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My Writing Process for The Good Teen

By CreativityNo Comments
the-good-teen-plot-line

The Good Teen Plot Line

 I recently self-published The Good Teen, a modern-day telling of The Good Samaritan parable, with a hint of magic. I want to tell you a bit about my writing process for this short story.

The idea came from my childhood. Being brought up as a Christian we were told the The Good Samaritan parable. It’s a story that has stayed with me and one that I wanted to retell with my own twist. So I wrote/drew out the plot on flipchart (Left: My flipchart for The Good Teen, click on image for full size).

I like to develop my ideas, plots, sub-plots, settings, characters, pacing and description on flipchart as it’s faster than typing and allows me more creative freedom. The creative freedom to draw pictures, arrows and anything else I want to.

I originally decided to publish The Good Teen as a christmas story for my readers. Hoping to start an annual tradition. But then I saw a call for submission on the BBC Writers Room website for the BBC Radio4 Opening Lines programme and decided to write, edit and submit The Good Teen.

I had already written a To Do List for The Good Teen (below) and changed the timescales to meet the submission deadline.

the-good-teen-to-do-list

The Good Teen To Do List

The editing process, as always, was maddening. I had to cut to the word count limit, which meant some scenes were either cut, not written or combined.

Unfortunately, The Good Teen was not long listed by the BBC. So I decided to self-publish it online. You can download The Good Teen on it’s page. It’s a free download, with a Twitter Tweet or Facebook Like in exchange for the download link.

Write soon,

Antony



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Sunday 8 June 2014

An Update on New Experiences

By Adventures, LifeNo Comments

At the beginning of the year I wrote a list of New Experiences for 2013. It’s nearly half way through the year, a scary thought I know. So I thought I’d re-look at the list:

  • January – Do something that makes you feel uncomfortable. Done, see Something Uncomfortable.
  • February – Take a photo every day. Done, see the photos here: February Photo Challenge.
  • March – Be honest. Don’t lie, not even those little white lies. I found this one difficult to measure, as I’m generally quite honest anyway.
  • April – Socialise in new places and meet new people. I had a look for local writing groups, but couldn’t find any and gave up. I’m going to Pagan Con 2013 in July which will definitely be a new place to socialise and I’ll get to meet some new people as well.
  • May – See the sun rise & set (not necessarily on the same day). I’ve have had a think and need to see the sun rise & set somewhere beautiful. I hope to see a sun rise & set in July.
  • June – Do something for someone else that is completely selfless. I’ve not planned anything yet, but I’m sure an opportunity will come along.
  • July – Visit a site of historical significance. Done. I’ve visited The Druid Circle and Millom Castle with Simon. See Cumbria Adventure for photos.
  • August – Try a food that you would usually turn you’re nose up at saying you don’t like it before you’ve even tried it. I’ve not even thought about this one yet.
  • September – Publish a short story online. I’ve published two stories, see Bravely Sharing My Short Stories and Creative Writing. In addition, I’m doing some journalistic writing for The Gay UK, see Journalism page for articles.
  • October – See Wicked (the Musical). I’ve booked tickets to see with Steve. We’ve also booked tickets to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Up4aMeet.
  • November – Have a “pamper” night in. I’ve not even thought about this one yet.
  • December – Rest & Relax. Despite the busy pace this time of year, take plenty of time for R&R. I’ve not even thought about this one yet.

    • The phrase: could do better, comes to mind. Still at least I’ve got most planned.

    Blog soon,

    Antony

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    Wednesday 5 June 2013

    Bravely Sharing My Short Stories

    By CreativityNo Comments

    Hi all,

    Just a quick post to let you know that I’ve released my two short stories: Stuck Between A Rock… and A Few Amazing Moments online for FREE Download. Here is what they are about:

    Stuck Between A Rock… – Gina and Tom have just got engaged. But she’s got a secret and worries about his reaction when he discovers the truth. She’s also got an interview for the Director of Sales job, but she has some unexpected competition. How will Tom react when he discovers her secret? And will she win the Director of Sales job or is fate leading her in a different direction?

    A Few Amazing Moments – In A Few Amazing Moments Shaun shares his journey to find love through the decades. From his teen experience of rejection; to living by the philosophy of grabbing a few amazing moments of love where he can. The moments always coming to an end as he expects. But with Nathan his best friend and lover, will it be a happily ever after or is it another one of those relationships with a shelf life?

    As well as releasing the stories themselves, I’ve also shared what I learnt through the process of writing and afterwards. I have already said how the thought of sharing these stories makes me slightly nauseous; but I’m still bravely choosing to share. Hope you enjoy.

    Write creatively soon,

    Antony

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    Friday 26 April 2013

    Not Forgotten About You

    By LifeNo Comments

    Hi all,

    Just a quick post to say that I’ve not forgotten about you!

    For the past month as I’ve been writing and editing a short story for a competition. Now that it’s done and submitted I can get back to my usual: reading & reviewing books and bloging about other things in my life.

    So after next week expect the following blog posts to start appearing:

    • Book Review: One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern
      I’ll tell you what I thought of One Hundred Names along with how it compares to Ahern’s previous books.
    • New Experiences: January – Do something that makes you feel uncomfortable
      I’ll write about how I could have been partially naked for this experience; but ended up opting for something that made me feel emotionally vulnerable instead.
    • Technology Review: The iPhone 5
      I’ll write about the good, the bad and where I think Apple has gone wrong with the new iPhone.
    • New Experiences: February – Take a photo every day
      I’ll sharing all of the photos I’ve been collecting this month along with captions.

    Take care & I’ll write soon,

    Antony

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    Monday 18 February 2013
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