Spun is told in the first person perspective of former ‘It’ Girl Amber Sheppard.
Amber has been two years sober but nobody believes her and she has plenty of problems. They include her ex-boyfriend movie star Connor Parks, the secret her publicist Olivia is keeping, the gossip spread by the media, her attention seeking parents and dealing with the odd craving for the booze.
One night Connor demands Amber’s attention. He summons her to his private jet, it’s about to take off and Amber makes a decision that will change her life forever.
How does Amber deal with the consequences of her choice?
And can Amber resolve the problems in her life in a way that suits all?
Although not much actually happens in Spun, fans of Spin will find the book a satisfactory ending to Amber’s story. The description is good, the characters completely plausible and writers voice is engaging.
Any reader who enjoyed Spin will enjoy Spun. However if you haven’t read Spin, it is highly recommended that you do first.
Spun is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.
The Jungle Book is the story of man-cub Mowgli, who is raised by wolves in the Indian jungle.
Shere Khan, the stripped tiger, was Mowgli’s reason for ending up in the jungle in the first place. And as Mowgli grows, Shere Khan makes himself Mowgli’s nemesis.
Mowgli is taught The Law of The Jungle by Baloo the bear and Bagheera the black panther. At one point Mowgli is taken by monkeys in the canopy above. Baloo and Bagheera rescue him with the help of Kaa the Python.
The Jungle Book has probably become a classic because it taps into our curiosity of wildlife and our desire to learn about foreign and exotic lands. Kipling brilliantly crosses the worlds of animal and human with main character Mowgli.
Kipling uses anthropomorphism, giving all animal characters human traits, emotions and intentions. The Jungle Book was written in 1894 and as such some of the language has dated and some of the description is unclear.
The Jungle Book would probably be called a novella today, in terms of word count. The CollinsClassics Edition I read contained four other Kipling short stories.
The Jungle Book is well worth a read, although the reader will probably only want to read it once. The Jungle Book is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.
In this three part blog post series, I’ll be sharing some of what I’ve learned about creative writing over the last few years.
I want to start this blog post with a short video, which is just over a minute long. In this video Stephen King describes a magic moment after reading a book where you think to yourself: This really sucks. I can do better than this. This magic moment is usually the trigger for someone starting to write creatively. But what drives a Writer is a need or deep desire to tell a story.
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1. The Idea
The idea should be imaginative and well thought out. No idea is orignal, everything has been done. But what makes new literature unique, is the Writer’s showing and telling of the story. The unique voice of the Writer.
2. Scope & Size
Consider the scope and size of the story before you begin. According to Wikipedia here are approximate recommended word counts for different types of creative writing projects:
Short story – under 7,500 words
Novelette – 7,500 to 17,500 words
Novella – 17,500 to 40,000 words
Novel – over 40,000 words
(From: Wikipedia, Last Accessed: 11/02/2016)
I would add in word counts for the following:
Blog Posts – Up to 1,500 words
Flash Fiction – 200-300 words
Poems – Unknown, but generally quite short.
Music Lyrics – Unknown.
If journalism is your thing, online magazine The Gay UK has submission guidelines for word counts. They are as follows and likely to be inline with industry standards:
Reviews: 300 – 500 words
Interviews: 1000 – 2500 words
Columns: 400 – 1000 words
News item: 500 – 900 words
Top List: 300 – 500 words
These word counts are not set in stone, you are allowed to be a little under or be a little over. But if you are hundreds, or even thousands of words over, then the scope of your idea is either too big or you are likely to have overwritten and will need to cut in the editing. Editing will be discussed in detail in the next blog post of the series.
If you are planning to submit a piece of creative writing somewhere, ensure you know the word count limits before you start and adhere to the word count. It is unlikely that the person or people reading submissions will read a piece of work over their stated word count. No matter how good it is.
Next let’s discuss essential elements of any story.
3. Characters
Characters should be:
Believable.
Interesting.
Flawed.
Have room for growth and grow throughout the story, or the part of the story that they are in.
Be three dimensional and as complex as any person that you know.
Characters don’t have to be likeable or liked by the reader. In books that I’ve read, some of my favourite characters are bastards. If people read your work and care for your characters, you’re doing well. If readers are disinterested, don’t care, are irritated or frustrated by your characters, then you have some more character development work to do.
4. Storyline / Plot
Every story should have a Beginning, Middle and End. There needs to be conflict and resolution. Plot should be captivating. It should not have long periods where nothing happens. Be aware of genre conventions. It’s okay to make the reader work for the story, but don’t make them have to work too hard. Bare in mind The Seven Basic Plots:
5. Research
If your story is set in the past, another country, or has a character with specialist knowledge you as the Writer need to do the research. You need to make yourself an expert in subject matters related to your story. Although you need to be an expert, you don’t need to show or tell the reader everything that you know.
6. Perspective
The choice of perspective is really important when writing any story. You can show and tell the story from character’s perspective, omniscient perspective or from several perspectives. A good article on perspectives is available here: The Writers Craft – Point of View in Literature.
7. Pacing
Pacing is bit of an art. Elongated sentences with detailed description helps to slow down a scene. Whereas, short. Sharp. Snappy sentences speed up scenes. Short sentences are ideal for action scenes.
8. Other Tips
You should write lots. Every day if possible. Writing, like anything, people get better at the more they practice it.
Get the show and tell balance right. Generally show more than you tell.
Your story should have hooks, things that grab the readers attention and encourage your reader to read on.
As a Writer you should read lots. Especially in the genre you wish to write in. If you’re unsure what genre you want to write in or type of story you want to write, read a variety. But don’t just passively read. Study the things you read. Look at the elements mentioned above, along with what you liked and disliked about the work. Try to understand:
What did the Writer do? Did they do it well or not?
Where in the piece of work did the Writer do what they did?
Why the Writer might have done what they did?
How did the Writer do what they did?
In the next blog post of the series, I’ll be writing about keeping going, the development of the Writer’s voice and the importance of backing-up your work.
Want to share your thoughts on writing? Leave a comment below.
Goals For Throughout The Year Read & Review 30 books. Watch & Review 12 films. See a show/gig. Give up smoking for good. Write, Edit and publish a Novella. Arrange & Have a Holiday. Study Something Pagan/Druid with Chrys & Simon.
New Experiences for 2015 by month:
January To start Writing again. To write a series of blog posts with a ‘Mental Health Focus,’ publishing one a week throughout the month.
February Try Yoga. Take a Yoga class.
March Visit a Museum.
April See a Sunrise. Visit a new place. A city or town that I’ve never been to.
May Celebrate my birthday. A night out to celebrate in style. Possibly in another city or town. Visit a Castle or a Pagan site.
June Spend time Walking in Nature. Take time out to celebrate Litha. Watch Jurassic World at the cinema.
July Attend Mum’s events. Birthday, etc. Watch Minions at the cinema.
August Visit Chester Zoo’s new Islands exhibit.
September Learn to Knit. Donate to charities.
October Celebrate Samhain.
November Take some time out to relax.
December Watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the cinema.
Are you a Doctor, Nurse, Healthcare Assistant or Other Healthcare Professional? Or a Student?
Ways The Human Body Can Go Wrong covers every system of the body, what can go wrong when the body malfunctions or fails, symptoms (including why these happen) and cures/treatments available.
It includes knowledge around essential skills for Clinical Excellence such as Assessment, All Age Observational Norms, Models of Care, Communication/Handover Tips, the role of Specialities, Medication Tips, Dealing with Errors, Documentation Advice and a list of Useful Resources.
It is written in plain English, but highlights important medical terminology. It has been written at a level where someone from a non-medical background can pick it up and learn, but that it is still valuable to those with significant Clinical Experience.
My dear friend Roy decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and enlist in the Royal Navy.
I wanted to maintain our friendship, to continue to support Roy, to make him laugh and to entertain him. So I came up with the idea of sending him a weekly email on random topics.
These emails were on a variety of topics, always being entertaining, sometimes being interesting, sometimes funny and occasionally being serious.
Topics included: Jokes, Puzzles, Inspirational Quotes, Future Technology to Be Excited About, How to Fight A Shark, How to Woo A Turtle, Some of the Most Amazing Jobs in the World, Facts About Castles, Do Aliens Exist?, The Kindest Humans, A List of Cakes, 13 Weird Body Facts, 20 Super Space Facts, Ancient Egyptian Curses, 10 Weird Olympic Games, The Great Emu War of 1932, Quiz: Flags of the World, Legendary Characters from the UK and others.
My Royal Navy Friend is a copy of these emails. In total, there are 52 emails. Dispersed throughout the book are also Royal Navy facts and stories.
This workbook has been designed for anyone that is struggling with alcohol or has struggled with alcohol in the past.
It is written in a Motivational Interviewing style, one of the key therapies used to support people with alcohol issues. It has been designed using a trauma-informed approach and is strength–based.
What you will find in this book is more than just worksheets about alcohol. You’ll find all the tools someone needs to get into recovery from alcohol and stay there. It’s a therapy-based book, not an alcohol-based book.
SpellCast is a comprehensive compendium of spells, oils, charms and talismans. It is purely a book about magic, folk magic for the 21st century. The spells are ones that are tried and tested, with some that will stand the test of time.
In SpellCast you will read about the power of Instant Magic, of Banishment & Bindings, Blessings, Cleansing, Communication, Death, Employment, Finance & Money, Fertility, Friendship, Happiness & Joy, Health, Love & Relationships, Luck Magic, Protection, Transformative Magic and WishCraft.
This book will change your life. Your life will be abundant in all meanings of the word.
This book contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness. Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
If you find my blog educational or entertaining, please consider making a purchase or donation on Ko-Fi.
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Read & Review 30 books.