Category / Writing on Writing

by Gerald Hornsby

DAY 6 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

EXAMINE YOUR CHARACTERS

One of the great questions in life: which is more important – character or plot? Which should I work on first?

And, of course, the answer isn’t simple. Different types of book are more character-focussed or some more plot-focussed. My partner writes about characters from the inside out, and structures a plot around that. I write a plot first, but with the characters in my mind. The characters are still important.

So, what makes a good character? Is it a full list of features, physical, emotional and psychological? Is it what job they do, or what their family is like? Is it how much money they have, or what car they drive?

And the answer is: partially. But these are only superficial aspects of their character. 

What readers want to know is: what is this character really like? Are they a character like me? What constitutes their belief system?

You can look up character traits online, for instance:

https://www.thesaurus.com/e/writing/character-traits

is quite a good resource, because it breaks character traits into 5 general groups: personality, physical attributes, beliefs and morals, classic hero traits, classic villain traits.

But resources like this:

350 Character Traits – A Fabulous Resource For Writers

can be more distracting than useful. The danger is that you create a character from a pick list, which doesn’t sound realistic.

I got the idea for my new new novel series (Witford Market Mysteries, 1st in series coming out at the end of this month BTW) from a specific location. I loved what it could bring to my stories. I had the beginning of an idea for a character, but I wanted her to feel like a newcomer (bringing conflict!). I wanted her to be a temporary visitor, but who would begin to get the vibe of a small village, and make her into a permanent member of the local population. And that brought the potential for closer characterisation for my characters. With a reduced stage, everything becomes more claustrophobic, and every trait could become amplified and / or more important to the other characters.

One final point – I like to cast my characters. I find film actors who have played characters like mine, both physically and psychologically, and put a photo of them in my planning software. It helps to provide a little extra background information.

BUT… don’t go overboard. Don’t make your characters so complicated that a reader would feel they needed therapy or hospitalisation! Give your characters depth, in their actions and relationships, but at all times, keep it real!

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by Gerald Hornsby

DAY 5 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

WHAT IS CONFLICT?

We all know what conflict is, right? No?

There are two common definitions:

That’s the traditional definition that all of us understand. Conflict results in a fight, yes?

On a simple level, conflict in a story is where one character wants to do something, and (usually) another character stops them. This can be a case of goodies versus baddies. But be careful: conflict isn’t necessarily an argument or a fight. This would, typically, be called external conflict. The conflict we can all see and it is the type of conflict requires some physical action to resolve it.

On a deeper level, it can also show something about belief systems. If your protagonist encounters people or a situation which contrasts with their own beliefs, they need to decide if  to confront the situation or not. If they confront, and overcome the conflict, they can effect change in themselves or their situation. They will overcome a philosophical conflict, or an internal conflict.

Can conflict always be written into a story. Is it essential?

In this wonderful writing world, we don’t need to do anything we don’t want to. Rules are there for guidance, but they are also meant to be broken. 

BUT… a story is made better with some conflict, some challenges for our protagonist. We all like to try to associate with our protagonists. We like to feel that we understand these characters, and imagine what we would do in their circumstances. And we know life for us real people is never one smooth glide through the days. There is always something which crops up, something negative, which we need to deal with. This is conflict, it is in all of our real life stories, and it should be in the stories we construct.

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by Gerald Hornsby

DAY 4 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END

How many times have we heard that? All stories must have a beginning, a middle and an end. Logical, isn’t it? It dates back to ancient Greece, several hundred years BC, when Aristotle developed the three act structure for plays.

The first act begins with setup, where all of the main characters and their basic situations are introduced, as well as the setting. The second act, or confrontation, is considered to be the bulk of the story. The third act, or resolution, is when the problem in the story boils over, leading to the climax, which is the answer to the dramatic question, being hand in hand with the end of the conflict.

So, beginning middle and end. Use the beginning to set the stage if you will. Introduce your main character(s), where they are (in time and place), and what their problem is. Use the middle to tell the story of the main character (called, in writing circles, the protagonist). The end is when the protagonist achieves their aims, and the story gets wrapped up neatly.

You want an example? I often use Die Hard to explain some story concepts. If you haven’t watched it yet, I can recommend it. Bruce Willis has hair!

The opening shows John McClane (Bruce Willis) on a flight from New York (where he’s a cop) to California. His wife, Holly McClane (played by Bonnie Bedelia) has moved there to take on a senior role in a Japanese company after their marriage fell into difficulties. John wants to use a Christmas break to try to repair the relationship. The story takes a twist when a team of terrorists, led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman, RIP) take over the party and hold the partygoers – including Holly – hostage. But John McClane manages to sneak away.

The middle is where all the action happens, as John McClane attempts to thwart the terrorists’ plans, which involves gunfights, explosions, and deadly tension. And we find out that they don’t want the release of political prisoners, as they initially communicate, but they’re out to rob the huge vault and steal tradable bearer bonds.

In the ending, there is a final confrontation between McClane and Gruber, where all the loose ends are tied up, McClane kills Gruber and the final terrorist, and he and his wife are driven off through the snow into a happier future. Probably.

But, even if you’re only writing a short story, it should still have this beginning, middle and ending structure.  I often start a new novel by writing out these three parts, as I get to grips with what the story actually is. And this 3-act structure is the fundamental basis for thousands upon thousands of stories.

Beginning – middle – end.

Setup – action – resolution.

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by Gerald Hornsby

DAY 3 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

GET IN THE FLOW

As a trained engineer, I studied many subjects for my degree. Amongst them, two of the most important were Statics and Dynamics. Statics – the study of stationary objects; Dynamics – the study of moving objects. 

For instance, in statics, we developed formulae to tell us the safest angle to lean a ladder against a wall.

Yes, really.

It’s quite a complicated formula (it is, honest), and requires analysis of the forces acting on the ladder, coefficients of friction, and so on. And no, I don’t remember any of it.

In dynamics, we studied moving objects. Accelerations, mass and velocity, why it gets increasingly harder to accelerate your car as your speed increases (spoiler alert – air resistance and square laws).

The difference between them can be shown when you use a hammer. To drive a nail into a piece of wood using a dead weight, you’d need a lot of weight. So what do we do? We swing the hammer, hopefully hitting the nail on the head, with imparts more energy to the nail than simply resting a heavy weight on it.

You must be scratching your head by now. Stay with me.

And… so it is with writing. Have you ever noticed that it’s more difficult to begin writing when you have a blank page / screen? And that, once you get going, it becomes easier? Push a book along a worktop. Initially, it resists movement. Stiction, is what it’s sometimes referred to. That resistance to initial motion. Once it’s moving, it becomes easier.

So the tip for today is: develop a writing flow. Don’t let anything stop you or push you off track. Don’t go back and edit what you’ve written until you’ve finished writing. If you write a paragraph, re-read and edit it, you need to overcome stiction to start writing again for the next paragraph. And so on. 

One more anecdote: over 15 years ago, I took part in a 24-hour short story writing challenge for charity. Every hour, on the hour, the group leader would post a selection of writing prompts, and we could write against one of those prompts, or one of our own. And I found, after writing about 5 pieces of flash fiction, I got into a real flow of writing – a groove, if you wish. The words and subtexts flowed, drawing admiring comments from readers. I definitely felt intensely focussed on what I was doing.

So: start a habit, set your boundaries for those around you, apply realistic targets, and really get into that writing habit!

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by Gerald Hornsby

DAY 2 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

HAVE A PLAN

The second tip I have for you this month is regarding planning. Some writers don’t want to plan – they want to freestyle their writing, see where it takes them, let the words drive the narrative.

Which is all well and good.

But the danger is that an inexperienced writer will sit at their desk (or dining table, or rickety old stool from the garage) and wait for the ideas to come. Lady Muse may, or may not, visit the writer when they’re at this stage.

If she doesn’t, it’s incredibly FRUSTRATING! You’ve found your writing space, you’ve created that magic half hour or more where you can be undisturbed, and then… nothing. “What shall I write about?”

Oh dear. That isn’t the right way. The right way is to have an idea before you sit down. You have a germ of an idea, a character or two, some way in which at least one character gets into a ‘situation’ where conflict can happen. Because conflict, undesirable in real life, is ESSENTIAL in a story. 

A famous author (I don’t know who) was once asked “How do you create conflict?”

“I force my character up a tree. And then I throw rocks at him.”

But whether you’re writing a novel, a memoir, a short story, or poetry – before you sit down, you must have an idea. If you’re short of ideas, look online for “writing prompts” or something similar. I have often found the pages of a local newspaper a rich source of ideas for a story, e.g.

“Lawnmower stolen from shed.” Who stole it? And, more importantly, why did they steal it? Did they steal it from a specific person who they didn’t like, or was it an opportunistic robbery? What’s the history of the owner of the lawnmower. What’s the history of the thief? Is there a bigger story?

“Elsie Baggett celebrates her 100th birthday.” Nice story. Who is she? Where does she live? Why does she live there? Does she have any family? Did she work? As what? Where was she born? And what sort of area was it she lived in?

“Local town council elects new mayor.” Why did they elect a new mayor? Did they need to? What happened to the old one? What qualities does the new mayor have which qualifies him for the role? Does he have any dark secrets? Was it an open and fair election, or he he ‘twist arms’ to get votes?

You see? Delve into backstories. Don’t just read the headline. Read the article. And ask the questions that the article doesn’t answer – who, what, where, how and why.

But always… HAVE A PLAN.

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by Gerald Hornsby

DAY 1 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

FIND TIME AND SPACE

I’m going to start of this month of blogging with my first tip – and it’s the most common thing non-writers will say to me: “Oh, I wish I had time to write.” Or, even worse: “I’m sure I could write a novel, if only I had time.”

Now, I get it. Some years ago, before I became a full-time author, I too thought I didn’t have time to write. But now I understand that it wasn’t anything to do with time – it was that I didn’t have the HEADSPACE to write. Sure, there was physical time during the day when I could have written, but most of my head was filled with information about my work, which left little time to think of anything creative. But you might be different. I hope you are.

Now, for the moment, forget about a writing study with a view over the mountains, or a comfortable nook with hot and cold running gin and tonics – we need to be practical. But, on the other hand, don’t think you’ll be able to write sitting on the sofa next to family members whilst they watch Eastenders or The Price is Right (or whatever’s on the telly these days). You’ll need a space for a notepad, a tablet, or a laptop. And some way of ‘cutting yourself off’ – a door to the box room, or headphones to cut out extraneous sounds and interferences. Don’t worry – those around you will soon get used to your ‘special half hour’. Don’t demand more than that. It will create friction (instead of fiction, geddit?) and you’ll come under pressure to “stop messing around with that writing thing.”

Personally, I’ve found a spare bedroom and a pair of over-the-ear headphones works wonders. Or a dining table. Or maybe sit with the kids whilst they do their homework?

If you’re seriously struggling, time-wise, why not try setting the alarm half an hour early? Your house should be very quiet (tiny children notwithstanding) and your sleep partner will appreciate waking up to a fresh cup of tea!

But it’s all about carving out time and space, for something like half an hour initially. Don’t be too greedy. Just half an hour – for you, and your writing, exclusively.

So, in conclusion: do you think you’d be able to find time to write a page of a paperback during a day? Doesn’t sound too difficult, does it? Well… if you’d started that a year ago, you’d have written a complete novel by now! Something to think about. Start today!

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by Gerald Hornsby

LOOKING FORWARD to 2024

BOOKS – FICTION

This is the year the Witford Market Mysteries gets released! Oh yes! Book One is in first edit, Book Two (part-written for NaNoWriMo last year) is about quarter written, Book Three is planned, and Book Four might be the Christmas episode I’ve written and abandoned several times. The problem has been that I want the Christmas episode to come out just before… Christmas. I know. Crazy, huh? So the Christmas story has been the first, then the second, then the first again, and now it’s going to be 3rd or 4th. The problem is that in the first book, you are introducing your characters for the first time. So there’s more back story exposition, the relationships between the characters is different, and the conflict and tensions are different. So yeah.

I’ve emptied the well of short fiction I have, and I’m unlikely to write sufficient quantities to make another collection anytime soon.

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by Gerald Hornsby

Looking back on 2023

For some reason, I didn’t do a review and a forward plan last year. I can only think I was reviewing the purpose of blogs and newsletters and so on. There was some discussion that blogs are fairly self-indulgent, and only serve the person writing it.

The same applies to vlogs and YouTube videos, too. I’m watching vids which point out “no one cares about you, no one’s interested in your life.” And I can get onboard with that, a little.

SO WHY AM I WRITING THIS BLOG?

Probably a good question. And the answer? I want to record what I’m doing, how I’m thinking, what has been good – and bad – about 2023, and what I should be looking forward to in 2024.

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by Gerald Hornsby

NaNoWriMo – how did it go?

The short answer is: not well. After a good start, and being well on course to write 70,000 words for the month (which would have seen another successful NaNo for me), I injured my back.

Not doing something heroic. Oh no. Not skiing down a glacier, or climbing a great peak. No, I injured my back… feeding ducks.

As a result, I could stand, I could lie down, but sitting was too painful for more than 10-15 minutes. I kept going, I tried to stay on track, but I began to fall further and further behind, and ended on the 24th November with just 17,629 words in the project.

If you want to see some of the update videos, I have made a playlist. I tried not to moan too much about my back! LINK HERE: [ NaNo23 Playlist ]

Am I downcast? Maybe a little. Not for spoiling my run of “wins” (my winning streak was up to 14 before 2023). For me, NaNoWriMo is about what it does for me and my writing goals, rather than being an end in itself.

I shall pick up the project again early next year.

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by Gerald Hornsby

NANOWRIMO – the planning (2)

At the end of the last post, I detailed the story beats thus:

Act 1 – opening before investigation, setup, initial enquiries, decision to progress

Act 2A – maybe side story (love interest?), detailed investigation, first obstacle, 

Act 2B – the investigation gets more difficult, MC suffers biggest obstacle, things look bad, oh – hang on…

Act 3 – new impetus, new ideas, closing in on the culprit, knocking red herrings aside, final disclosure, rounding up, return to normality

At this point, I’m eyeing up one of my favourite processes, which is 100% the key to all of my novel writing in the past five years – maybe longer.

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