJsIv/s1600/tales+of+the+unexpected.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVux7LtiagerbY3rh4DnRRymsUVSAQBdj8bsjRW4jGxn92rSKiBX6CkvPaSMcOin8GQkcq4hd1J2ZJYOA1zADDrT80aeYWAspxR7YR5Kyi4hyphenhyphen7rGrt9rDrwYiYgoLTue98oXG6Ce0ZJsIv/s1600/tales+of+the+unexpected.png" height="241" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of my all time favourite programmes from the late 70’s was
Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected. The music for that series still lingers
in my mind and although I can no longer remember much about the stories I do
recall being fascinated by the unexpected endings. I spent most of the
programme trying to second guess what the ending would be.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHeLkmK6jiThHjNYeRqBQsDUbU-9VA5WIwSqENoUhq4x9HAuIFEQ1yc-6DoXkIBxgmcNyFTbGLpaND1Ekm6aYbEBNMC8MXYUH_JwlWEpZpavyZvKSyw5M7QAUe0UH__rgbhYApd2TMt4fn/s1600/Roald_Dahl01%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHeLkmK6jiThHjNYeRqBQsDUbU-9VA5WIwSqENoUhq4x9HAuIFEQ1yc-6DoXkIBxgmcNyFTbGLpaND1Ekm6aYbEBNMC8MXYUH_JwlWEpZpavyZvKSyw5M7QAUe0UH__rgbhYApd2TMt4fn/s1600/Roald_Dahl01%5B1%5D.JPG" height="200" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roald Dahl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What a great writer Roald Dahl was – and not only of
children’s stories. The unexpected twist ending is still something that totally
captivates me when I read a new story. Even if the story itself has been a
little humdrum – if there is a good twist ending that I never guessed, it will
leave me with the belief that it was a great story and I will have a wondrous
smile on my face. How could I not have guessed, I will say to myself… And
sometimes I even go through the story to check where I missed the signpost. For
there should always be a sign post of some description but it does not have to
be (nor should it be) obvious. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWwhb4GcZDELM-AuMRoTqYFb8zdeqBHh-rpaiyFConQnas3U3g8HjkGQruBreGDwgHVTv55AYC8ltLGzQ48jVdLD8AXXkbltIj2fGKjI1njbLHNnuQrF8mCM47v5se53FlK8-8in5Rr3r/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWwhb4GcZDELM-AuMRoTqYFb8zdeqBHh-rpaiyFConQnas3U3g8HjkGQruBreGDwgHVTv55AYC8ltLGzQ48jVdLD8AXXkbltIj2fGKjI1njbLHNnuQrF8mCM47v5se53FlK8-8in5Rr3r/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Twist endings are difficult to pull off as so many writers
either signpost too obviously or not at all. Then the reader feels cheated if
it comes totally out of the blue – how could they have spotted it, they ask?
That twist also needs to be believable according to the plot of the story. For
instance you cannot have a character suddenly exhibiting a trait at the end of
a story that was not there in the rest of the story. “Able to jump tall
buildings and save the day” kind of thing…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have tried to do twist endings in many of my own short
stories and also tried it in a novel. It is infinitely more difficult in a
novel but it is possible. I’m never too sure if it worked well in my own novel
(The Witcheye Gene) but readers have told me they did not guess who the villain
was until towards the end. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrj6vWyCLlbYCtSGNsMTtQxkNvCNOTYqi_nzpVhEIsk52Lrk4NHnK5O0C_Ni7wxCqgmSBpEyXum8rPiXd3pMaTyXudisxF0jPP5IyfMWT1IjSJpml-_qsTJLFjmH1UpbLeXpvn3OWIZRc/s1600/MC900444645%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrj6vWyCLlbYCtSGNsMTtQxkNvCNOTYqi_nzpVhEIsk52Lrk4NHnK5O0C_Ni7wxCqgmSBpEyXum8rPiXd3pMaTyXudisxF0jPP5IyfMWT1IjSJpml-_qsTJLFjmH1UpbLeXpvn3OWIZRc/s1600/MC900444645%5B1%5D.jpg" height="154" width="200" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Memo to self – read Dahl’s tales of the unexpected again!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do you try to use twist endings? Are you good at disguising
them?</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-55902305875502402442015-03-15T11:07:00.003+00:002015-04-07T11:11:55.409+01:00<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Light bulb
Moments on Dark Themes<o:p></o:p></span></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So where do the
ideas come from? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSArrAqgXmG7tTjxgdxNt7Fk2E8VkC0FUuYhHfJyVdnAysT9g8WRYgyaKiYxMP7On5P4Hw0fBxEw8wSIQDf7he3JSuGdVg2AX9WVzKeS31i0XW3K0yysf09F8XH5NjMlaTRI_ULFnb8CVD/s1600/DSC00045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSArrAqgXmG7tTjxgdxNt7Fk2E8VkC0FUuYhHfJyVdnAysT9g8WRYgyaKiYxMP7On5P4Hw0fBxEw8wSIQDf7he3JSuGdVg2AX9WVzKeS31i0XW3K0yysf09F8XH5NjMlaTRI_ULFnb8CVD/s1600/DSC00045.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It is a question
I often get asked - as does every other writer. But for the writer of
horror/supernatural stories the questioners are even more fascinated by how or
why the ideas strike. The answer, of course is they come out of my imagination
but they may have been sparked by something I have seen, heard or experienced.
Or sometimes tiny nubs just appear from apparently nowhere… But I don’t believe
they are apropos of nothing, they have just oozed up from my subconscious.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps I can
give an example of how it worked for me with one project.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The original
idea for my latest book “The Afterlife of Darkmares” came to me from apparently
nothing?? I had been tossing around some occult-type romance ideas that might seem
fairly believable when the thing suddenly presented itself. It was simply an
image and I can still clearl<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">y</i> remember
the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘eureka’ feeling it gave me. The
picture in my mind was of a 12 year old boy standing rigidly in a graveyard,
hands by his sides, his glossy black hair - pageboy style -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gleaming in the sunlight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His clothes were old fashioned – as if he’d
stepped out of the pages of some 60’s magazine. He wore a buttoned up paisley shirt,
a hand-knitted waistcoat and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>smart black
trousers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was something very off
centre about him… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDfMbEgwaDdRA3JSRiKoHR6XFxgVp0V9V3cJK3EJN-vMM8Wk5P-3g4i0nz6nycjQbyeDhCYAeTM3GnCchuQwuOguYTOR2RIYSsePG1wiv0butKOOsJkgLNe0zL0uWkMM87SD3NwUdIJy0/s1600/The+Afterlife+cover+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDfMbEgwaDdRA3JSRiKoHR6XFxgVp0V9V3cJK3EJN-vMM8Wk5P-3g4i0nz6nycjQbyeDhCYAeTM3GnCchuQwuOguYTOR2RIYSsePG1wiv0butKOOsJkgLNe0zL0uWkMM87SD3NwUdIJy0/s1600/The+Afterlife+cover+pic.jpg" /></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Where that image
came from, I have no idea, but it must have arisen from something in my
subconscious mind.. The scene was so vivid I used it as a jumping off point for
my story. At that point I had no idea what my story would be about but I knew I
had to use that scene somehow. The boy is called Grif and he is central to the
story and the entire plot of the supernatural romantic thriller “The Afterlife of Darkmares.”</span></span></div>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I then used free writing to further explore and develop the idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I did this and the plot began to identify itself I became more and more excited and enthused by my slowly ripening story. For me this is the best part of writing a book. The creating of the story!!.</span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhigISX_734JOYjpmWMDarGYJkQcQJdrjXlfEVKLHQvaucnPL63eKu1i69uqnPD3C091pJfHdeHN292ldcYLaRV4ebFZ150MKjV_ytatNK92YZhZTBwHFtI7XBKsmHMW9Iu7R2H8HoQUSwl/s1600/240px-Eyam_Church_-_geograph_org_uk_-_21749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhigISX_734JOYjpmWMDarGYJkQcQJdrjXlfEVKLHQvaucnPL63eKu1i69uqnPD3C091pJfHdeHN292ldcYLaRV4ebFZ150MKjV_ytatNK92YZhZTBwHFtI7XBKsmHMW9Iu7R2H8HoQUSwl/s1600/240px-Eyam_Church_-_geograph_org_uk_-_21749.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eyam Church</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">These pictures are all from the real-life place that is the setting for the book and around which the plague village story is woven.</span></span></span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHC2PTxpvqE8EefF_frw4w_oybK28PCfr6ZKROcuSA9GQHLmLr-Z7GMgfZw1cp62xYedfRGy-l7AT2BVttjQUlUOze1z5v0Vzo8oJ6W14jAb3CuOR2Yfdxjc9g0vcieQgjvYjAtSwt10u6/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHC2PTxpvqE8EefF_frw4w_oybK28PCfr6ZKROcuSA9GQHLmLr-Z7GMgfZw1cp62xYedfRGy-l7AT2BVttjQUlUOze1z5v0Vzo8oJ6W14jAb3CuOR2Yfdxjc9g0vcieQgjvYjAtSwt10u6/s1600/untitled.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Plague cottages</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xN7_bVHYGCRjgCmEMO8IbC7zSJWoZbR_KK1Dzx_W_O_9JP7E6tj2qI0FnzqiEuP3cdEOkIseqOxUdQjNsavMKPcQhzIWbpld4M-NAqU1BqZqEL3vW5MEi6hDnYA5JQO0ntV6g2FvFz-N/s1600/240px-Celtic_Cross,_Eyam_churchyard_-_geograph_org_uk_-_50830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xN7_bVHYGCRjgCmEMO8IbC7zSJWoZbR_KK1Dzx_W_O_9JP7E6tj2qI0FnzqiEuP3cdEOkIseqOxUdQjNsavMKPcQhzIWbpld4M-NAqU1BqZqEL3vW5MEi6hDnYA5JQO0ntV6g2FvFz-N/s1600/240px-Celtic_Cross,_Eyam_churchyard_-_geograph_org_uk_-_50830.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Celtic Cross</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf3jyarpC6mN2agz5CWgM76EmzAnfSAHOviEuTt1dlxR9nbgPlq8cUK0oiIzKvwZTvxOjuGaGxJ5fw5fCh_LLfNdyRxy8SZIPLgj9s4Q8ehymmdPZhQbmC7qWWEmDun0L4t1yTO1ag8R7l/s1600/the+delf.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf3jyarpC6mN2agz5CWgM76EmzAnfSAHOviEuTt1dlxR9nbgPlq8cUK0oiIzKvwZTvxOjuGaGxJ5fw5fCh_LLfNdyRxy8SZIPLgj9s4Q8ehymmdPZhQbmC7qWWEmDun0L4t1yTO1ag8R7l/s1600/the+delf.png" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cucklett Delf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what is your favourite
part of writing a story? Do you dream up ideas or characters first?</span></span></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-4844545755093489092015-02-27T10:32:00.001+00:002015-02-27T10:33:49.680+00:00The Flawed Villain<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQLQqeK2HKaZ8FIiGrqGq_SKpl1DoUZQY6xxgC6XITQNI4TJmU3jH1VbqzzyrrMrrhn03YGPy0j66vX5nhZ_eqYgwbEzsNMj3m7Um2ySKiQb1gLJ2Y9QlKeeBN9btY4PV-AXkr1qyLszf/s1600/MC900445027%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQLQqeK2HKaZ8FIiGrqGq_SKpl1DoUZQY6xxgC6XITQNI4TJmU3jH1VbqzzyrrMrrhn03YGPy0j66vX5nhZ_eqYgwbEzsNMj3m7Um2ySKiQb1gLJ2Y9QlKeeBN9btY4PV-AXkr1qyLszf/s1600/MC900445027%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a> <span style="font-family: Calibri;">To say a villain in a thriller story is flawed is like
saying coal is black! </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course a villain is flawed, I hear you say, otherwise he
would be a pretty poor antagonist. A good villain has a personality that most
of us would not aspire to as he may be capable of the most dastardly acts. I am
however talking about a villain who may be flawed because he/she has some
decent human traits that show us he isn’t totally bad. The only villain who
could be said to be totally bad is the devil himself, I guess. Most others
started out as innocent babies and children but maybe something happened to
make them bad. Or maybe not – maybe they simply have more of the undesirable
human traits in their genetic make up. Nasty traits do exist to some extent in
all of us, but hopefully most people have control of those urges and anyway
have more humanity and caring for fellow humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">How villainous a character is depends mostly on the type of
story you are writing. If it is a love rival or a corporate executive he may
not be so nasty in all areas of his life but on the other hand if it is a
horror/supernatural villain he may have no redeeming features. For example a
bad character may be wicked and malicious to people but may love animals! In
this way he is a flawed character and not true to the caricature of evil which
we may assume him to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzReeu8XeH3RxYHNiVIrHnL_XijzbVKb08WNhRKkDmI0N7ouKXbr_PwoDRaCikSwEPgV3RDFz-kcyaqIiW9IIRofhv2Fuat5WWFLt5ZiB7gQtB779_eQLG6S7BIUg3FHNM7IfOo3OBRXk/s1600/MC900433191%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzReeu8XeH3RxYHNiVIrHnL_XijzbVKb08WNhRKkDmI0N7ouKXbr_PwoDRaCikSwEPgV3RDFz-kcyaqIiW9IIRofhv2Fuat5WWFLt5ZiB7gQtB779_eQLG6S7BIUg3FHNM7IfOo3OBRXk/s1600/MC900433191%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Always, when using
villains, a suitable adversary/hero is necessary and it is the juxtaposition of
their characters that allow the most conflict and tension in a story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hero who has faults is a much more
interesting character than the perfect boring type of individual. I think we
can relate better to </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">him because he is flawed – as we all are too. Similarly,
we all know people who we consider to be horrible individuals but we know
(maybe deep down) they will have some redeeming characteristics too.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3M3t0UqqKYNR_npT4-Zckb-mYGrxuJEgP-4e3TMafPyy1bVNQBHcgvFw46Whyphenhyphen20R9DlBNTs6Y15E23CCm-ag5SrpMC-d7Eh7gfkv5kHPBGJ3i4-Kvt72K5kE97tgu_6Cz6uoxfycNi0K/s1600/MP900444298%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3M3t0UqqKYNR_npT4-Zckb-mYGrxuJEgP-4e3TMafPyy1bVNQBHcgvFw46Whyphenhyphen20R9DlBNTs6Y15E23CCm-ag5SrpMC-d7Eh7gfkv5kHPBGJ3i4-Kvt72K5kE97tgu_6Cz6uoxfycNi0K/s1600/MP900444298%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me, giving my villains one redeeming human trait,
amongst all the vicious, nasty ones, makes them much more interesting ( and
indeed fun) and if their malevolent ways came about because of something that
happened to them – well, it just makes them all the more intriguing. Not nice
and not worth rooting for but maybe a little more human.</span><br />
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Do you give your villains redeeming traits?</div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9YZgtaMJ-_p5BL49sRBc7zyiaFOx4rHIODXSs4WT_ZbJKfGXrYR4ViywAxbsaVr-sdxaCoWqb3sTzJCooJwzLddzcmkl6Hz2gN7v5-hd4e-FjIreOrhMk6fR-omPRZ9lhWyBvrxz0XuQ/s1600/MP900401792%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9YZgtaMJ-_p5BL49sRBc7zyiaFOx4rHIODXSs4WT_ZbJKfGXrYR4ViywAxbsaVr-sdxaCoWqb3sTzJCooJwzLddzcmkl6Hz2gN7v5-hd4e-FjIreOrhMk6fR-omPRZ9lhWyBvrxz0XuQ/s1600/MP900401792%5B1%5D.jpg" height="320" width="264" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the things I found hard to get to grips with when I
first started writing thrillers was the idea of tension or conflict on almost
every page. ‘What, every page,’ I asked myself? Surely not…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But then I realised that the kind of reader I was aiming for
wanted and expected a thriller to be a fast-paced page turning epic that took
them on a roller coaster of a ride until they came to the satisfying ending.
Okay, perhaps not always that fast, but it is definitely a different kind of
read from a literary, Jane Austen - type story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One reason for this is that nowadays readers are also used
to watching movies and TV that fast cut to the action and leave little in –
between. When I am writing I visualise every scene as if I am watching a film
and I cut in and out as if I’m a film director. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9i6h2O_l8ThAj7u6aasgoy-Czmpf42k51zCZLOa-pThizEa8JOlzeDiC6H62t6Hs4YiRphxMUZfjk5P6r90FKy5Sd-7oP33Z9Cs5XecyPpcWqGlAAt6kwSwDNPqAiV8DyU5lo3gNBnilw/s1600/MP900341525%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9i6h2O_l8ThAj7u6aasgoy-Czmpf42k51zCZLOa-pThizEa8JOlzeDiC6H62t6Hs4YiRphxMUZfjk5P6r90FKy5Sd-7oP33Z9Cs5XecyPpcWqGlAAt6kwSwDNPqAiV8DyU5lo3gNBnilw/s1600/MP900341525%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="142" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am not saying that all types of fiction should be like
that – far from it - but if you are going to go with a genre you’d better give
it due thought. As to veer away from it, is bound to disappoint readers who
expect a certain kind of read with a certain kind of genre.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Seeing my story as a film may not always work out well but
it gives me a way forward, at least. I also try to infuse each scene with some
degree of tension even if it is only a character’s inner thoughts which may be
in turmoil. There are of course, other things that can add to tension such as
setting, weather and bigger picture happenings (e.g. war, plague or world
events).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMCmwfAV1H8Rci3bJKjaxWTSZpqnkamYZHtvy0gCm7w8QiYscK4kcXp4dn334svhx-hKR00ITI5-iUzNyACInd89cPgvzG7V_YGb-OxUjJB8bNLdtuY4VEGHVp7xgGC9BP3lXx0ZwvPrx/s1600/MP900321214%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMCmwfAV1H8Rci3bJKjaxWTSZpqnkamYZHtvy0gCm7w8QiYscK4kcXp4dn334svhx-hKR00ITI5-iUzNyACInd89cPgvzG7V_YGb-OxUjJB8bNLdtuY4VEGHVp7xgGC9BP3lXx0ZwvPrx/s1600/MP900321214%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="142" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Scene and chapter endings are also places where tension should
be enough to ensure a reader continues to read - in other words, the cliff
hanger ending. Not always easy, but one way is to leave a scene early in the
middle of conflict (and sometimes switching to another point in the story) so
that the reader must continue to read to find what happens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All if, buts and maybe’s you say… But that’s how I do it…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what about you? Do you cope well with tension and
conflict in your writing?</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-54231524475928057422015-02-07T15:37:00.002+00:002015-02-09T11:29:17.210+00:00Target practise?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlrIsi-IL8U07YOwXnQrCRCX4obUbqbqj88cDbExiIEiVQBx7rowDTbva3HfBjYy4mSgCLgplg-k271Y8xKJnhkULY-PGoS0yfrAxHhGmT4OtpwVfImaQhyphenhyphen-6s3NGFsl2kKsGo-yGEOD0/s1600/BBBB%5B5%5D%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlrIsi-IL8U07YOwXnQrCRCX4obUbqbqj88cDbExiIEiVQBx7rowDTbva3HfBjYy4mSgCLgplg-k271Y8xKJnhkULY-PGoS0yfrAxHhGmT4OtpwVfImaQhyphenhyphen-6s3NGFsl2kKsGo-yGEOD0/s1600/BBBB%5B5%5D%5B1%5D.jpg" height="320" width="294" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Target practise</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the things I slavishly try to follow is word counts.
I can no more give them up than I can just eat one small square of chocolate!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSyD75qdmeXHBNN3CYedxFekey3MFcGvIsh9VVaZlwOPoXkCwPBsJIxSe82NpilzYbIIALnD432wfYnbZv8lBjUAccFoF9M8PKhU83f2W7INHqSSPVuS5OX_QehVstK72wR43djDswYwN/s1600/write-vb%5B1%5D.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSyD75qdmeXHBNN3CYedxFekey3MFcGvIsh9VVaZlwOPoXkCwPBsJIxSe82NpilzYbIIALnD432wfYnbZv8lBjUAccFoF9M8PKhU83f2W7INHqSSPVuS5OX_QehVstK72wR43djDswYwN/s1600/write-vb%5B1%5D.gif" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I set a target for the week and then for each day depending
on what else may be required of me in terms of the rest of my life, and then I
go for it! You’d think that would be great, eh? Not a bit of it. You see for me
it’s all or nothing… If something gets in the way and I have less time, I will
abandon the day. It’s a case of ‘have a chance of getting there or not bother
at all’! Can’t be healthy can it? Once I start however it would have to be a
pretty serious emergency for me to forgo my target and settle for less. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my defence, I am
generally realistic with what I can achieve – I learnt a long time ago that not
being realistic was a sure fire recipe for disaster and next to know words done
at all!! My method does get me there though so I have learnt to trust my
instincts and respect my need for targets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think it may be the ‘tick off’ bit of my psyche that
controls this. I love’ to do’ lists and can’t help but experience a sense of
achievement when I tick something off. The word count sheet is similar and I
feel satisfied when I can tick off that I made my target. Mo matter if the
actual words are total garbage!! As someone said, elsewhere, you can’t revise
or edit something you’ve not actually put down on paper. Now that’s another
story…</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPFbVOXfmXta9tNix_LWOmKo4KPa1yMZpSsf-vlI1MK3UkZnbqLYxb8hPAH3jsx1YSkrP9sAiMUy4JYiJIoYqa2y2mjjK66rc9D13jSaUAyApXGXh_sZmYLQOLxmjrh1898vRMmXDFbvx/s1600/why-write-keynote-062013%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPFbVOXfmXta9tNix_LWOmKo4KPa1yMZpSsf-vlI1MK3UkZnbqLYxb8hPAH3jsx1YSkrP9sAiMUy4JYiJIoYqa2y2mjjK66rc9D13jSaUAyApXGXh_sZmYLQOLxmjrh1898vRMmXDFbvx/s1600/why-write-keynote-062013%5B1%5D.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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So do you make word count lists (or time spent lists) and then stick to them?</div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-21223812656966660462015-01-31T11:19:00.003+00:002015-01-31T11:19:50.232+00:00 Foreshadowing.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQGzdjUr9x_-e2UYOz6rRs4VkWJz6iY9obFIh57pLWIOIQzrjFCk3PtlJq25X20hWERAzWNbeSCOAlIU7CfhrjTDaktR6pRxQr4sAwnqziMmqdOwcJitRP0QDvAhTJa0ppP4kkpdRAiwv/s1600/MC900444858%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQGzdjUr9x_-e2UYOz6rRs4VkWJz6iY9obFIh57pLWIOIQzrjFCk3PtlJq25X20hWERAzWNbeSCOAlIU7CfhrjTDaktR6pRxQr4sAwnqziMmqdOwcJitRP0QDvAhTJa0ppP4kkpdRAiwv/s1600/MC900444858%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To foreshadow, according to my dictionary, means showing or
suggesting an event beforehand. It is a fabulous thing to use in thriller
writing and it can be used as much or as little as you like. It can be a very
slight hint or could be a full scale seeing the future in some form or another.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In terms of gendering suspense, I think it is invaluable. It
signifies to the reader that a particular thing is important and it raises
tension so that the reader keeps the pages turning. I think foreshadowing is
used to some degree or another in all romantic thrillers. It can be as subtle as an
atmosphere or as obvious as a piece of information or an object of interest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As writers we may shorten sentences and paragraphs, speed up
speech and ratchet up the action to indicate that things are rising to a climax
or something important is about to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In films, we are all familiar with the notion of background music
telegraphing turning an ordinary event into something sinister. This too is
foreshadowing although one could think of it as creating a sense of foreboding.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1LhXj1RzvXpOhJ0I50DwdHZL_eo2xi0odXhoJg_n_N8r0tBDDKwwfosLB8mAtQgP_knWkNmjaRwM26JyGZfQAgpdIOXhOFWi4K6tVf8h0TZlztitKcyZh8DOCysniL8dwSw5Uxc7ARXO/s1600/MP900316747%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1LhXj1RzvXpOhJ0I50DwdHZL_eo2xi0odXhoJg_n_N8r0tBDDKwwfosLB8mAtQgP_knWkNmjaRwM26JyGZfQAgpdIOXhOFWi4K6tVf8h0TZlztitKcyZh8DOCysniL8dwSw5Uxc7ARXO/s1600/MP900316747%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZi2dkVoEF7udvC2vM4Old89kNi_2GyFtYcXfvz94wksZUms3bu-uMlmxm0l9fcCKwFcVPpIXx7Z9SL8uaqaHb42I0X0YlpX0ral3JM0OWyKp73VDyKSebAQFanQXq30ZIh3cvAvcbhsOr/s1600/MP900386127%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZi2dkVoEF7udvC2vM4Old89kNi_2GyFtYcXfvz94wksZUms3bu-uMlmxm0l9fcCKwFcVPpIXx7Z9SL8uaqaHb42I0X0YlpX0ral3JM0OWyKp73VDyKSebAQFanQXq30ZIh3cvAvcbhsOr/s1600/MP900386127%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The main thing about foreshadowing is that we use it early
in a piece of fiction and then deliver on the promise later in the story. It is
a skill that takes a degree of practise, I feel, in order for it to not appear
obvious. The reader should have an ‘ah ah!’ moment later in the story and it
should come as a bit of a surprise - if it’s done correctly. But one that when
they look back, they see it was correctly done and they were not hoodwinked. The other thing is that if, for example, you show a gun early on in a story the reader will expect it to go off at some point later. So then you are using reader expectation to foreshadow and event for later in the tale.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So is foreshadowing another tool to make fiction enjoyable? I think so…</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4FXH9kLpKI4QcdYy62Hfle5PpWzRqDCRFlyfjbeXvvxbMl5jM3TYzITuJykPfiCWF1S8XvFYG-AOyXacH3Z6QVCTQFhtE29HtoeizAaeW_BtlLwQdKbuiVJWb3wxv-8wBSPVf2dNN2dP/s1600/MP900321202%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4FXH9kLpKI4QcdYy62Hfle5PpWzRqDCRFlyfjbeXvvxbMl5jM3TYzITuJykPfiCWF1S8XvFYG-AOyXacH3Z6QVCTQFhtE29HtoeizAaeW_BtlLwQdKbuiVJWb3wxv-8wBSPVf2dNN2dP/s1600/MP900321202%5B1%5D.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, do you use foreshadowing in your writing? Do you find it
easy?</span></div>
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Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-64170068967306148372015-01-20T18:09:00.000+00:002015-01-20T18:09:15.790+00:00Emotive or What?
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sBu4XOCAP2-Ge49QAGzXd8gFFJujAuxAm2XmKPLbepavMc6Yi6pgj_qSfhL3-7hY8b-rNgDIE3jXizxWdJ-K7lSx1VA1xI4GJYs16C18aQR_Ocvhgr9V8Ueb5XS0urM4DUAmugtpmNX9/s1600/MP900439488%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sBu4XOCAP2-Ge49QAGzXd8gFFJujAuxAm2XmKPLbepavMc6Yi6pgj_qSfhL3-7hY8b-rNgDIE3jXizxWdJ-K7lSx1VA1xI4GJYs16C18aQR_Ocvhgr9V8Ueb5XS0urM4DUAmugtpmNX9/s1600/MP900439488%5B1%5D.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a><br />
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Emotion.</div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When out with friends for
a chat and catch up, we often talk about the books we have read (or not read as
the case may be).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My friends sometimes
think I’m a bit ‘nuts’ as I tell them I often don’t finish novels. </span></span></div>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am a person who hates
to waste time so I will only carry on reading a book if the writer has caught
me up in a story (involved me emotionally). If I am not enjoying a book I will
cast it aside and not waste further time on it. It doesn’t even have to be a
really bad book for that to happen – it may simply be that it is boring me a
bit. I know that sometimes if I continue it will get better but why should I
bother when there are so many other juicy books to get stuck into. On the other
hand I know people who will persevere with a book – provided it is not that
bad! The engine that turns so-so fiction into well-loved and remembered books?
Emotion!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NX-IVm-mb5zSncd30URIeFIK57BOaMYkxa7F5PzV5uq_XdQzy7lqYKjRoQUkV8f4ceL162drOFW9q6vMF6KCK5PUWu-DNy1Zym1jXtERW_Xfm2ZGBhXYohiMXm4vINrUUcw1nFO72SbH/s1600/MP900414035%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NX-IVm-mb5zSncd30URIeFIK57BOaMYkxa7F5PzV5uq_XdQzy7lqYKjRoQUkV8f4ceL162drOFW9q6vMF6KCK5PUWu-DNy1Zym1jXtERW_Xfm2ZGBhXYohiMXm4vINrUUcw1nFO72SbH/s1600/MP900414035%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="158" /></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I ask friends what a
book is actually about and they cannot remember I know it wasn’t that good. For
me the plot has to hang together well and the story must engage some kind of strong
emotion in me. Whether that is horror, happiness, sadness or sorrow, an emotion
of some kind must be there. When I think back to books I read as a child/young
woman I find it is the emotion I remember most clearly about the story. </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gihBx4PQYlICbsCHNWwm-C7MR2dynd6rRmCZFR6M_Mp7Dzam3a6kxd6K-c-j4K4OojrwzI7khjFZ2MigCC8WPI4ZRQhyphenhyphen1eJ9i_9oB-GLa_ojJcArszgn_QsRB4IpWB_WVQrZ03DJarE9/s1600/MP900439411%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gihBx4PQYlICbsCHNWwm-C7MR2dynd6rRmCZFR6M_Mp7Dzam3a6kxd6K-c-j4K4OojrwzI7khjFZ2MigCC8WPI4ZRQhyphenhyphen1eJ9i_9oB-GLa_ojJcArszgn_QsRB4IpWB_WVQrZ03DJarE9/s1600/MP900439411%5B1%5D.jpg" height="145" width="200" /></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I generally judge a good book by how well I
can remember it weeks later. If it truly stays with me, I know it was a great
book. One such novel in recent months was “The Incredible Pilgrimage of Harold
Fry”. That book almost brought me to tears at the end and I can remember most
of it even though I read it a while ago! Whereas the one I read last week was
fairly good but I can’t remember it without a prompt! </span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do certain stories have a big impact for you? </span></span></div>
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Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-53528374455929601242015-01-15T15:28:00.004+00:002015-01-15T15:30:08.368+00:00Playing the Name Game<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAxPAhMTxhhCHqYkeraPTwoYvCfMBqNciBXJDQvictd4aSePaKX0gTZ7PzDflUeB2iPw4zCh0GX3bagbXUiT-96-LpMZdkh9eDpaKO4318PP_TJYs9lPiqpcX-J5e5zgJahM_Fd-uvEg2/s1600/MP900305720%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAxPAhMTxhhCHqYkeraPTwoYvCfMBqNciBXJDQvictd4aSePaKX0gTZ7PzDflUeB2iPw4zCh0GX3bagbXUiT-96-LpMZdkh9eDpaKO4318PP_TJYs9lPiqpcX-J5e5zgJahM_Fd-uvEg2/s1600/MP900305720%5B1%5D.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>What is in a name?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Am I the only writer who agonises over names for days on
end?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess I find it difficult because
I think names are so important in characterisation. They give the reader clues
as to what kind of person they should expect. It may seem arbitrary as we are
all given names by our parents - when they have no idea what sort of people we
will eventually turn out to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
again, many parents agonise over their children’s names too! We give children
names and then hope their characters turn out to be what we would want for
them. But in the world of fiction we try to choose names that suit the
character we are trying to create. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For instance, age and era play a big part in my choices. A
woman who was born early 19<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> century would not be called Rhianna or
Stacy. Just doesn’t ring true, does it? But Arabella or Victoria does. The age
of characters is also important in deciding names. I can easily imagine an
older man called Hector or Jeremiah but not a young boy. I think most readers
meeting a character with these names would automatically have in their mind’s
eye and older man even before any physical description is given. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whether your character is the antagonist or protagonist is
also important in naming. Although sometimes one might want to increase
surprise by giving an evil character an innocuous name… I think it depends on
how you are trying to present your story. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Male heroes names tend to be strong masculine names – they
are not usually called Fred or Bert - but female heroines may also be strong
‘no nonsense’ names too. I wouldn’t choose a name like Ophelia or Primrose if I
wanted my heroine to be seen as strong and capable. But then again, it is all a
matter of personal choice… In fact, the more I think about it, the more I like Ophelia!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When we are introduced to people in real life we may be told
their names but it is not the only information we have of them. We can see how
they behave, what they look like and hear them speak. We can make judgements
about what sort of person they are (although we may turn out to be totally
wrong, of course!)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But in writing fiction we have to give a strong first
impression by words only to have the reader ‘see’ our character in their mind’s
eye. I believe this is why names are so important. My two latest books had numerous name changes before I settled on names I liked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8wN-VXwaJTMmpv0yKTEmbJAlVMQRtUodHq8jiHH4aPRcgt4MoicVhNzD5qLDFd6kUrf-SpXaod_VKGOMqpwmvotuhlvRYyyOTP0g4C0mN98gswHh1Fr8xdkpcGFggosvCaeSOs1Ml9QZ/s1600/The+Afterlife+cover+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8wN-VXwaJTMmpv0yKTEmbJAlVMQRtUodHq8jiHH4aPRcgt4MoicVhNzD5qLDFd6kUrf-SpXaod_VKGOMqpwmvotuhlvRYyyOTP0g4C0mN98gswHh1Fr8xdkpcGFggosvCaeSOs1Ml9QZ/s1600/The+Afterlife+cover+pic.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In "<a href="http://tinyurl.com/137ejhl" target="_blank">"The Afterlife of Darkmares" </a></span>all the character's names had something to do with gardens or countryside. It simply made me think harder to come up with names. For example the old lady was called Cora Gimbletree and the main character's was Kate Linden. There was also Redwood, Culpepper, Garford and Blackthorn - surnames of other characters. It also helped that the story was set in a small village in rural Derbyshire.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoi0fD9oJFSDZzxV6aaI7yQ4ewLFTRfbREj1hFOK9cetGzl5Mha83qCGw7tbuNvbAlUzy8qYw9mG5gqGevBBJs5CjPN9heSusUBso8KtIzhP1bSW-DTh6pG_xb5Jgw2URAZZHHIWfIgS_/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoi0fD9oJFSDZzxV6aaI7yQ4ewLFTRfbREj1hFOK9cetGzl5Mha83qCGw7tbuNvbAlUzy8qYw9mG5gqGevBBJs5CjPN9heSusUBso8KtIzhP1bSW-DTh6pG_xb5Jgw2URAZZHHIWfIgS_/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a>By contrast <a href="http://tinyurl.com/137ejhl" target="_blank">The Witcheye Gene</a> had modernish names such as April, Gregory and Vince. However the main character was called Kendal ( which had a backstory all of it's own) because her parents were in Kendal Cumbria when they discovered they were having her. But I chose carefully for the name of the villain... I cannot tell here as it would spoil the story...<br />
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">How much importance do you give to naming your characters?
Do you agonise or go with the story and change the name later to fit the
character?</span></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-911501445256258662015-01-11T07:00:00.002+00:002015-01-11T07:05:32.175+00:00INTRIGUE<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxa429J14M9C94glC1dIXCSOvjaT8WmSQ4IwdGL87UPgK2tXhIQ1JcgzjO-pwHlFQ5tgpRVGoiohQWbOb9LX_dEp6ERcYN5sZ232WKUkpc18c3tYovsazsGHp_8Hetu7Pdc3uqmf8YtIgS/s1600/serr%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxa429J14M9C94glC1dIXCSOvjaT8WmSQ4IwdGL87UPgK2tXhIQ1JcgzjO-pwHlFQ5tgpRVGoiohQWbOb9LX_dEp6ERcYN5sZ232WKUkpc18c3tYovsazsGHp_8Hetu7Pdc3uqmf8YtIgS/s1600/serr%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 15pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Society bristles with enigmas which look
hard to solve. It is a perfect maze of intrigue."</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <br />
</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/honoredeba397911.html"><span style="color: #0000cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Honore de Balzac</span></a>
</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu948sfOR3YF8VS936-KwnJKdgoPeB0mnh3RZTluisW3VlnPH3qUDUgX9zO5gfX-hi5CooELW3iYC4UMRwkxUc5mKzt_0MqCCPPOFIDjSYadsm58yDHEDB8ywqVEvfm21LttQMtLyzObPb/s1600/20080314_sherlock_holmes%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu948sfOR3YF8VS936-KwnJKdgoPeB0mnh3RZTluisW3VlnPH3qUDUgX9zO5gfX-hi5CooELW3iYC4UMRwkxUc5mKzt_0MqCCPPOFIDjSYadsm58yDHEDB8ywqVEvfm21LttQMtLyzObPb/s1600/20080314_sherlock_holmes%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Intrigue - I just love this word. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It conjures up a misty twilight kind
of world for me as I associate it with mystery and skulduggery. Almost a
Sherlock Holmes kind of world in my mind…</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maybe that is why I tend to think of it as a kind of old
fashioned word which is rather less used nowadays. It suggests a halfway stage
between outright puzzling questions and curious, rather vague, passing
fascination with something or other.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I looked ‘intrigue’ up in the dictionary, I found it
can in fact, mean a puzzle or questionable scheme. But interestingly it can
also mean conspiracy, double dealing, trickery and even, of course an affair. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">n writing romantic thrillers it is unquestionably the raising of
interesting questions and mini puzzles of the ‘will he/won’t he succeed’
variety that make up the entire plot of an edge of your seat thriller and a romantic read to boot. In other
words the story must intrigue the reader from start to finish and that intrigue
should rise to full on tension as the conflicts escalate and the hero get’s
into worse and worse trouble.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So when I write my novels, I start with some intriguing
questions (enough to pique reader interest, I hope) and pose some
attention-grabbing dilemmas but then things get rough!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A good dollop of skulduggery helps as does some trickery on
the part of the villain. Together with a spoonful of double dealing and a
large splash of romance you have the recipe for a darned good roller coaster read.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYwePMEq77tBkXeh7woe3JbzwUXz7yhh-9j83YZ_B9Ri6hO_PiUjrwfJYgvhYHhsMaUN1C82uMQx0lsfUGBL7BLijvDQLbvWrUn-i46fJR2uRkHgKaoPp-khhZijK1rsoJp9a78-q3hao/s1600/MP900289477%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYwePMEq77tBkXeh7woe3JbzwUXz7yhh-9j83YZ_B9Ri6hO_PiUjrwfJYgvhYHhsMaUN1C82uMQx0lsfUGBL7BLijvDQLbvWrUn-i46fJR2uRkHgKaoPp-khhZijK1rsoJp9a78-q3hao/s1600/MP900289477%5B1%5D.jpg" height="131" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do you use intriguing questions to pique the readers interest at the start of a book?</span></div>
</div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-4336641865115855702015-01-06T16:49:00.003+00:002015-01-06T16:49:56.212+00:00SALE!!!<h3>
Hurry, hurry... Sale now on. </h3>
<br />
<h2>
"The Witcheye Gene" reduced in price for a few days only! get your copy now! <a href="http://tinyurl.com/mcry9kb" target="_blank">amazon.co.uk</a> or <a href="http://tinyurl.com/137ejhl" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a><span id="goog_144039101"></span><span id="goog_144039102"></span></h2>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoi0fD9oJFSDZzxV6aaI7yQ4ewLFTRfbREj1hFOK9cetGzl5Mha83qCGw7tbuNvbAlUzy8qYw9mG5gqGevBBJs5CjPN9heSusUBso8KtIzhP1bSW-DTh6pG_xb5Jgw2URAZZHHIWfIgS_/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kendal MacIntyre has fought
long and hard to overcome the emotional scars of an unhappy childhood to create
the successful boutique business she now has. Having lost her husband to cancer
she is driven by one thing only – to see her daughter April have all the
advantages in life that she herself was denied. So when someone appears to be
snooping, she is terrified that her shameful secret will wreck April’s chances
in life and she stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the hereditary trait of
‘special’ sight. But when an evil killer threatens the very existence of her
family, she knows she must face her demons if she is to save the one thing she
cares about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></h3>
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</h3>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-24714938126876462962015-01-03T12:14:00.003+00:002015-01-03T12:14:21.509+00:00All you need is Love<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">LOVE - (All you need is…)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhecm2AMnijtYWgYtuYiNE3or_BfA48d06p-xdlweBWImnqwrV9UCzoSxWWCezaQcI4hOgt8Xb8dLpzwDyhf2iLQiuPI65RjiklVomJsqNO5oKRp7A9S1YPNOtilTAOVYNwPjtxKg0ltW/s1600/MC900441192%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhecm2AMnijtYWgYtuYiNE3or_BfA48d06p-xdlweBWImnqwrV9UCzoSxWWCezaQcI4hOgt8Xb8dLpzwDyhf2iLQiuPI65RjiklVomJsqNO5oKRp7A9S1YPNOtilTAOVYNwPjtxKg0ltW/s1600/MC900441192%5B1%5D.jpg" height="246" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Where would we be without love? More to the point where
would our writing be without it? For in one way or another it features in most
works of fiction. When I say love I’m not just talking about the romantic
notion of love, I am talking about the emotion of caring for something or
someone in an unconditional way. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me the notion of love is intrinsically linked to its
opposite, hate. This dichotomy is the engine which drives most rollicking good
stories. There is nothing readers like more than to ultimately see love (and
other similar admirable qualities) triumph over evil. Whilst I may not write
particularly romantic stories, love always features (in some form or another)
in all my fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Love is one of the most basic of human emotions and we have
all experienced it at some point in our lives. It is so strong that artists
over the ages have written about its power in songs and verse. It is the very
bedrock of human happiness and without it we would all be hard put to survive. </span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KC7tiMF-Sl9KFc4MpJHsRblgeUlyPOIQNpUxNzyzEAejdfQXmJC7laxh9DqXPlPKtkfeSFmHuRjHcH0iioGJbUAOcxW90sJGMPPP3F01ATYTG9SSob7CM_7gqhQk5V8cH0uVy51iP4o_/s1600/MP900408980%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KC7tiMF-Sl9KFc4MpJHsRblgeUlyPOIQNpUxNzyzEAejdfQXmJC7laxh9DqXPlPKtkfeSFmHuRjHcH0iioGJbUAOcxW90sJGMPPP3F01ATYTG9SSob7CM_7gqhQk5V8cH0uVy51iP4o_/s1600/MP900408980%5B1%5D.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The most primitive and basic form of love is that of mother
and child. Love is the protective umbrella that we are all reared under and
mother love can - quite literally - achieve almost impossible tasks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What a fabulous premise to underscore a great story! And
what a great adversarial emotion to stand against a destructive protagonist… </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In my novel writing, ‘love conquers all’ is
a frequent theme – it may be parental love, it may be romantic love or it may
even be love of a belief, place or group of people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Love thy neighbour’ is also a common theme
when one or more people are racing to save a population or even the whole human
race. I have often heard of great sacrifice in order to save one single pet! So
love at its best is a very admirable human quality that most of us understand. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7TgJN7AK0WYjLswzpXXWbZI1urhB_z4ZX-8fyLTFb5qxax2nZ3KjTfPJZvoktnasi39UwMA3NcmuMwL73x1SiI9IAeAE5wqw-Ltgc31AqbQ7J4zMwNevheXIxzkgMkAR3yFSPFzjwXc-/s1600/MP900178846%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7TgJN7AK0WYjLswzpXXWbZI1urhB_z4ZX-8fyLTFb5qxax2nZ3KjTfPJZvoktnasi39UwMA3NcmuMwL73x1SiI9IAeAE5wqw-Ltgc31AqbQ7J4zMwNevheXIxzkgMkAR3yFSPFzjwXc-/s1600/MP900178846%5B1%5D.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whilst some may think
it a simplistic theme, it is a mighty powerful ally in the structure of a
modern story. And far from being solely the thematic concern of the romance
genre, it ought (in my opinion) to suffuse all our fiction. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The antagonism of love and hate makes for rich pickings in
terms of rising tension and suspense and, as fellow human beings, we can all
empathise with and cheer for the main characters who think it worth fighting
for. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The story is generally richer for a good dose of love and we
readily identify with the emotion and therefore the impact of the story is
increased.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So do you use love (especially unconditional love) in your
writing? Do you think it enhances your story?</span></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-43097017427261446312014-12-30T11:46:00.004+00:002014-12-30T11:46:46.992+00:00New Year - New Start - New Aspirations??
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k5rTlTqReS8/Tv3roSQ8rwI/AAAAAAAAAK0/UU8s154_geE/s1600/MC900444925%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k5rTlTqReS8/Tv3roSQ8rwI/AAAAAAAAAK0/UU8s154_geE/s1600/MC900444925%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">New year – New Aspirations? Yay!!?? Perhaps...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least that’s what
it’s meant to be. But maybe the aspirations are not so new…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been quite a while since I worked on my
WIP and whilst I did have every intention of continuing with it, I now feel
like starting a new project! I guess it’s the New Year thing – new broom and
all that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The thing is my WIP is 60000 words done so it seems a shame
to abandon it. But I won’t shelve it forever. I think I’ll just get going on
something else and keep it in the background. I will, in any case, have to sit
and re-read it all anyway - just to remind myself of where I was at. So maybe
when I’ve done that I’ll feel re-invigorated and excited by it again!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Perhaps the solution is to try a few short stories and then
see how I feel… (sighs and pulls face…)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSmuRiO9hpTT3fZrMF1ccM_IxJVPOlw3QP-zCHwVvnQJx1mallIXt0UrGwgvAJtIA1NkzbVVdoxSIKhZNg_rwwy9TUeshVthTDEYZjGfoYsi4JtHGjW7x7i0kuJ8bNGNEMJNsChMuzm7v/s1600/MP900400353%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSmuRiO9hpTT3fZrMF1ccM_IxJVPOlw3QP-zCHwVvnQJx1mallIXt0UrGwgvAJtIA1NkzbVVdoxSIKhZNg_rwwy9TUeshVthTDEYZjGfoYsi4JtHGjW7x7i0kuJ8bNGNEMJNsChMuzm7v/s1600/MP900400353%5B1%5D.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then again – some
brilliant ideas are calling out to me. They just don’t want to wait on the
backburner and I worry that I will forget or lose the main idea if I
prevaricate. I have made notes but that’s not the same as starting a new
project fired up with the enthusiasm and excitement which will carry me through
the first chapters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwjYczw-ICjiTeL45VT4cc4SFRYZwHCePZExpss-8HDs5glIgdvQBicvGE27wlQ-dKiFUXb502fc-rfkr8cnjVYecSRDDHZDwIKmyIy5S0A-YlMpmPTcPCgu6C6OjtDBRnFuT13SRvkRS/s1600/MC900447104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwjYczw-ICjiTeL45VT4cc4SFRYZwHCePZExpss-8HDs5glIgdvQBicvGE27wlQ-dKiFUXb502fc-rfkr8cnjVYecSRDDHZDwIKmyIy5S0A-YlMpmPTcPCgu6C6OjtDBRnFuT13SRvkRS/s1600/MC900447104.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know many people say they start a work with great hope and
then part way through go stale and abandon it, especially if the writing gets
tough or the plot starts going nowhere. But I must say I am a finisher and
rarely give up on a work even when it gets hard. There is satisfaction in just
completing and often the work is better for struggling through some hard parts.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, maybe I will get back to my original work, after all…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy New Year everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-heJ8MHjJ-WE/Tv3q09x9XBI/AAAAAAAAAKo/KbslGVTawH8/s1600/MC900444920%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-heJ8MHjJ-WE/Tv3q09x9XBI/AAAAAAAAAKo/KbslGVTawH8/s1600/MC900444920%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-4078280307498471672014-12-22T16:33:00.004+00:002014-12-22T16:37:32.831+00:00Bah Humbug!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuY91S6lmQEpcwGbU5QUOjEdl-r10u82gpDPAQbN4NYpyTKobQ_GtWUnzsPoiQGnnH_XiG8_2wBL3zLSsSB65RD85IIb5Nx_L7fJKPQmmbPtzthDAojBW4Ohw7LFsCFj4LFyZqIL9a0du/s1600/scrooge.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuY91S6lmQEpcwGbU5QUOjEdl-r10u82gpDPAQbN4NYpyTKobQ_GtWUnzsPoiQGnnH_XiG8_2wBL3zLSsSB65RD85IIb5Nx_L7fJKPQmmbPtzthDAojBW4Ohw7LFsCFj4LFyZqIL9a0du/s1600/scrooge.png" height="200" width="181" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>Bah Humbug? Or a good Christmas Carol?</em></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Christmas is almost upon us and the frenzy is building day
to day like a good, page turning, suspense novel!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At this time of year I always enjoy reading (or watching an
adaptation) of Dickens Christmas Carol. As ghost stories go, it’s got to be THE
classic. I often wonder if writers like Dickens ever had any idea just how
time-honoured their writing would become. Every school child has heard of the
story and most have watched a version of it on TV. If you ask people who Bob
Cratchett was, I think most would </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQ_ORG3BYvQ-FWp9XZfDui3avS0vjbsf5faorY-V5D9HgEUgwxIm1fQGEZXp24gtlAlRBUWCn_5cSlQ1eU6sNt4fvkSBIlDZ4hQyYMYcBuom1mzSlQlNRH6DiQMOUd8SdlICuapKa4FYf/s1600/christmas+carol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQ_ORG3BYvQ-FWp9XZfDui3avS0vjbsf5faorY-V5D9HgEUgwxIm1fQGEZXp24gtlAlRBUWCn_5cSlQ1eU6sNt4fvkSBIlDZ4hQyYMYcBuom1mzSlQlNRH6DiQMOUd8SdlICuapKa4FYf/s1600/christmas+carol.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">associate the name as synonymous with a poor
working class family man who was bullied mercilessly by his penny-pinching
employer. And the word ‘scrooge’ (from Ebenezer Scrooge) came into common
parlance after Dickens wrote his story. The word has come to be used to
describe someone who is mean and miserly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The story is of course a morality tale and Dickens meant it
as such. But the scenes with the ghosts must have been pretty scary to readers
and listeners of the day and even today it ranks with many as an all time
favourite and goes with Christmas tide nicely as we should all be more aware of
those less fortunate than ourselves. I know it made a lasting impression on me
when I first heard it as a child and alongside believing in Santa Claus, I also
believed in the ghosts of Dickens tale. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since Dickens’s time many have tried to write similar
stories but none, in my opinion, come close to capturing the sense of fear
about the hereafter that “A Christmas Carol” did.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-9Naj_xOvO_7fOHc8Crs7NpXW618jcvUxH9skr5eWxOULUq-AYXsJF1aVYDtEVjM9eM6Jcfb9Pt1W0hE67WSIzOEJcOKBapqt4bbzPlaKWXMeIqX8fPiFFI-VqW-IBZOmY32w6kh6vkE/s1600/MC900436228%5B1%5D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-9Naj_xOvO_7fOHc8Crs7NpXW618jcvUxH9skr5eWxOULUq-AYXsJF1aVYDtEVjM9eM6Jcfb9Pt1W0hE67WSIzOEJcOKBapqt4bbzPlaKWXMeIqX8fPiFFI-VqW-IBZOmY32w6kh6vkE/s1600/MC900436228%5B1%5D.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy Christmas and happy writing everyone!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do you have a favourite Christmas story?</span></div>
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Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-91811350578317437492014-12-17T13:05:00.001+00:002014-12-17T13:05:52.004+00:00The biggest lie ever told to children!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tdqV9ihyphenhyphene7ecfW9IkcHMVGhzi8SxbqkwP0tFdFQNyMkoRKDgnqf6SM6I__vlD_8FZUTD_96J-mjxyX0xceLYGod1TOdwlP1zqveYxGboeR5jgxKvyiE0fDxIHFIQxmnr-oyzwwJkOsPh/s1600/MC900436231%5B1%5D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tdqV9ihyphenhyphene7ecfW9IkcHMVGhzi8SxbqkwP0tFdFQNyMkoRKDgnqf6SM6I__vlD_8FZUTD_96J-mjxyX0xceLYGod1TOdwlP1zqveYxGboeR5jgxKvyiE0fDxIHFIQxmnr-oyzwwJkOsPh/s1600/MC900436231%5B1%5D.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbc3ojWlA3SVlz97goQFHebdbDf3AORK0ryb4S9mczIR5I8XaqA6iuoI8WMoOoE-wUe2S1gizjAFxzeGkgAjMPJeMXG5S1ZBYZFJ-zHg0SGxxXK65QuAZ8G3Jm4L66GK7_82hyphenhyphenX7xpHC4/s1600/MC900439773%5B1%5D.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbc3ojWlA3SVlz97goQFHebdbDf3AORK0ryb4S9mczIR5I8XaqA6iuoI8WMoOoE-wUe2S1gizjAFxzeGkgAjMPJeMXG5S1ZBYZFJ-zHg0SGxxXK65QuAZ8G3Jm4L66GK7_82hyphenhyphenX7xpHC4/s1600/MC900439773%5B1%5D.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The origins of Santa and the stories surrounding Christmas
are buried beneath layers of popular cultural belief. I am, of course, for the
moment, putting aside the religious meanings of Christmas – it’s not that I am
anti Christian or anything, simply that the notion of telling children the
story of Santa and his reindeer has got to be one of the greatest and most
enduring stories of all time ( next to the bible and religious teachings). It
is also the biggest lie that parents happily enthral their children with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I mean, when you think about it the image of a big fat man
in a bright red suit sliding down your chimney (breaking into your house),
eating your food and drinking your wine and then going into a child’s bedroom
when they are asleep, ought to be pretty scary for most children. But, hey,
it’s okay for this intruder because he’s bringing a sack full of presents!
Right!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It just struck me that in other circumstances you could possible
write a reasonable paranormal thriller story around the notion of this superman
character who can get his reindeer to pull a sledge around the heavens and
visit every child in the world in the space of just one night!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPgrbacEWHkWF4-jLSfW1wLVq1mbV0bSmcaM0WXpSgs5Vw6MgZPFnLb688oIp5CNSplncNrtFTFCBMYKH34CDAcylIR5_ECVjatIGsM0PxrznXMZrOZFxf1KY2cox65ZKHxTtn8-4DROb/s1600/christmas+carol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPgrbacEWHkWF4-jLSfW1wLVq1mbV0bSmcaM0WXpSgs5Vw6MgZPFnLb688oIp5CNSplncNrtFTFCBMYKH34CDAcylIR5_ECVjatIGsM0PxrznXMZrOZFxf1KY2cox65ZKHxTtn8-4DROb/s1600/christmas+carol.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But hey, who am I to spoil the kiddies’ fun? I believed it
myself for a fair few years… And enduring and endearing it still is –
especially when you watch their little faces light up with the wonder and the
thrill of it all because they’ve listened hard on Christmas Eve and heard the sleigh
bells…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I first posted this article a year ago but thought it worth
reminding everyone of the joy children bring and that Christmas is the time
when families come together and celebrate as one and the main focus is often
the children. In light of the recent tragic events my heart and prayers go out
to those families who have lost their beloved children (and those who lost
other family members) and it is to be hoped that this kind of tragedy
never<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>happens again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A very Merry Christmas to one and all and here’s hoping we
all have a peaceful 2012! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4lZSL4NXJVOKC4SYt_RzduuPLGMvAu4suNVr95xT3tEAteCJNGW-5JAP47L_wOawyQFAXsS7BZ-C6qgSn2wdQR-Mfi3FFdTyi-5GJ7md3eOmNOnLzysG7lfYwGUVz98CMLw-cL2aoAXV/s1600/MC900436228%5B1%5D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4lZSL4NXJVOKC4SYt_RzduuPLGMvAu4suNVr95xT3tEAteCJNGW-5JAP47L_wOawyQFAXsS7BZ-C6qgSn2wdQR-Mfi3FFdTyi-5GJ7md3eOmNOnLzysG7lfYwGUVz98CMLw-cL2aoAXV/s1600/MC900436228%5B1%5D.png" /></a></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-69261268539506652002014-12-14T11:14:00.002+00:002014-12-14T11:14:24.063+00:00Immortality<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcczqsjNacJqzBdASHdWJhNurxItnZcs8rTul_FFWYP9LP1Xs9uzhgGJWdHcQ0emxPviniYSReOF4TmZ8r8NfKXGOuoK4-i2lFl8OY_lQZWjrfPjqowL4ADvAzxcDnj4ewEC1Q8wsNqKu/s1600/MC900445054%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcczqsjNacJqzBdASHdWJhNurxItnZcs8rTul_FFWYP9LP1Xs9uzhgGJWdHcQ0emxPviniYSReOF4TmZ8r8NfKXGOuoK4-i2lFl8OY_lQZWjrfPjqowL4ADvAzxcDnj4ewEC1Q8wsNqKu/s1600/MC900445054%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a></div>
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<em>“I shall not
altogether die”, Horace 65-8 BC</em> </h3>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In writing about death (yet again), I am aware that many may
be a tad concerned at my fascination with the ultimate end game! (But there
again, I am a thriller writer…) And as someone once said the two things you can
depend on in this life are death and taxes!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In fiction writing, life extension or immortality has been a
popular topic. It would seem that it is the ultimate goal of many a villain,
one way or another. But immortality is one more step into the realms of
fantasy. I guess it’s because none of us actually knows what lies waiting for
us at the end and for lots of people it is still a fairly scary (if not taboo)
subject. The origins of striving for immortality go right back in the annals of
story epics – in fact in the Epic of Gilgamesh which dates back to 22 BC,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there was a quest to become immortal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many religions have, as their foundation, a belief in the
existence of an ‘Afterlife’ and it is a popular subject in supernatural
fiction. Wraiths, Spirits, Ghosts, Vampires and Zombies all use the plot device
of actually dying at a particular point and then returning to some kind of
life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The other interesting point with all these supernatural
characters is that they all have a (according to their genre’s) a weakness.
Otherwise they would have taken over the entire universe by now! So to make
decent adversaries for our stories they must have an Achilles heel. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzTLZVesb1uLfaCeauVoYMQd78QUVqJw4oagOSqIHKGKU7axEhqszWcavHSKwba63v4wfneIZo29-3LPmtg8tHNXJKtt8go-E8QpnY8Q-tdpaAmfITXOcfL6p0G-lLaUKIXNdMY99dy4E/s1600/MC900444668%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzTLZVesb1uLfaCeauVoYMQd78QUVqJw4oagOSqIHKGKU7axEhqszWcavHSKwba63v4wfneIZo29-3LPmtg8tHNXJKtt8go-E8QpnY8Q-tdpaAmfITXOcfL6p0G-lLaUKIXNdMY99dy4E/s1600/MC900444668%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the case of vampires, for example, they may be killed by
sunlight, burning or decapitation. Their bodies have an absence of heart rate,
breathing etc but somehow they continue living (although needing to imbibe
blood to do this). This requires the reader to suspend belief to step into this
vampiric world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wraiths and Spirits can pass between this world and the next
but there weakness is that they grow weary and long for everlasting peace. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Undead (Zombies) are similar to Vampires, in that they
appear to be alive but are not. They have no soul so cannot experience emotions
of any kind. Stakes through the heart seem to be the way to do for many of
these – or basic dropping off of body parts!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8wN-VXwaJTMmpv0yKTEmbJAlVMQRtUodHq8jiHH4aPRcgt4MoicVhNzD5qLDFd6kUrf-SpXaod_VKGOMqpwmvotuhlvRYyyOTP0g4C0mN98gswHh1Fr8xdkpcGFggosvCaeSOs1Ml9QZ/s1600/The+Afterlife+cover+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8wN-VXwaJTMmpv0yKTEmbJAlVMQRtUodHq8jiHH4aPRcgt4MoicVhNzD5qLDFd6kUrf-SpXaod_VKGOMqpwmvotuhlvRYyyOTP0g4C0mN98gswHh1Fr8xdkpcGFggosvCaeSOs1Ml9QZ/s1600/The+Afterlife+cover+pic.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All of these creations make for fascinating fiction and
whilst the whole genre is make-believe there are certain rules that all genre
writers tend not to break. It is almost as if these beings were real ‘people’
in the first place!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So , are you a fan of this kind of fiction? Do you expect
the characters to conform to rules about immortality? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieWocHdmUTCjwLzkiv4ZQAqRsx25b9bm8PwR8opryzumlbOd9efirBPEObf8S27TGXrclLBPM8if86e2ourTc6z_JPuI8nI3BwQ101awe-iEpYbWrbgrPicLqztqFWiKLp6Mo__dBxlhY-/s1600/MP900442725%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieWocHdmUTCjwLzkiv4ZQAqRsx25b9bm8PwR8opryzumlbOd9efirBPEObf8S27TGXrclLBPM8if86e2ourTc6z_JPuI8nI3BwQ101awe-iEpYbWrbgrPicLqztqFWiKLp6Mo__dBxlhY-/s1600/MP900442725%5B1%5D.jpg" height="174" width="200" /></a></div>
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Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-56655637284739049512014-12-10T16:53:00.002+00:002014-12-10T16:53:14.956+00:00Ghostly encounters
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><em>Ghostly Encounters of
the Terrifying Kind!</em></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSyfFN2mSJTwPIhM_K9b3Va3xG705OOFE0mDg_aUivPWswUi05jdqRJqrT82uxdLDX95vzN5qiXLHapQXEmJZJCrZ_CaWZSGEUpOlCvyD8C-bG4WtB5tr5RQ-8HBBqGtScuo_0RFOue4qI/s1600/MC900444662%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSyfFN2mSJTwPIhM_K9b3Va3xG705OOFE0mDg_aUivPWswUi05jdqRJqrT82uxdLDX95vzN5qiXLHapQXEmJZJCrZ_CaWZSGEUpOlCvyD8C-bG4WtB5tr5RQ-8HBBqGtScuo_0RFOue4qI/s1600/MC900444662%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a></div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coming from a medical/science background as I do, I do not
really believe in Ghosts but, like many people do accept that there are some
things (the hereafter for instance) that we know little about. Ghosts and the belief
in all things spiritual is one area that fascinates most people even though the
common sense part of their brains tell them it’s so much bunkum. The existence
(or not) of ghosts has been the subject of many research projects dating back
as far as anyone can remember and yet the phenomenon continues to confound
experts as the reality cannot be proved beyond doubt one way or the other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me, as a writer, humanity’s belief in ghosts is great
fictional material and I unashamedly use it in my stories – when appropriate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some things you may not have known about ghosts:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-1P_t3yE8PiqDSgDrLL_ZB2C1b-iDfNoBGVq-Y8I__xI7_aycYLgasJ8wFpZ0TCHW7REtw9XGH8yhEJXot6B-qYgJdS4MPz5Fwekj1sgvF5n9zoNidu6NQ2SzFEoW8KLX-IOZQP6vLru/s1600/MC900436176%5B1%5D.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-1P_t3yE8PiqDSgDrLL_ZB2C1b-iDfNoBGVq-Y8I__xI7_aycYLgasJ8wFpZ0TCHW7REtw9XGH8yhEJXot6B-qYgJdS4MPz5Fwekj1sgvF5n9zoNidu6NQ2SzFEoW8KLX-IOZQP6vLru/s1600/MC900436176%5B1%5D.png" height="112" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ghosts are universal and (with different names) exist in
every culture in the world. Belief in their existence goes back centuries to
pre-literate culture. Indeed the great poet Homer talks of the ‘spirits of
death’ standing about in their thousands, in the Iliad. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87uPKggjPFlcDAMYJJcPjFaj_C5Siu9HziQ-kf3o0y7IhXzs8VKBJ-CiItkQs_TJlCgBrwevhjsBKJqa0q5_iLw87L935gGArnmMY1ndvd2yfPivAY5e8pkNQcyHfYsMTpFVv29Khemxs/s1600/MC900444669%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87uPKggjPFlcDAMYJJcPjFaj_C5Siu9HziQ-kf3o0y7IhXzs8VKBJ-CiItkQs_TJlCgBrwevhjsBKJqa0q5_iLw87L935gGArnmMY1ndvd2yfPivAY5e8pkNQcyHfYsMTpFVv29Khemxs/s1600/MC900444669%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ghosts are considered unnatural and undesirable as they are
seen to come from a place we know nothing about so we are therefore naturally
fearful. However not all ghostly encounters are threatening as ghosts can
sometimes be viewed as benign guides with messages for the living and/or
unfinished business in this life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ghosts can sometimes
be known as revenants. A revenant comes from folklore and is a visible ghost or
animated corpse (un-dead) returned from the grave to seek revenge or terrorise
the living.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The airy, ethereal apparition which is usually associated
with visible sightings of ghosts may have emanated from the belief that the
soul or spirit of a person resides within them and at death leaves the body
from the mouth as a breath-type mist. In the Bible, God animates Adam with a
breath.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The appearance of ghost or spirits is often seen as a bad
omen or portent of death.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbKqcw28lsCYEwwiz_z3ZdOEYOcy0_ppnvo49g-tn5hfqw2hF6TEXac_POzKNWIVMj7iyST4iX9gZJu96Zj2M5M4Q3jjvu7fSf2QZhw30MBzHijXeVDJTiB4NNbAFfwyf0oTQFhvqhZ6J/s1600/MP900442485%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbKqcw28lsCYEwwiz_z3ZdOEYOcy0_ppnvo49g-tn5hfqw2hF6TEXac_POzKNWIVMj7iyST4iX9gZJu96Zj2M5M4Q3jjvu7fSf2QZhw30MBzHijXeVDJTiB4NNbAFfwyf0oTQFhvqhZ6J/s1600/MP900442485%5B1%5D.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In a recent survey it was found that approximately one third
of Americans believe in spirits or ghosts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally, many classical writers and poets since time
immemorial have used spirits or ghostly apparitions in their works - from Homer
to Shakespeare, Dickens, Wilde, Milton and Coleridge. Never mind Poe and other
actual horror writers. So, to my mind those of us who occasionally use ghosts
and spirits in our stories are in good company – even if we can only aspire to
the lofty heights our predecessors rose to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do you enjoy a good ghost story? </span></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-6855867402148027082014-12-06T14:11:00.001+00:002014-12-06T14:11:12.005+00:00Suspense is everything...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYn8XmO4c6dzeGQoOf5w-XxSC7cvoL8RbqOGBIzpIUglKyvCkCo5oGmitQ7h6yyI0vvtgMW2Zg90dEXX00MN2j4otqnEkC_P_bPWzg8yAei-bdQR3fZXNPamb158Cv0rGa-DtCJ2vQ7kK/s1600/MP900289156%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYn8XmO4c6dzeGQoOf5w-XxSC7cvoL8RbqOGBIzpIUglKyvCkCo5oGmitQ7h6yyI0vvtgMW2Zg90dEXX00MN2j4otqnEkC_P_bPWzg8yAei-bdQR3fZXNPamb158Cv0rGa-DtCJ2vQ7kK/s1600/MP900289156%5B1%5D.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <strong><em>Dictionary definition - s</em></strong></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><em>uspense is "a state of uncertainty".</em></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think I enjoy plotting and writing thrillers because they are the kind of stories I love to read myself. A good story that grips me from beginning to end with the ‘will
he /won’t he' succeed motif is the best kind of tale. And the feeling that disaster is around every
corner doesn't hurt either. This to me is the art of suspense. K</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">eeping readers on the proverbial
edges of their comfy sofa is what I always aim for. I know this type of book is not
to everyone’s taste but for me it is the bedrock of good story telling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the all time greatest proponent of the art of
suspense was Alfred Hitchcock and I seem to recall reading somewhere that he
said one of the greatest ways to create really good suspense was to put a bomb
under a table (metaphorically speaking) where people, unbeknowingly, are playing a dull game of cards. The
audience, of course, would know the bomb was there and ticking but the cast of
players would not. What unbearable suspense for the audience!</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirn4Z4F-dgokGmhFz_s7KPNS9Fy3L3Bmg5zIjfNp6IoTRwT-CBiiZyTuL0kBBFppg0VRwETv56XCh1vX0drQZC6Q2KdRC19XpK8CMnjH7hKQJs_WYKW5b_rljm1kV6ydKN_zpcJkZ4YFGH/s1600/The+Witcheye+Gene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirn4Z4F-dgokGmhFz_s7KPNS9Fy3L3Bmg5zIjfNp6IoTRwT-CBiiZyTuL0kBBFppg0VRwETv56XCh1vX0drQZC6Q2KdRC19XpK8CMnjH7hKQJs_WYKW5b_rljm1kV6ydKN_zpcJkZ4YFGH/s1600/The+Witcheye+Gene.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/lw3syop" target="_blank">The Witcheye Gene</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Suspense in thrillers, in my humble opinion, is the key to
success. Rising tension with lots of problems and, most importantly, loads of conflict for the main
character is what keeps readers involved and in a state of uncertainty. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I like to think my own thriller books - especially <a href="http://tinyurl.com/lw3syop" target="_blank">The Witcheye Gene</a><span id="goog_752583877"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_752583878"></span> is full of suspense. I did craft it as a page turning, thriller read that is fast paced and full of twists and turns. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I believe suspense (and some say suspense of some kind is essential in any good novel - be it romance, action, scifi or whatever) is what keeps the reader reading! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A bomb under the table doesn’t hurt either!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw95cxzJiQ4oYyA2w2UTrWiyROMXLAtkdfCWNbRJX52dL0klv1UP9_PrCiOJR3in_rgOVLqKddwu_XvSEmHA8miJobPZPUL7zbg21rhjzJhiq_DiBVJuukif-jnGfuIx7oFN0cNwf0ddvt/s1600/MP900315650%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw95cxzJiQ4oYyA2w2UTrWiyROMXLAtkdfCWNbRJX52dL0klv1UP9_PrCiOJR3in_rgOVLqKddwu_XvSEmHA8miJobPZPUL7zbg21rhjzJhiq_DiBVJuukif-jnGfuIx7oFN0cNwf0ddvt/s1600/MP900315650%5B1%5D.jpg" height="142" width="200" /></a></div>
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Do you try to put suspense in your stories?</div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-dnPLaG3dYQE%2FVIMLr32ziXI%2FAAAAAAAABS4%2F2RjAMrjS2FM%2Fs1600%2FThe%252BWitcheye%252BGene.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirn4Z4F-dgokGmhFz_s7KPNS9Fy3L3Bmg5zIjfNp6IoTRwT-CBiiZyTuL0kBBFppg0VRwETv56XCh1vX0drQZC6Q2KdRC19XpK8CMnjH7hKQJs_WYKW5b_rljm1kV6ydKN_zpcJkZ4YFGH/s1600/The+Witcheye+Gene.jpg" -->Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-46225448921752483072014-12-04T12:20:00.002+00:002014-12-04T12:20:37.513+00:00From Backyard to Graveyard.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BZl_6f-5gcdBsiF-yQpNvdMGNJVSiSEA1qj6fCrNvkDC8JD8SlJtQPbjHde4g-m1CB_zQHXJo3GDGOXYW3jLsMRDwZc2K7C107xppH6Tym3K3GSlTDukW5xWjz7MPfVH7vVuBwhY6iPL/s1600/MP900146033%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BZl_6f-5gcdBsiF-yQpNvdMGNJVSiSEA1qj6fCrNvkDC8JD8SlJtQPbjHde4g-m1CB_zQHXJo3GDGOXYW3jLsMRDwZc2K7C107xppH6Tym3K3GSlTDukW5xWjz7MPfVH7vVuBwhY6iPL/s1600/MP900146033%5B1%5D.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">From backyard to
graveyard<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The subject of graveyards or cemeteries is something that
fascinates me. As a writer of supernatural thriller novels the sombre oppressive
atmosphere of a graveyard, imbued with such reverence and awe as befits the
dead, is a great place to start. Its melancholy sense of past misery seems to
hang in the air like some unholy miasma as legions of the living have cried rivers
of tears in their intense grief and loneliness. What a sad place for the
living… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Death is inevitable for all of us and in a graveyard we are
reminded of the frailty of human existence like nowhere else. The fascination
for me, when I visit graveyards, is to look at the oldest graves and
inscriptions and wonder what happened to the person… Sometimes great ideas for
stories spring forward from this as I try to imagine what life might have been
like for the said dead person. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTQ7VjT-tzNW0fjdk8RJ3BaRaJaLJG1tH9eWdTriTs9kxkeJdmb_oRCLAQBobntOysNxshUH2YcpWyWZtqHmTLOJuHgwT6RYSQionj_a86QaUpsVW5sQZQPmR0LTOgmA3g4NuZqm9Jb7U/s1600/MP900407548%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTQ7VjT-tzNW0fjdk8RJ3BaRaJaLJG1tH9eWdTriTs9kxkeJdmb_oRCLAQBobntOysNxshUH2YcpWyWZtqHmTLOJuHgwT6RYSQionj_a86QaUpsVW5sQZQPmR0LTOgmA3g4NuZqm9Jb7U/s1600/MP900407548%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But apart from that there is the great unknowing… What does
happen when we finally confront our very existence? Scary stuff, indeed, for
most of us… Unless you have great faith in your own brand of religion/belief…
Most of us do not want to be reminded that we are going to pass into the great
unknown someday. Perhaps that is really the scary part about graveyards and
cemeteries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But spirits, ghosts and things that go thump in the night
are also great things to think about in graveyards…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So let your imagination fly!! If you dare…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do graveyards/cemetaries scare you or are they just places
of great sadness?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-36641911430904519902014-12-01T12:42:00.001+00:002014-12-01T12:42:39.704+00:00Still Free, free , free...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmR_GEkSKgAdfRY9Fk4wd3RcSbTM53XZUTiRh5DtQHzcsNXjAHG9O-D74dXzvJhBMwXCld66yDE3qP0gxcR4fiCOyhNvonOaPtRDcaceoubN8FbkaVcdeoS1u3pHwAjpuA2DYNvYluHiwn/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmR_GEkSKgAdfRY9Fk4wd3RcSbTM53XZUTiRh5DtQHzcsNXjAHG9O-D74dXzvJhBMwXCld66yDE3qP0gxcR4fiCOyhNvonOaPtRDcaceoubN8FbkaVcdeoS1u3pHwAjpuA2DYNvYluHiwn/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a>"The Witcheye Gene" is still <strong><span style="color: black;">FREE</span></strong> for a couple more days only. Get your free copy now.<br />
<br />
Available on Amazon:<br />
<br />
Amazon.co.uk <a href="http://tinyurl.com/mcry9kb" target="_blank">The Witcheye Gene</a><br />
<br />
Also Amazon.com <a href="http://tinyurl.com/mg56kxy" target="_blank">The Witcheye Gene</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9c6hcU-Ka1zJ4x3VtxQ2zkhOt9oldDL2dtNSi0qKWb0QSVg_qMcxPF1vK-2sTpHjR1CopHSpmB6eHLAHJfopteB9Nfa2n497jgzd39-Ml_6XAmmnuC-fMQp8W7PlVd6jwv1lDlvKhphp/s1600/MC900444645%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9c6hcU-Ka1zJ4x3VtxQ2zkhOt9oldDL2dtNSi0qKWb0QSVg_qMcxPF1vK-2sTpHjR1CopHSpmB6eHLAHJfopteB9Nfa2n497jgzd39-Ml_6XAmmnuC-fMQp8W7PlVd6jwv1lDlvKhphp/s1600/MC900444645%5B1%5D.jpg" height="154" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
Any comments or reviews would be greatly appreciated. <br />
<br />
Have you offered your books for free? Do you think it a good idea or not?Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-29219158731231545492014-11-30T09:18:00.000+00:002014-11-30T09:18:00.214+00:00FREE BOOKS! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpm1Iv2Cn8MfIvbGgygwuHjhKjTxdUbHKyFaxd_RpjZlqPV74_iQQmcIk7aYuIKucIGLypS8vP7aOo8cizMnoRUp3l_t9RYUrX5L7Fxptg4B109MF0Gb2AuUfUREMXt9NaeRjvCmTi5JqI/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpm1Iv2Cn8MfIvbGgygwuHjhKjTxdUbHKyFaxd_RpjZlqPV74_iQQmcIk7aYuIKucIGLypS8vP7aOo8cizMnoRUp3l_t9RYUrX5L7Fxptg4B109MF0Gb2AuUfUREMXt9NaeRjvCmTi5JqI/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a><strong>FREE! Free free...</strong><br />
<br />
For a few days only my thriller novel "The Witcheye Gene" is totally <strong>free </strong>on amazon. Get your free copy now!<a href="http://tinyurl.com/mcry9kb" target="_blank">"The Witcheye Gene"</a><br />
Stuffed cats, auras, second sight, different coloured eyes and evil personified all feature in this tense thriller.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HrxebaGq1WtRr5FYtCOzRShibO1JQ90ESZwtWP-yPrI2JaRNwDEXgOjOG6193HNpEO69hyJYh0l2IYT7S6PVrZZHuXjM3_CtDGjf7wXqoyrT_mXqw98ZzsW1oM1cPeDOWtBALJRZftS_/s1600/aura-energy-body-healing-energy-illustration-human-silhouette-chakras-woman-man-theme-connection-31882205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HrxebaGq1WtRr5FYtCOzRShibO1JQ90ESZwtWP-yPrI2JaRNwDEXgOjOG6193HNpEO69hyJYh0l2IYT7S6PVrZZHuXjM3_CtDGjf7wXqoyrT_mXqw98ZzsW1oM1cPeDOWtBALJRZftS_/s1600/aura-energy-body-healing-energy-illustration-human-silhouette-chakras-woman-man-theme-connection-31882205.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We all have auras.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Kendal MacIntyre has fought
long and hard to overcome the emotional scars of an unhappy childhood to create
the successful boutique business she now has. Having lost her husband to cancer
she is driven by one thing only – to see her daughter April have all the
advantages in life that she herself was denied. So when someone appears to be
snooping, she is terrified that her shameful secret will wreck April’s chances
in life and she stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the hereditary trait of
‘special’ sight. But when an evil killer threatens the very existence of her
family, she knows she must face her demons if she is to save the one thing she
cares about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlrYFrA07721IyPEVg0GPRHNAiLTwHgWCvSUZVBiYzOwdiL2A9Y4qTaz651xVNmBqcbwOpY4nDpjcDsgzGtMStYQSJnZZuAbx2V9x6msHmS9hiZVaOHh60wAub-ej90gi08uNaKJf9f2m/s1600/white-cat-odd-eyed-one-eye-blue-one-green-38793682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlrYFrA07721IyPEVg0GPRHNAiLTwHgWCvSUZVBiYzOwdiL2A9Y4qTaz651xVNmBqcbwOpY4nDpjcDsgzGtMStYQSJnZZuAbx2V9x6msHmS9hiZVaOHh60wAub-ej90gi08uNaKJf9f2m/s1600/white-cat-odd-eyed-one-eye-blue-one-green-38793682.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The eyes have it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-83751433985396386132014-11-29T13:32:00.000+00:002014-11-29T13:32:01.399+00:00How to plot a thriller - ways to make it easier.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcN-Bpws8PFu4pYnP3kmYL9tkkyfVimHEMmwrijzjvRDLT2S2bJ1l38jmjmyTsngFFcwWyyVNOr49DqbsRaLvqGJe4x-9IMWzLTxcOQwUrkJX7U1bIs9kdyWIAJE1B2Nd9iJ-9QzTfT9Js/s1600/MC910216361%5B1%5D.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcN-Bpws8PFu4pYnP3kmYL9tkkyfVimHEMmwrijzjvRDLT2S2bJ1l38jmjmyTsngFFcwWyyVNOr49DqbsRaLvqGJe4x-9IMWzLTxcOQwUrkJX7U1bIs9kdyWIAJE1B2Nd9iJ-9QzTfT9Js/s1600/MC910216361%5B1%5D.png" height="278" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So here you are with this brand new spark of a brilliant
idea that you just feel sure will make a wonderful thriller… But what next, you
may ask?</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCp8_IOnjpRG2HDw0b4Q5k-FusIr0pJZtfEnveOyqmZAykURuodHdK9H-nqbCvYdTi6fhdd-Msn1XeSV-C7O5wC8Lb9g8MgfsJaWJaV_DXhO7H-7tT-raAH6hfytPi2zszlgQ-fFv9aEF/s1600/MC900444858%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCp8_IOnjpRG2HDw0b4Q5k-FusIr0pJZtfEnveOyqmZAykURuodHdK9H-nqbCvYdTi6fhdd-Msn1XeSV-C7O5wC8Lb9g8MgfsJaWJaV_DXhO7H-7tT-raAH6hfytPi2zszlgQ-fFv9aEF/s1600/MC900444858%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fascinating characters always help.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well of course, you must have some fabulous characters in mind
and they should be larger than life in lots of ways. The main characters should
also be direct opposites in order to generate the maximum conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The setting should also reflect the type of
story you want to write and the actual plot needs to be thought out in advance
(well, at least a little). If you are a ‘seat of your pants’ writer that’s okay
but you will find it seriously difficult if you don’t at least have some kind
of idea of what your story is trying to say. </span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For myself, I start with the main story question. Is my
hero/heroine going to succeed/overcome whatever the story problem/quest is? I
then plan the story as a synopsis type of thing. Using a paragraph to write a
short description of the scene I see in my mind’s eye. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My own thrillers are all about plot and character. <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Witcheye-Gene-P-J-Newcombe-ebook/dp/B005HATZS6/ref=asap_B008LT3JDC_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415718798&sr=1-2" target="_blank">"The Witcheye Gene"</a> & <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Afterlife-Darkmares-P-J-Newcombe-ebook/dp/B00890Z84Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415718734&sr=8-1&keywords=the+afterlife+of+darkmares" target="_blank">"The Afterlife of Darkmares"</a> (Both available on Amazon) But I digress...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next I consider what conflict
there will be and what story point is moving the tale forward. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>I
try to see the whole plot as a rising line on a graph where the incidents, the
events, the suspense elements are all increasing and the hero’s problems are
multiplying exponentially. Everything he/she tries to do to solve the problem
is met by yet more problems, increasing all the time until the final climax
after which the scenes become abut resolution of the original story problem. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGLsNRIMCbhnjn5hVeZKo69iuZq3BJRKHanH2TpyWXo-lzXdPDRcEeXY2F1wIu6NUo1ro5HMES-GRwHqlngY38LGRQWNGPJR3gn7_Et5zDLIdVQQ82QP4wG14WeP2dDuQeH-iM_EhVvU12/s1600/MP900400353%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGLsNRIMCbhnjn5hVeZKo69iuZq3BJRKHanH2TpyWXo-lzXdPDRcEeXY2F1wIu6NUo1ro5HMES-GRwHqlngY38LGRQWNGPJR3gn7_Et5zDLIdVQQ82QP4wG14WeP2dDuQeH-iM_EhVvU12/s1600/MP900400353%5B1%5D.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After I have these rough ideas down I write scene cards but
when it comes to writing the actual story I am free to discard and add as
necessary but if and when I get a bit lost I can always refer to my original
plot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there is the issue of
subplots and multiple viewpoints… But that’s for another post, methinks…</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So how do you do it? Do you plan or just write?</span></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-1675864629804174622014-11-25T08:22:00.000+00:002014-11-25T08:22:00.908+00:00presents for book loversWhat better time of year to buy books... the best presents ever!! Well almost... maybe I could think of one or two better pressies! If I try really hard...<br />
Still hours of pleasure in a good book - don't you think?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoi0fD9oJFSDZzxV6aaI7yQ4ewLFTRfbREj1hFOK9cetGzl5Mha83qCGw7tbuNvbAlUzy8qYw9mG5gqGevBBJs5CjPN9heSusUBso8KtIzhP1bSW-DTh6pG_xb5Jgw2URAZZHHIWfIgS_/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoi0fD9oJFSDZzxV6aaI7yQ4ewLFTRfbREj1hFOK9cetGzl5Mha83qCGw7tbuNvbAlUzy8qYw9mG5gqGevBBJs5CjPN9heSusUBso8KtIzhP1bSW-DTh6pG_xb5Jgw2URAZZHHIWfIgS_/s1600/witcheye+cover+front.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8wN-VXwaJTMmpv0yKTEmbJAlVMQRtUodHq8jiHH4aPRcgt4MoicVhNzD5qLDFd6kUrf-SpXaod_VKGOMqpwmvotuhlvRYyyOTP0g4C0mN98gswHh1Fr8xdkpcGFggosvCaeSOs1Ml9QZ/s1600/The+Afterlife+cover+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8wN-VXwaJTMmpv0yKTEmbJAlVMQRtUodHq8jiHH4aPRcgt4MoicVhNzD5qLDFd6kUrf-SpXaod_VKGOMqpwmvotuhlvRYyyOTP0g4C0mN98gswHh1Fr8xdkpcGFggosvCaeSOs1Ml9QZ/s1600/The+Afterlife+cover+pic.jpg" /></a></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041114671058714018.post-21776361325083630152014-11-14T11:55:00.002+00:002014-11-14T11:55:33.175+00:00Is the click mightier than the pen?
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXupLZ5lIwrFnKvAj1lw1EQiTTRpPgTAVMU8BUGKMvmn4xzgE-zNDXHc1OkxOOe_ct2ebMY_b9vYw_dXfCewojLCQE4aMwJPC390ARHsrvpc1iH7GyFxcgS9AMGEcW7ya4rk9aE_W8NN6G/s1600/MC900341798%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXupLZ5lIwrFnKvAj1lw1EQiTTRpPgTAVMU8BUGKMvmn4xzgE-zNDXHc1OkxOOe_ct2ebMY_b9vYw_dXfCewojLCQE4aMwJPC390ARHsrvpc1iH7GyFxcgS9AMGEcW7ya4rk9aE_W8NN6G/s1600/MC900341798%5B1%5D.jpg" height="216" width="320" /></a><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“We must beat the iron while it is hot, but we
may polish it at leisure,”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John Dryden<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltB8JrKHielPNpPiPnMqi2R1ve3-WngByla38H1c-UO8LGcvYK5ose1FtOV7H3_6j3mxSNuPTS3wZw448U17RXbeZD0kb2slwb0H9BoEvwn-EzBTBbA_aPo__d8VbcsSytyJblhiF06bO/s1600/MP900442431%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltB8JrKHielPNpPiPnMqi2R1ve3-WngByla38H1c-UO8LGcvYK5ose1FtOV7H3_6j3mxSNuPTS3wZw448U17RXbeZD0kb2slwb0H9BoEvwn-EzBTBbA_aPo__d8VbcsSytyJblhiF06bO/s1600/MP900442431%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I once put pen to
paper (literally) and wrote. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now I click, tap and
navigate. What a huge change to the way we all communicate. I can’t even
remember when I last received a hand written letter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not a bright, young thing (although I’d
like to think I’m still reasonably bright!) but I know many others of a similar
age group who are also very au fait with computers and indeed to some degree,
social networking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me the keypad is
quicker than the pen when it comes to getting tumbling thoughts and ideas down
on paper. Free writing engages the creative right side of the brain and not the
analytical, logical left brain. I believe getting something, anything, down on
a blank sheet is the best way to avoid writers block and so I often use free
writing to help me think and get going on a project. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST21B3OYCOlqSMfqJffdboSwY4glrZUn1JymP4i3nivpvvs2stIp1BTy_5rm0NzBJB2Q_iXRlDKpS8Dy5rZYMUyNKAI_kuA5HpcH3zJG5db1zoXtaQ8TFeNlHTqACx2MXWjxIfIfGbClb/s1600/MP900446464%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST21B3OYCOlqSMfqJffdboSwY4glrZUn1JymP4i3nivpvvs2stIp1BTy_5rm0NzBJB2Q_iXRlDKpS8Dy5rZYMUyNKAI_kuA5HpcH3zJG5db1zoXtaQ8TFeNlHTqACx2MXWjxIfIfGbClb/s1600/MP900446464%5B1%5D.jpg" height="259" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Using the keypad
rather than the pen gives me a quicker easier way to re-write this stream of consciousness
writing and make some sense of it. Whereas editing with pen and paper just
leaves me with a confused mess of crossings out and no sense of what I am
really trying to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having said that,
I have many friends who continue to write in longhand – at least initially.
They still cherish the feel of pen on paper and love to fill the blank white
pages of a note<span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">b</span>ook.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Long live writers of
all kinds!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So are you a pen pusher or a keyboard clicker?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
Writer Pat Newcombehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12678017709861817691noreply@blogger.com3