Followfest 200

I turned away and when I looked back I noticed my followers had topped the 200 mark! Yay for followers!

So I'm going to run another followfest - a bit like the one I did when I reached the first 100, but this time I'd like you all to pass it on!

So here's the plan. I've created a little "One To Follow" award and I'm awarding it to ten other bloggers who I really think you ought to be following if you aren't already.

So head over to their blogs and if you like what you see then add yourself as a follower.

And to the bloggers themselves - please take the award and pass it on to ten more bloggers of your choice!

So here are my ten 'One To Follow' Fab Bloggers (tough call this one - there are so many great blogs out there, but I'll leave it to you to pass this on to the ones I've missed!)

Creepy Query Girl - I love this blog - it's seriously sassy and fun!
Adventures in Space - There's a really interesting series called "After the call" running over here - worth a look.
That Elusive Line - an author/illustrator with a book coming out in 2012
To Stalk a Publisher - A Romance author to watch - you'll be hearing more of Emma!
"Living with and Author" - by Brunella Labrador - I just love the whole dog thing that's going on here!
Ellie Garratt - a very lively blog with lots going on that I only stumbled on recently.
Scribble and Edit - another lively blog with lots going on!
The blogger formerly known as... - a real enigma, this one :-)
Spellmaking - a SF author with quite a few publications under his belt - and more to come I'll bet!
Desperately Writing Susan - This is a really new blogger - go on - give her a warm welcome to the bloggosphere!

Star Trek Blogfest

I simply couldn’t resist this one – the temptation to indulge in pure Star Trek geekery (cheers Ellie) was too much – so here you go – my 5 favourite Star Trek Characters are:

Spock (okay, boring but I love his logical view of the world)

The Holographic Doctor in the Voyager series – for being the only character with any real depth amongst a crew of cardboard cutouts!

The borg queen – always good to include a strong female role model (plus the borg have to be the scariest aliens ever)

Jean Luc Pickard – for saying ‘Merde’ on the Bridge of the Enterprise! Shame on you Jean Luc - there’s children watching!

A tribble – no – several tribbles – Oh hang on a minute – lots of tribbles….

Anybody want a tribble?

Aha - a blog visitor - here you go - you are now the proud owner of a Tribble!

Making Hay

They were making hay in the field behind my house and I paused to watch the tractor going back and forth, the bailer towing behind and the bales spitting out into piles.



I watch the bailers every year with the same fascination, and each time I do I remember, many years ago, when there was magic.

We were kids, sitting in the sunshine by the edge of a cornfield, watching a bailer just like this one. And on one of his circuits the farmer stopped.

“You kids,” he said. “You can play with this stack if you want. But don’t go touching any of the others.”

We waited until he had gone.

And then…

Those bales became a fort, and a castle, a dungeon and at one point just an ordinary shop. We fought battles, held sieges and made daring rescues, chasing our enemies across the stubble in the summer sun.

Later the farmer came back with a trailer, loaded them up, and the magic was gone.

Analysis: Maximum Ride. The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

My daughter’s friend introduced her to these and the series turned out to be a huge hit. She’s read the whole lot and is hungry for more. So of course, I read the first one to see what this was all about.

Now as you have probably already gathered I am particularly fond of thrillers. I’ve enjoyed the James Patterson’s adult thrillers that I’ve read – including ‘When the Wind Blows’ which is the book in which the character of Max first appears – albeit in a somewhat different guise. So I was eager to see what his Young Adult fiction was like.

Well this is one rollercoaster of a ride. It hits the ground running and the pace picks up speed from there. There’s no let up – one thrill after another. Whereas in most books the pacing varies between fast and moderate this one varies between very fast and extremely fast. I was almost breathless reading it.

However the disadvantage of this is that there isn’t much room for character development and I never really empathised with Max. I didn’t feel that the other characters had much depth either.

But I don’t think that matters here. What kids relate to best with these characters is their alienation – after all – you can’t get much more alienated than being a mutant kid with wings. And for your average teenager this is going to be a big part of the appeal.

When the book ends it’s very obvious that the story isn’t over by a long stretch. The plot is left hanging. You feel like you’ve only read the first chapter, so it’s not surprising the daughter was champing at the bit to get onto the next one.

Analysis: High Octane Thrills

http://www.maximumride.co.uk/

Coastal Drama

A few weeks ago I walked my local section of the coast path. When I set out there was a thick sea fog, the lighthouse foghorn blaring through the mist. As I walked I watched the fog recede until all I could see was this eerie fog bank out at sea, ships skirting around its edge and the island peeking out from its shrouds.



I paused on the clifftop to admire the view. There was a lone tent pitched in a field and a boat moored up in the bay below.

Idyllic, I thought as I sipped my water.

And then I heard shouting.

I looked back down.

The people on the boat were all having a massive fight; voices raised and fists flying as they leaped at one another. Two bikini clad women jumped to their feet to try to break it up and I watched, fascinated, waiting for the splash.

It didn’t happen. One of them climbed onto the bow of the boat and sat in a sulk staring out to sea. The other started moving stuff around in the stern in grumpy silence.

A few other walkers had also stopped to watch and now we all headed on our way with knowing smiles to one another.

And I couldn’t help wondering what that had all been about. What was the story there?

I’ll probably never know but I’m sure I can make something up. Look out for those people in one of my stories.

Through Other Eyes

When we write we place ourselves into our character’s heads. We look at the world through their eyes.

Yet everyone sees the world very differently. Some people see challenge and adventure all around, while others see frightening things – threats and monsters wherever they look.

Imagine if you were seeing the world for the first time; if you had never seen a tree for instance, and didn’t have the words – branch – leaf - trunk – how would you describe it?

The way your character sees the world can show the reader so much more about that character. Make your descriptions work on more than one level. Show your reader how your character sees their world.

Mimsy has just spotted something – you or I wouldn’t think twice, but Mimsy’s just a little kitten, taking her first steps into the big outdoors.

Can you guess what it is?

The Big Reveal

The ‘Reveal’ is pivotal to a good story.

It’s a fine balancing act – what to reveal, when to reveal, and when to hold back. This is particularly important if you are writing crime or thrillers, but applies to all genres.

A well placed reveal drives the story along. And I’m not talking about the one reveal – the big one that comes at, or just before the climax. I’m talking about all the little reveals you need along the way.

It’s a bit like putting together pieces of a puzzle; one where the final picture cannot be seen until all the pieces are in place. As each fragment slots in you can see a bit more, hints of the final image; clues that there’s something bigger ahead. You change your perception, guess again at what the outcome might be. But you also know that it is only when the final piece falls into place that all will be clear.

You have to keep reading.

So, fellow writers, think about what you are revealing and when. Can you hold back and reveal a bit later? Or does the reader need a smaller reveal now?

Mimsy is wondering when to reveal to us where she’s hiding.