Skip to main content

Ghost Story Competition - Writing the Supernatural

 I'm not the Crowvus writer who publishes horror. I've appreciated the brilliant books by Judith Crow, but I know it's not something I can write. The supernatural is different. People will - quite rightly - tell you that horror can encompass the supernatural, but the supernatural is not only confined to that genre. The supernatural, by definition, have their roots in the natural. In the case of ghosts, they were once alive, now having transcended from the natural (i.e. worldly) existence, into the supernatural on an unknown plain. The best ghost stories (my opinion only!) are the ones which unite the natural and the supernatural, looking at the shadows and imprints left on the natural world by those now occupying the supernatural one. In essence, when I read through the submissions for the Crowvus Christmas Ghost Story Competition , I'm looking for the human aspect of the story. I love the idea of ghosts trapped in time, I love the idea of ghosts trying to commune with ...
Post a Comment

NaNoWriMo Day 23 - Characters: Part Four - Conflicts

Saturday 23rd November - Characters - Part Four – Conflicts

On Scrivener – my writing programme of choice – two of the headings on the character sketch pages is for internal and external conflicts. This is so important and will tell your readers all they need to know about the defining behaviours of your characters. You can take this as literally as you like.

Image result for ghost clipart
Smiling on the outside, what conflicts are on the inside?


Back when Facebook was still young (and I was much younger!), all those quizzes to find which character in X series you were most like were about the coolest thing you could do, they could have been summed up in two questions. What are your internal conflicts? and What are your external conflicts? If you could match these two questions to a character, you were definitely the most like them, never mind your eye colour or favourite animal.

In writing, outward conflicts are the easiest to convey. Character A dislikes B because of C. These show clear signs to the reader through the POV narrator, by their actions or words. It’s harder with internal conflicts. After all, all of your characters have them but, mostly, we don’t write from all points of view...

So here are a few things to think about in securing your characters’ conflicts:
  1. Only certain people say what they think – while this is the easiest way to disclose to your reader what inner conflicts your character is suffering, there are better, and more believable, ways to demonstrate this. Someone who is chronically shy is not going to announce to a full room that they’re feeling nervous!
  2. Conflicts are the gears of your character – every crucial moment in any story comes from a personal conflict of one of the characters coming to light. Your story grows in pace and involvement every time you use them.
  3. No one likes an infallible hero – you may think you do, but actually true heroics come from conquering conflicts rather than having none in the first place.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review - Mrs Murray's Home

I'm thrilled to be taking part in the book tour for this really enjoyable book "Mrs Murray's Home" by Emily-Jane Hills Orford! Mrs Murray's Home Blurb Home is where the heart is, or so they say. It’s also been said that a home is a person’s castle. But home is also with family and friends. Mrs. Murray longs for home, the family home, a castle an ocean away. The Brownies also crave for home, the same castle Mrs. Murray considers home. And Granny? Mary’s Granny hasn’t been home since she was Mary’s age. It’s time to visit the homeland, Scotland. Mary’s excited to tag along with Granny, Mrs. Murray and the Brownies. And then there’s the witch. The one they thought they’d killed. And the treasure. The one they had found. And it all ties together, for better or for worse. Join the adventure in book 3 of the popular “Piccadilly Street Series”. Review I loved most of the characters, in particular Brunny. He seemed human (although, of course,...
16 comments
Read more

Book Review: A Paraphrase of "Paradise Lost" For Youngsters

  Blurb: This retelling of books V and VI of the epic poem Paradise Lost, written by John Milton, follows  the story of Satan's rebellion and fall from grace. The Father announces his heir, Satan rebels,  Abdiel tries to reason with the fallen angels, followed by a war scarring Heaven's landscape.  Brother against brother, the rebellious few against their Father, a family torn apart by war,  concluded by the victor, the Father's chosen Son, casting the disobedient out of paradise. Excerpt: At God’s declaration of war, dark clouds covered all of Heaven and smoke began to roll down  the sacred hill. Then the countless hosts of Heaven marched on the enemy, fully armed from  head to toe with helmets, spears, and shields. Satan gathered together his army as well. He stood on his chariot, bright as the Sun,  surrounded by his fiery angels with their golden shields, and marched toward the throne of God. He hoped that if he moved swiftly enough, he could ...
4 comments
Read more

Book Tour - Total Blueprint for World Domination by Jolene Stockman

Front Cover It's great to part of this book's journey! When my parents bought me my sewing machine many years ago, the gift tag read "believe in your ability and this will become your best friend" or something to that ilk. This book reminded me a little of that - it gives you the matter-of-fact motivational speech needed by some many youngsters. 4 Stars! "Total Blueprint for World Domination" is an inspirational book for young people. Young people need to think big, and believe in themselves, and this book certainly helps with that! There are motivational speeches and activities gallore. Some of the activities have been seen before, but others are new to me. Occasionally, books heap activities onto the reader like nobody's business, but this book gets it just right. Not too many, and not too few. The reader is left feeling like they can take part without worrying about the time! And did I mention the graphics? The design of the book i...
15 comments
Read more