Will your story be in our tenth anthology? ... Four words which created a legendary story ... -~-~- Picture this: a mother and her four children walking through the streets of Edinburgh as the night begins to close in. They are looking for a room for the night, but each house is full. The stone buildings seem to grow darker as the streetlamps throw out as much shadow as light. Finally, one of the proprietors offers a positive response and the family hurry inside, into a cramped room with metal bunkbeds, but nonetheless comfy mattresses. Frightened at these new surroundings, concerned that she has brought her children into an unsafe surrounding, the mother puts the children to bed and tries to persuade herself to sleep. The room inside is darker than the putrid orange glow of the sporadic streetlights in the world beyond the curtains which are masking the window, and she once more checks the lock on the door before climbing into her own bed. Then it happens. Knock-knock-knock. Willing h...
Friday 1 st November 2019 - Beginnings No matter what anyone tells you, your beginning is spectacularly important. No pressure or anything, but if a reader doesn’t gel with your first line, your second must be amazing. The general rule of thumb is, the further a reader is expected to go to find the story, the easier it will be to lose them. Starting a book can seem a bit like a rocky, uphill struggle - but it's worth it! One of the most well-known beginnings: In the beginning was the word It’s difficult to rival that one! But it’s a statement of truth (let’s leave fact out of it, as most of use NaNoWriMo writers are in the business of fiction), and that’s what most of my first lines are. Petrovia Lodge was all that could be expected of a country house for a family of a not inconsiderable income. Day’s Dying Glory In a country at peace, men of war are confined to their homes and families. Beneath Black Clouds and White The springy hea...