Faith, Space and Magical

A failed challenge ... or is it really?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 00:02:00 +0000

My good friend, Polly, blogged some weeks ago and challenged me to write 300 words a week in hope that it would get me writing again.

You see, September 2013, I suffered a head injury and as a result lost my energy to write, either creatively or otherwise. I still struggle today to sit down and plan a good story, even though I have several ideas on the go and on the proverbial drawing board, I just cannot find the strength to get moving when it comes to writing.

I have to say I have failed her challenge ... well, at least I have on this blog.

I also write another blog each week http://goodnewsofjc.blogspot.co.uk, which currently has no followers, but there are people who read it from America and Europe (including the UK), so at least the words are getting read. Each of those blogs constitutes three A4 pages in word, and so are more than 300 words.

But it got me thinking ... what is the point of writing a blog that nobody wants to follow and only a few people read from around the world. I mean, as a teacher a piece of work is given with the intention that it will be read, whether by me, the student or another student, but it will be read, that is a guarantee. But there is no guarantee that anything published online will be read - not even this blog!

What is the point of writing your thoughts down (yes, I am still going!) in a blog on proverbial paper that are probably not much interest to anyone else in the entire universe - or at least that is what it feels like sometimes.

Well, I think I have the answer.

Students complete work (when they do!) to impress the teacher and get a good grade. A journalist will write an article to impress the editor and so an author will write to impress the reader.

You have to aspire and hope that someone will find it interesting. If you write something thinking no one will be bothered, it will soon become tedious and a chore. If you write believing someone will read it then you will enjoy it more and more. You will want to write some more and so on and so on. The student will write even more if they think the teacher will give them a good grade and the journalist will write more articles to be published as often as they can be in the newspaper or magazine.

Likewise, a creative writer should write because he or she ENJOYS writing. they should not get bogged down with worrying if anyone will read it, they should not be bothered if what they write is a flop, write something else, continuously write and one day, just maybe, someone will meet you and recognize your name and let you know what an awesome you wrote.

Race to Space 2014 with REACT Engineering

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 17:02:00 +0000

As a teacher I enjoy the opportunity to affect young minds in a way that may help them achieve success in their own lives. The way I see it, I have gone through the same thing, there were some men and women (some more notable than others) who took their own time to ensure I succeeded and in many ways I have ... I am a qualified teacher, I am married with two fantastic young boys, I am also a published author, as well as an OK musician and singer, but the influence I received from the teachers of Thurso High School during my time has stayed with me ever since. And because of that ...

I am in the perfect position to help young people do exactly that - aim for success!

In school, over the past few months, I have been meeting with a small group of fantastic year-11 students (boys and girls) who have one goal, to get to space!

Yes, you heard me, to get to space. They are designing a payload to attach to a weather balloon and sending it off into the lower atmosphere (OK not strictly space, but they are on the doorstep and it is that that counts!). I am over the world that I have this opportunity to direct these leading minds in the school toward things like this.

This is by no means a small feat! Think about it, these young people are learning how to project manage, design and build technology (including electronics), liaise with outside organisations such as their sponsors, REACT Engineering and the REACT Foundation, film making, photography, website design, funding applications, weather analysis, aeronautics, computer engineering and programming, in addition to actually sending something (it doesn't matter what - it is something!) into SPACE! Oh and they are printing T-Shirts!

This is something that a lot of people only dream of, I know I used to dream that I would one day fly off in some Startrek space ship, indeed I used to write fan fic based on Startrek (next best thing!), but nobody like you and me (unless you are in fact an astronaut!) ever gets to send things up there!

So, even if these fantastic year 11 students fail to win the competition, they have achieved huge success.

So, the competition ...

They are one of three schools in the area that have been given £400 from REACT foundation to help them design and launch a weather balloon into the lower atmosphere, where it will take continuous photographs on the way up and back again. Once up in the atmosphere, it will take a picture of the curvature of the Earth. It will also take other readings, the current ideas are, at least, temperature and humidity (however, that may change later!). The balloon will pop and return to Earth (somewhere!) and they will use an onboard GPS signal to track the location of the payload and go and collect it.

A mammoth task for year 11 students, eh? I think not. You see, the team of 19 students are blowing my mind with the way they have organized themselves and getting things going. I am immensely proud of them and cannot wait until the day of launch, when I will be wearing my T-shirt with great pride!

For more information about the project and the team, please go to their website : WHASPACE TRIP

Editing ... is it really necessary?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 21:48:00 +0000

Last time, I mentioned my struggles with writing. I have tons of ideas yet have no time to write them down - I feel sad for not being able to do something I enjoy doing.

I also mentioned that one of my other problems is editing.

Editing is a major stage in writing and is really needed before the final publication - why?

becase if i didt edit mywork it wood seem wierd and difficult to reed (except to those who can read the sentence anyway because their brain is wired a particular way - not every will be able to read that last sentence!)

But, the question I pose is one concerning me the writer - do I really need to edit, or can I just get someone else to do it for me?

Personally, I would love someone else to do it for me, I could get more ideas out there - oh wait, no I couldn't I don't have the time...in an ideal world where I had the time, yes, that's right, I could get someone else to edit my writing and get lots out!

But is it right to get someone else to do it when they do not know the story or what is in your head?

Perhaps the jury is out on this one ... some people will be able to write fantastic novels and then send them to their editor who will read it and see if it needs work and do the work for the author, whilst the author is writing his or her next blockbuster ... However, some, like me, are unlucky with a not-so-famous name and trying to break into the market stage and do not have an editor.

You see, I cannot afford to pay an editor, I have household bills to pay and two children to look after and I don't get paid the greatest amount of money in the world, so I cannot afford to pay any editors, so where does that leave me?

Friends, family or myself. Friends are good but can be, like family too nicey nicey, meaning that they are not looking at the writing themselves for editing but for enjoyment - lets face it, unless they are professional editors, they are not professional editors and so do not know 100% what the writing world looks for. So I guess that only leaves me!

I published a book in 2011, perhaps you have heard of it, Black Donald ... I didn't edit it, thinking i was fantastic at writing and it didn't need editing...how wrong was I - have a read (downloadable from amazon or free-ebooks.net and find out how wrong I was ... go on, I dare you!

I am currently reading a book by James Patterson - I'm not a big fan of his adults books because of the multitude of swearing, but this one is about ancient Egypt and is pretty good...but in the introduction, he writes that he looked at his desk and had several half-written manuscripts that he writes bits for every so often...I thought 'What?!?' the secret is to write LOTS?

If that's the case, my friend, Piotr must have it already! he has just publisised three books on Twitter...good books, good stories. Just like JP, he has several on the go at once and then he stops to write another one...truly marvelous!

Maybe one day, I will be like that!

Why do I write?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 22:33:00 +0000

This is a question that I have asked myself a few times over the past couple of weeks since I was rail-roaded into writing again by my friend, Piotr.

Easy question isn't it? Well, actually no, it most certainly is not. You see, there are many websites giving advice out there about writing and that everyone should if they have a story - trust I have read quite a few of them. There are numerous writing courses out there, I even started one when I was much younger because I was dead set on writing in my adult life. I started the course as a teenager, did a couple assignments fairly well, received my feedback and stopped...

Why did I stop? Not because I had a mental block, not because I had had enough, but because life took over.

Life has a nasty habit of taking over things that you want to do.

Recently, I asked a very important question on Facebook, "How do people find time to write when they have a full time job and children?" I received a varied response, but essentially the answer was 'struggle!'

STRUGGLE? Sure not! Surely this is not a way a budding author wants to live. I most certainly don't that is for sure.

This is why I had to ask myself - "Why do I want to write?"

I want to write stories. I have story ideas that beg to be written. I have self-published Black Donald which is currently available on Amazon and various places (search archived blog entries for the web address), I have written a sequel, Black Donald 2, I have an idea for Black Donald 3. I have written a science fiction (my first genre love) of over 75k words, I have written 50k+ science fiction story that is not finished yet. I have started a fantasy story but stopped when the exciting part happened and yet another genre - a murder mystery based on a Scottish Forensic Anthropologist. I WANT TO WRITE. I have ideas for stories, but I serious lack the time to write.

Another problem I have is editing but that will be covered in my next blog.

So, how do I write when I am so busy? For those who do not know, I am secondary Science teacher, with all the hassle of work that goes with that. I also lead a theological bible group once a week and more importantly, I have two strapping young boys who are growing up TOO fast. I barely have enough time to spend with them and my wife, let alone spend time writing (although, in saying that, i am currently writing this blog!)

The answer is not clear. You see, many writers or writing wannabes will tell you to write and write and write...some tell you to write 300 a words a day and keep writing every day - this, to me sounds good advice. Keeping up the skill of writing every day only leads to vast improvements.

My friend, Piotr, is testament to this. He churns out story upon story upon story (albeit they are novelettes - less than 50k, but they are stories nonetheless). He writes nearly every single day. He has a full time job involving advertising energy savings in New Zealand, a multitude of friends he spends time with regularly, medical appointments to help with his mobility which are regular and a girlfriend to spend time with and yet, he STILL finds time to churn out story after story. These stories are not boring. They are not rubbish. They are darn good, all self-published and all well written, but this is the point ... they are getting better with each story and publication! Piotr spends time each and every day writing. Every time I speak with him he is working on a story.

Why can't I?

Which leads me to that question I keep asking myself - Why do I write?

New ideas, new thoughts, new things...new year!

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 01:12:00 +0000

Hey folks,

It has been an unbelievable amount of time since I last updated this blog. Some of you may have wondered if I had died? No? Well, no not really! Since I only have 7 followers (and since my good friend Piotr has added himself twice, that means there are only 6 followers) of this fine blog, I can imagine that these thoughts did not, in fact, cross your mind, or indeed whether you were bothered I had not updated the ethernet since 2012!

I aim to make that change this year.

No! This is by no means a new-year resolution, not in the least.

You see my other good friend, Paula (I only have a few it seems!) and fellow teacher and author has recently started her own blog. This new fantastic idea of her's serves, I imagine, to get her name and musings out there to her adoring authorial fans, or at least those who like her works that have already been published. Her blog can be found here http://iwantlotsofthings.wordpress.com/, I strongly suggest you pop along and read the two entries already there (incidentally, my good friend does ensure she will add more as often as she can).

Together with my other good friend, Piotr Mierzewski (whose blog can be found here http://mierzejewskiaspiringwheelchairbuilder.blogspot.co.nz/) and who regularly updates his blog, putting me to shame tremendously, I have been bitten, or is that re-bitten by the blog world.

But why? Why should I succumb to sharing my thoughts to the world when there is a good chance not many people would want to know what I am thinking? Why should I spend time at a computer to write my musings? Isn't that a waste of time, effort and webspace?

I am beginning to think not. All the big names in writing have a blog. In fact, all the big names who want their adoring fans to follow them have a blog, some update it regularly, some not so. Some are never away from their blog, some every week, maybe every month ... depending on what they have to share, I guess. Perhaps, and this is likely to be the reason I will accept from no own, blogs are kept by writers to keep them writing.

Some of you may know I self-published a book in 2011, called Black Donald. I have not sold a great many, although I have had on several websites, including smashwords report that there have been thousands of downloads ...

Perhaps that book was not good enough? Perhaps it did not fit into anybody's interest, perhaps i did not research enough into the readability of the story ... These are all important when writing a novel-length story. I must admit, I am a little disappointed BD did not do so well, perhaps when I get time I can update and revamp it, with a spiffing new and attractive cover, but that is the problem ...

TIME!

I am a full-time teacher and father, I have little time to write let alone edit, publish, design covers and advertise my latest! My friend, Piotr, has been writing more or less non-stop whilst holding down a full-time job, yet I cannot seem to find the time, effort or thought-process to do anything ...which is why I am starting this blog.

I love typing and I love writing. I do not want to stop. Perhaps, this blog is the way forward ...

So Long Since I last updated you all!

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:51:00 +0000

Hey folks,

You are small in number, yet you are still here following this blog. I wouldn't blame you if you had decided to leave, because my loyalty to this blog has been rather diminished since Sept. For that I apologise. Lots of things have happened.

First, I finished SYSTEM FORCE ALLIANCE and am now looking for a couple beta readers to check it out and make suggestions before I edit it, and boy, is that going to be a job and a half.

But there we go.

Sadly, I have not been able to get anywhere with writing recently and I am struggling writing this to be honest. I just found out that I need some sort of glasses, will find out more tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get straight back into the writing and perhaps continue with my sequel to BLACK DONALD. Which is another thing I have been concentrating on.

The name of this sequel is still eluding me yet, but it is, like BLACK DONALD, based around an ancient Celtic folklore, Jack O' Lantern. Of course, like BLACK DONALD, this sequel will have a struggle between good and evil in the Spiritual Realm and it spilling out into the normal realm, but it will be set a few years after BLACK DONALD. Its all in my head, just need to sort my eyes out to get it on my proverbial paper.

Well, I am going to sign off now, with the mental note to visit more often than I have in the past few months, hopefully when my eyes are better and not giving me a headache.

Pinch of salt or really important?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:20:00 +0000

Today, I received my first negative comment for BLACK DONALD.

"...his authorial intrusions keep getting in the way. Not a single line of dialog or exposition is ever presented without this meddling author telling the reader more than the reader needs... or wants... to know..."

To be honest, I was rather shocked after all the positive comments I have received. I also had to look up authorial intrusions as I had never heard of that terminology before. For those who do not know, it refers to the opinion of the author jumping into the story to give the reader some outside-the-character's-point-of-view knowledge.

I am in two minds about this comment because I have received quite a few positive comments from numerous sources regarding BLACK DONALD.

From Amazon.co.uk:

"...I was not disappointed. I had never heard of Black Donald, so was keen to read this story. It has a very interesting contemporary twist to a very old folklore character. Furthermore, the author has a very easy to read style to writing which makes you want to turn that page and continue. I could not put this down once I had started to read. I desperately wanted to know what happened to the main characters..."

From facebook.com (when they received the announcement of paperback release from my twitter account):

"...I loved BLACK DONALD! Such an interesting twist at the end. I read it in two nights before i went to sleep and couldn't put it down. Can't wait for the next one."

A verbal comment made to me from an English Teacher colleague:

"Nigel, BLACK DONALD is fantastic! I loved the characterisation, the plot and the twist at the end. I loved how you incorporated parts of Revelations into it. The only problem with it was, it was too short!"

Another teacher colleague:

"...my wife refused to read it, because she found it too scary. Nigel, that is exactly what you want in a thriller, great job!"

These are just some of the comments - so what do I believe? The average reader, or the one who went on to say:

"...If the writer had just told this story without over telling it, it might have been worth reading, but then, that requires studying the craft of writing, and few writers bother these days..."

I know what you are probably thinking - go with the average - but you know what, whomever this critic is, wherever they are in the world, I am going to take their comment on board, whether it is true or not.

However, one thing I have learnt over the past few months is, not everyone has the same tastes in reading and not every book in the same genre is everybody's cup of tea.

I am enjoying Simon Beckett's Forensic anthropology crime novels, and thought I would try Kathy Reichs' of the same genre - but sadly could not get into it. They both are best sellers, Ms Reichs has been dubbed 'Number 1 in her genre', yet her style of writing was too jumpy for my liking - I could not get into it at all and had to stop after chapter 1.

I am not trying to put Ms Reichs' writing down at all - that is not my way, rather I am trying to make a point here...

Kathy Reichs has been a number one best seller, the top of her genre and has published numerous books using the same main character. Someone must be buying and enjoying her books, in fact, to receive the much coveted award of number one best seller, Ms Reichs must have sold quite a lot of books - but they are not my taste. I cannot get into her character's mind. I cannot feel for her characters. I cannot get past her jumpy sentence structure, her unique way of writing, her obvious successful method of story-telling.

So, and here is the point...

If I can't get past chapter 1 of Kathy Reichs' novel, a notable author with many published books to her name and an expert in the field of the her main character (forensic anthropology), then surely, BLACK DONALD, a novella based around the ancient Scottish folklore of Black Donald (that is the Devil who has all the skills to hide among humans, except shoe-making), will not be everyone's cup of tea?

So, in the end, I will take this negative comment on board and use it to improve my writing skill through the years...

Incidentally, I mentioned Simon Beckett's forensic anthropology novels earlier - Simon Beckett is not an anthropologist like Ms Reichs is, rather he is journalist who did some research. That speaks volumes - doesn't it?

Black Donald is now available as Paperback!

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:05:00 +0000

So I was speaking to my friend, Piotr, about publishing and told him my dream of holding a physical copy of my first book, Black Donald, instead of the eBook version and he showed me a site called Createspace.com.

After much research into the site, I have found a few facts out about the site.

1: It is part of Amazon.com, so any book published through createspace.com will be available on Amazon.com (and all its sister sites around the world).
2: To self-publish this book is totally free and cost is only involved if

you choose to use their professional team
you buy a proof copy to review the book prior to releasing the final draft

3: You have full control of the book, maintaining full copyright and decisions about the book at every step of the way.
4: You can have a book published within a week of submitting it, providing you follow their guidelines and use their fantastic templates.
5: It gives story tellers like me, the opportunity to hold a printed copy of your first book.
6: It is print on demand, so you do not need to buy thousands to ensure it is distributed.
7: It is a reputable company, known the world over - Amazon!

Did I mention it was free until you buy a copy and even then, customers pay for the cost of printing and distribution when they buy a copy.

So to my announcement!

Black Donald is now available as a paperback book here.

You will notice when you receive the copy, the hood has disappeared, that is absolutely fine (it looks better in my opinion that way!), but other than that, it is fantastic quality.

I ordered a proof a few days ago, and it's like a professionally published copy, I am so impressed with it.

You can buy a copy from createspace.com for now, or wait a few days for it to be posted on Amazon.com.

Enjoy reading. For those who are stuck between e-publishing and book publishing - why not do BOTH. You will reach a wider audience covering both avenues.

Do you judge a book by it's cover?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 15:17:00 +0000

If you haven't heard already, ebook publishing is going through the roof, why? Most probably because people are looking towards the latest technology to do everything. I have a friend who reads books on his phone, he current has access to over 5000 ebooks on his bookshelves, he only bought mine a few weeks ago (Bless him!).

But what is it that attracts people to buying ebooks? Frankly, I don't know, but I would hasten to add, that my thoughts are along the line of the cover image and the cost. The cost is easy, most ebooks are really cheap, between free and a few pounds (or dollars), in today's world people want to spend less and less, mainly because they have less and less to spend. So the cheaper the better.

Another possibility is the cover. I like going through the library and shops and look at the cover, I occasionally read the blurb on the back or inside front cover, but generally if the picture on the front does not grab my interest, I rarely go further than that - but in saying that isn't there a saying - 'don't judge a book by it's cover?'

I think in this case, the saying is as much important as it is for when it is used elsewhere in our language. Should you judge a book by its cover. I mean, some of the greatest books out there have a bland cover - the Holy Bible, for example, the most popular and widely translated book (or collection of books) the world has seen since Christ was born yet the cover is mostly always bland and uninteresting.

So, is a cover for an ebook really that important? I think it is. I designed an image for Black Donald, as if it were released as a hardback book - what do you think?

I searched high and low on the internet for a way to design an ebook cover, but all i could find was adobe photoshop, which if you are rich, then that is fine, but for the more humblest among us, I could not justify spending that amount of money just to create ebook covers.

So I set myself a challenge to create this. It took half an hour using fireworks 8 from macromedia, yes this also cost money, but I already had a copy (albeit quite an old copy by today's standards!) and then showed my wife, who went, "Wow!"

I must admit, looking at it after sleeping, does tend to grab my attention - what about you? It is far superior to the bog-standard rectangle cover which are widely used by amazon, smashwords and all other similar ebook stores. But is it necessary?

I think it is - why? Because if it can grab my wife's attention, someone who rarely reads but would rather watch the film (not that there are any plans to release a Black Donald film in the coming future!), then it will grab any reader's attention.

So I guess the old saying is wrong in this case - you should judge a book by its cover and authors should realise people do use the cover image to judge the content and work appropriately.

Black Donald - FREE offer until Hogmanay 2011

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:09:00 +0000

That's right folks!

As part of a deal I am doing with Operation eBook Drop with smashwords.com, I have created a 100% discount coupon for Black Donald.

All you need is to go to the smashwords page for Black Donald (click the book title) and buy as normal, that is the version you can read and when you come to buy enter the following coupon code: SK28M

Operation eBook Drop is a fantastic opportunity for authors and publishers to support the troops in deployment around the world, who need things to do in their spare time and no doubt take their mind off their job.

There is no obligation to do it, but you create a coupon for one or more of your ebooks and email the person in charge of Operation eBook Drop, Ed Patterson via this link Operation eBook Drop and he will do the rest.

If you have published through smashwords, then it certainly is something to think about!

Remember that code is SK28M

Offer ends 31st December 2011!

Book Review: The Calling Of The Grave

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 23:11:00 +0000

The Calling of the Grave, is Simon Beckett's fourth book and I must say, it has got everything.

To tell you the truth, murder mystery is not my cup of tea (unless it is on the T.V.), I borrowed the book from the local library just for a bit of research into writing practice and I cannot seem to put it down. From the first word, I was grabbed!

On the back cover it says:

At first glance it could have been anything - a stone, a knotted root - until you looked more closely. Thrusting out of the wet earth, its bones visible through rags of flesh, was a decomposing hand...

The story is in the first person and centres round the life of Dr. David Hunter, a forensic anthropologist who has been pulled away from his wife and daughter to a discovery on Dartmoor. When the body is discovered, the murderer, who is currently being held in high security prison for 4 murders, offers to help find the other graves. Everything, however, goes drastically wrong and the prisoner tries to escape and ultimately fails. With the cold case closed, Dr. Hunter returns home and puts the whole situation behind him.

Eight years later, the murders resurface and Hunter is recalled to search for graves on Dartmoor, only to find that the escaped murderer, Jerome Monk is also searching.

Although, this genre is not my cup of tea, I found it incredibly easy to read and understand, and put myself into the picture. Perhaps it was the scientific terminology used throughout (given the main character's role) or not, I am not entirely sure, but this is a great read and well worth a buy from Amazon or other good retail stores.

I give this book (available both as an ebook and paper book) a whopping 10 out of 10! It was an awesome read and has hooked me to read his preceding three titles!

Check out Simon Beckett's website at http://simonbeckett.com!

How do you think of characters?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:33:00 +0000

I was asked today by a girl on detention (yes, sadly, I still have to give detention!), "Sir, if I do that work, will you put me in your next book?"

To say the least, I was gobsmacked! This girl is generally disruptive in lesson, tends to do little work in class, especially if it involves writing and thinking, and yet, still took the time to remember that I have published Black Donald. I smiled after realising she was staring at me for a response and said, sure!

This made me think of a question that I have been asked quite a few times since publishing Black Donald - How do you think of characters? Simply put, I don't spend half as much time on character development as I believe I should do. Characters are incredibly important when writing a story of any kind and if the characters are wrong, the interactions would be wrong and therefore the story would be rubbish. Think of Batman for a minute. instead of having a hard-ass character being batman, you had, say, instead someone like Mr Bean! hapless, accident-prone and incompetent - it would not work would it?

So characterisation is important even in plot-driven stories such as some written by my good friend Piotr or character-driven stories like those written by my other good friend P.E. Alty.

How, exactly, do I come up with characters? Well with every story, I allow them to develop and evolve themselves throughout the story as I write it first time. Some would say, especially those who are fond of planning everything first and foremost, that this is the wrong way to go, but I believe that this method of character-building really brings out the realistic appearance of the character. Michael Cameron from Black Donald did not start out as Michael Cameron, but evolved with the story, as I wrote it. As the story unfolded, it quickly became clear to me what the names of each character should be. For example, the main chars, Michael and Mary Cameron. Michael is also an angel of God, whilst Mary was chosen for her connection to Jesus (although there is no direct link to Jesus in the story). Building characters this way, you may find helps you direct the story through the character and thereby create the character-driven story, as opposed to the plot-driven story.

However, you might find that character building is something that you feel needs to be done PRIOR to any writing - this is equally acceptable, providing you are sure you know your character's intimately, back to front and with your eyes closed. You may need to know exactly how they would react in a particular situation or environment. One of my good friends, D. Wilder, author of The Miller's Maiden likes to build his characters before writing. He has a secret which he shared with me (so I cannot digress here!) on how he chooses characters for his stories. Look out for his next short story - it proves to be fantastic by the way!

Should you use people you know, characters you know in real life?
Unless it is based on real events, then probably no. But there is no reason why you cannot use their characteristics, appearances or something like that. I based a character in Black Donald (a teacher in the staffroom rustling a newspaper) on a colleague (who shall remain nameless!) of mine and although the character appears only once for a short snippet of the whole story, it is a prominent character in that particular scene.

So, you could get characters from anywhere, really. People-watch, google search, use a mixture of characters from other stories, whatever, or however, you decide, you should decide which is the best method for you and stick to it!

Chapter One - Black Donald

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:27:00 +0000

Kirkfale, Scotland

1910

“Rose, are ye in? Can I come in?” A tall, slender man with grey hair stood in the centre of the sandy road facing the shoe-maker’s shop. He wore a long black cloak that trailed on the ground and was covered in dirt at the hem. The relentless rain had been falling for several days soaking his hair and aging face, but it seemed not to affect him or his endeavours. His shoulders hung as if they were weary from having walked for days, but his arms were clasped before him as if to show respect for who he was talking to. He looked up at the second floor windows and then down to the ground floor shop window to see if there was any sign of movement within the wooden building. There was none that he could discern.

In the distance, the overflowing rivers that usually flowed along the outskirts of the village of Kirkfale, crashed down the nearby mountains. The crackling sounds carried through the small twisted streets and ricocheted off every structure in the ancient settlement, creating a rustling melody to the backdrop of rising mountains. A solitary bird on a desperate search for its next meal sliced through the heavy rain. Ignoring the dark, grey clouds that hovered above, emptying their watery contents onto the ground below, it circled before landing on a twisted gutter covered in pale moss.

Nestled in the heart of the deepest valleys of the Grampian Mountain Range in Scotland, Kirkfale was largely unknown to outsiders. The main roads connecting the towns of the North and East to those of the South had been laid several miles south of the village. With only one road in and out of Kirkfale, the villagers seldom left the valley and rarely accommodated guests who dared venture this far into the mountains. It came as a big surprise to many of the villagers, at first, when they discovered this stranger staying with the owner of the shirt shop a few months ago, but as the days went on, his presence was more accepted as he flitted between villagers, making use of their hospitality and learning their skills. Through the course of gossip, the stranger had been called many names, but one seemed to be favoured above all others; Black Donald.

“Come on, open up, I only wanna be yer friend,” Black Donald said with a cheery voice. Truth be known, he was struggling to hide his annoyance, he failed to understand why this one shop, the last one before the end of the village, had closed when all the others had accepted him with open arms. This last shop lay between him and his goal. That annoyed him. “I’ll tell ye what, ye open yer door and teach me ev’rythin’ ye ken and I’ll see to it that ye’ll thrive and become rich beyond yer wildest dreams.” He smiled, but it soon dropped to a grimace. How dare she resist me.

Despite the rain, the street quickly filled up with villagers when they heard Black Donald’s persistent shouting. They gathered on both sides talking to one another and wondering why Rose, the shoe-maker, was not answering. After a few more minutes, Donald turned to the villagers and pleaded, “Does anybody ken where Rose is? She’s no’ answerin’ her door.” He wanted to smile at the gathered crowd, it had not taken him long to alter their perceptions and turn them to his will and desires. It was easy really; they are so weak-willed. Instead, he looked pleadingly at those around him but nobody made a move to help. Despite his ‘power’ over these people, they still showed signs of mistrust, perhaps they are not as weak-willed as I thought. Eventually, a small boy gingerly stepped forward. No higher than Black Donald’s waist, he carried a basket in which Donald presumed he had bread, “What do ye ken, Son?” he said softly to the boy.

“Mister, Rose as awa’ th’day. She said she’ll no’ be back for some time and if anybody asked where she was, I was to say that.” The boy beamed at Donald with a grin from ear to ear.

Donald nodded his head, “what’s yer name, Son?”

“Tommy, Mister.” Donald was amazed Tommy showed no sign of fear or apprehension. He had already recognised the boy but the name placed him as the farmer’s son and he realised why he had so much confidence.

Taking a step closer, Donald contemplated his next move. “Are ye no’ that bairn from the farm at the top o’ the village?” Of course he knew the answer, but manipulating the boy would get him the information he needed.

“Aye that I am, Mister.” Tommy replied with pride. He puffed out his chest and stood as tall as he could as if a stick had been pushed down his shirt and trousers.

“Yer father taught me how to gather wool from sheepies?”

“Aye that he did, Mister.” Tommy nodded slightly. The corners of Donald’s mouth began to curl slowly upwards.

“An’ yer mother taught me how to turn th’wool in to a jumper?”

“Aye that she did, Mister,” Tommy maintained his smug demeanour and did not take his eyes away from Black Donald. If he were anyone else, Black Donald would have found that disconcerting and uncomfortable, but he was beginning to like Tommy’s charisma.

“Are ye sure ye heard the message right? Do ye have any idea where she’s gone and when she’ll be back?”

Tommy thought for a moment before answering, “I dinna ken all that, Mister, but I’m tellin’ ye noo, Rose is no’ there, she left the other day wi’ big bags an’ seemed in a hurry.” He stretched his arms out to signify the size of the bags allowing the basket to sway a little.

“And ye are sure about that noo’?” He wanted to be sure, but he had already discerned from Tommy that this endeavour was pointless. Rose, the only one who could teach him how to make shoes, was gone.

“Aye!” Black Donald nodded in defeat and sighed. He allowed his anger well up inside. His plan had been foiled again, like so many times before. This time, however, it would be different; he still controlled the moment.

Black Donald looked into Tommy’s eyes, a small part of him was sad that he would have to do what he was about to do, but he refused to let something like human emotion get in his way. He looked up to the crowd behind Tommy, “Have I no’ paid ye handsomely for all yer hospitality? Have I no’ been generous wi’ ma wealth in return for yer skills?” He threw his arms into the air, “Do ye think I canna hear ye, mutterin and laughin behind my back? What have I done to deserve yer disloyalty? I could have gone anywhere to learn these skills, but I chose Kirkfale because I believed ye were a good people. Clearly, I was wrong!” He slid his aged and haggard hand into the front opening of his robe and then retracted it slowly. As the hand left the robe, it clasped the hilt of a sword. Within seconds, he had withdrawn the long, thin blade and had raised it above his head with both hands. His robe lifted off the ground as his arms stretched up in readiness for Black Donald to make his first strike, his feet barely visible. The multi-faceted ruby at the end of the hilt reflected rays of red light over Donald’s face creating an eerie glow. His eyes turned fiery amber and his cheeks wrinkled deeper as he bore his teeth and began to snarl.

The villagers screamed and ran in every direction, bumping into each other but somehow, scrambling away. Some ran into their shops or houses and locked the doors the best they could. “Look at ye all run as if there are places to hide from my power.” Donald’s voice boomed throughout the valley like a lion’s roar. The screech of a bird sounded high above his head, but he ignored it, “I’ll find ye all. I’ll slay ye all. Then I’ll burn yer whole village down to the ground. Not one of ye will escape my wrath. Ye all will be damned to hell and the one who brought this upon ye, will perish; her and her descendants.” He roared again. Several nearby windows smashed spraying frantic villagers with shards of glass.

Donald looked back at the boy, why had he not run like the others? He stood watching Donald, albeit drenched from the rain.

“Mister, why are yer…” He began but stopped when fear struck his face for the first time since stepping forward from the crowd.

Black Donald swung his sword in one swift motion at Tommy slicing his midsection with little effort. He watched Tommy’s face as his eyes went bloodshot and maroon blood appeared at his mouth, “Shame, I liked you.” Without another thought, he turned and singled out his next victim.

Chapter 2

Preston, England,

6 months ago

The reflected sunlight from the shop windows across Fishergate was dimmed through the tinted glass of the bank doors. Mary Cameron stood facing the doors, ignoring the slow moving traffic outside; instead, looking at her reflection. Her deep brown eyes told of the sadness she felt in her heart, a feeling that was confirmed by the tear that trickled its way down her right cheek. She combed her fringe of black hair back over her right ear and wiped the tear away with the back of her hand. Slightly sniffing, Mary hoped no one heard her and would ask if she was alright. She knew that would make her burst out crying. Mary wanted to scream, but saw the security guard in the corner of her eye standing just to the left of the doors. Anything out of the ordinary would encourage him to move and intercept her.

A young lady and her child entered the bank and for a moment the noise from the street outside filled the entire room, but then died down when the door closed. Looking around, Mary wondered why the waiting room was so quiet; there are only a few people there. She turned to face the tellers behind their inch-thick glass shield and wondered what their life was like working in a bank, with all that money? No doubt they are rolling in it and have no need to ask for any help. Suddenly she became aware of someone standing behind her and turned too quickly losing her balance.

The security guard caught her just in time before she crashed into a leaflet stand, “You alryte, Miss?”

She looked up, his grey moustache hung limply over his lip and his half-moon glasses looked out of place on the bridge of his nose, “Thank you, I just turned a little too quickly.” She smiled.

He smiled and nodded, “Tha’s fyne, Miss.” He took his arms away, “Would you lyke a seat, Miss?”

For a moment, she was going to say yes, but thought better of it; she had to get out of the bank. She shook her head, “No, thank you, I’ll be alright.” She straightened her jumper and handbag and began walking slowly towards the door.

“Excewse me Miss, ‘ave you drawped this?” He held up her purple document wallet. She hoped she would be leaving the bank with an agreement to a loan in that wallet but she had been refused. She felt her throat thicken and tears pricked at her eyes but fought it back and took the wallet nodding.

“Thank you; I won’t get very far without that, now will I?” She faked a laugh, but was not sure she had pulled it off since the guard did not even smile. Placing the wallet in her bag, she turned back towards the door and opened it.

Her shoulders hung low in disappointment as she meandered out onto Fishergate. The warmth of the sun surprised her a little but that was the last thing on her mind. She tried to comprehend why the bank had refused her a loan again and what her options were now, I can’t come this far and be stopped at the last hurdle. She understood the current economic crisis had put no end of pressure on banks, but she was an honest person, or at least she hoped she was. Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing in her bag.

“Hiya, Babe!” She tried to sound positive, but knew Michael would sense in the tone of her voice that things did not go the way she wanted it to go. She could never fool him; he always got the truth out of her.

“Hey Babe, you sound sad,” Michael said.

“Yeah, he said no, apparently with our current account being in the overdraft on a regular basis, I am a liability when it comes to money.”

“What? Does he not know I have a stable job, want me to give him a ring?” Mary smiled, awww, how sweet. She recalled Michael was not happy at first with her idea of becoming a professional shoe maker. She heard his voice telling her it was a waste of time in today’s society, but when she discovered shoe-making made her happy after taking several night classes on different subjects; she knew in her heart that she was meant to make shoes.

“Nah! I just need to think of something else, there are always possibilities,” she said. “Besides, if it is meant to be, it will happen.” There was a silence, “will you be home late?” She drastically wanted to change the topic before she started crying again. She really did not want complete strangers to stop and look at her strangely as they passed.

“Shouldn’t be, the meeting was cancelled since the heads ill. Tell you what, I’ll get a bottle of wine and a pizza and we’ll watch a film or something.”

She smiled again, “love you.”

“Love you too, Babe. Better go, the bells just rang, see you later.”

“Bye bye.” She pressed the off button and began putting the phone back in her bag, when it rang. She smiled thinking it was Michael again like he used to do when they were dating, just to say ‘I miss you’ or ‘I love you’, but the caller ID was withheld. “Hello?”

“Is that Mary Cameron?” A deep voice spoke with precision and expert pronunciation, who the hell are you? The voice was definitely not Michael’s normal voice, but he could have disguised it.

“Who is this?” Mary began to smile, thinking it was a joke, “Is that you, Michael?” This was something else Michael would do, just to play a trick on her. Her finger was poised on the off button just as the caller spoke again.

“Are you looking for premises for a self-employed business in shoe-making?”

“Excuse me?” This is definitely a crank call, she pressed the off button. She could not believe her ears and began searching for Michael’s number to demand an explanation.

The phone rang again. She hesitated before answering, “Hello?” She hoped it was not the same caller as before.

“Mary, please do not hang up, this is a legitimate call and offer I want to present you with, I only ask for a few minutes of your time and patience. I understand that you are looking to start a shoe-making business, I can help, please trust me, I only want to help you succeed and bring trade to my village.” The caller sounded serious, but Mary was not fooled.

“I’m onto you, Michael James Cameron, wait until I see you tonight.”

“I assure you, Mary, I am not your husband. My employers are always on the look for new and exciting ideas, such as yours, that have the potential of developing into top-earning businesses. My employers wish to encourage you to start your shoe-making business with no loans, no overhangs and no overpowering boss. You will be totally in charge of your shoe-making shop, the staff of your choice, the decoration of your choice, everything will be yours.”

This sounds too good to be true.

As if he heard her thoughts, “And if you think this is too good to be true, don’t, there are no catches what so ever. You will be given everything you need to start and succeed and any help will be given to you upon your request.”

“Assuming I went with this? And that is not very likely at this point, what’s in it for your employers?”

“My employers are only looking for your satisfaction and continual support in protecting their interests.” Mary looked around to see if she could spot any hidden cameras, “Of course, we are not looking for a decision just now, we expect you to discuss it with your husband, Michael.” Mary gulped and began shuffling her feet, “Mary, my employers are so confident you will make a great success they have offered you this unbeatable opportunity, no strings attached.” There was a momentary silence, “I look forward to your decision forthwith.” The line went dead. Mary continued staring ahead with the phone at her ear, still unsure what had just happened. It just seemed too good to be true.

Chapter 3

Kirkfale, Scotland,

3 weeks ago

“I declare Mary’s Shoes open.” Michael watched as his wife squeezed the over-sized black-handled scissors and snipped the red ribbon that had been draped in front of the glass doors to her brand new shop. He was quite surprised how quickly she had managed to set everything up. He remembered the phone call from a complete stranger telling Mary she would have everything she needed to open up within six months. He still thought there was some hidden catch, there always is, but he chose to ignore it for Mary’s sake, why look a gift horse in the mouth? he reassured himself.

Michael recalled the journey just before entering Kirkfale. The luscious mountains, picturesque rivers and waterfalls, created a location fit for gods. The village was located at the base of the valley, with an ancient and derelict wall built around it. The original gateway still stood, but was now more for decoration than purpose; simply a physical remembrance to the village’s heritage. On the east of the village, beyond the wall, was the boarding school. With its numerous towers and wings built into the mountain face, it resembled a medieval castle rather than a high-achieving school. It was slightly elevated above the village, perhaps indicative of its perceived importance, Michael could not be sure. He had dated the construction back as far as the early 14th century, but he knew looks could be deceiving.

Looking around at the gathered villagers, most of whom he had already spoken to, Michael quickly discovered he had to concentrate really hard to understand, given their broad Scottish dialect. He liked how they were close-knit; everyone seemed to know everyone else and they were caring enough to hold a street party for Mary’s shop opening, or perhaps it was just an excuse for a party. He smiled a little when he surveyed the high street, shops and businesses lining the single, winding street for about half a mile into the village. Beyond that, there was not much to account for either. Kirkfale, it would seem, was home to just under one hundred people and approximately one quarter of them were children who attended the boarding school. Michael found it strange that such a reputable school, according to Ofsted, was situated in the mountains near one of the smallest villages he had ever visited; but again, he chose to concentrate on other things, like Mrs. Doherty’s cream and jam scones.

Tucking into his fourth scone, Michael recalled how it was only 6 months ago he had first heard of Kirkfale. Even the so-called prestigious boarding school, classed as one of the top in the UK, was new to him. He glanced over towards the school, but, as he expected, could not see it for trees and buildings of the village, perhaps just as well, these scones are so delicious. He put the last bit of the scone into his mouth and looked around the street. He saw villagers meandering in Mary’s Shop looking at the old photos that were left in the building for the big opening day. Mary had felt obliged to display them along with some shoe designs she had already created before arriving. She was talking to someone outside her shop and was smiling and laughing a lot. Perhaps, we will be happy here.

Farmer Gallagher, his wife, Amanda, and their son, Thomas, were standing near a green tractor with a sign posted just to the left offering tractor rides to the children. There was a queue of children looking very excited. Next to them was a face painting stand, again with a line of children waiting patiently. Mr. and Mrs. Doherty were next with their cream and jam scones. Then the local policeman stood almost to attention, if it were not for the cup of beverage in his hand. Michael had not been able to speak with him yet and so made a mental note to introduce himself later when the party had died down. Michael looked at the policemen over the rim of his tea cup, pretending to savour the taste of Mrs. Danderson’s delicious tea. He stood taller than Michael with a clean shaven face and cropped hair. His helmet lay on the ground next to him. His uniform seemed in pristine condition; perhaps he had pressed it that morning for the party. Michael noticed the officer was looking straight at him, as if he were staring right into his soul. A shiver shot down his back and he looked away.

Old Mr. and Mrs. Danderson sat on chairs outside their shop, Coats, Cloaks and Robes, which was next to Mary’s. Mr. Danderson was sat behind a table with numerous paper cups, two tea pots and a coffee pot. It seemed at first glance he was snoozing with a newspaper atop his chest like a blanket, but then would move when someone came to the table so he could pour a beverage and hand it to Mrs. Danderson who gave it with a smile. Such a sweet little village, these people are great.

“Ye must be that new teacher startin’ up at the school?” A broad Scottish voice slightly startled Michael, forcing him to spill his tea, “Och! Sorry about that, Laddie, here, let me help ye.” Michael watched as the grey-haired lady took out a handkerchief and began wiping his shirt where the tea had spilt. It reminded him of his own dear sweet mother, who had died a few years before he got married. “So, are ye that lad?” The woman smiled her sweet smile, a sparkle flashed in her blue eyes, or perhaps it was a reflection in her horn-rimmed glasses.

“Yes, I am Michael, I start on Monday.” He was excited, knowing he was about to start a job where his experience mattered. He was looking forward to the occasional night time supervision of the school and starting up a fencing club for the senior boys and girls. He ran through all the plans he had made in his head and smiled.

“Lookin’ forward to it then? Bet ye are, tis a grand school, one o’ the best in Scotland, no doubt. The headmaster is one o’ the best in country an’ because o’ all the hard work he has done wi’ our kids, the villagers elected him Mayor o’ Kirkfale. I’m tellin’ ye now, that was the best decision we made, because he has done everythin’ to get Kirkfale noticed by the rest of Scotland. Ye may have noticed, there is only one road into and out o’ Kirkfale because o’ the landscape, that is a major disadvantage when trying to conduct business around the country. The Mayor has done a fine job already and we have a steady stream of tourists coming on a regular basis to Kirkfale.” She was about to say something else, before Michael gently placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled.

“I’m sorry Mrs…?” He suddenly realised that he did not know this woman and hoped that she would not scream for him touching her shoulders. His mind flashed to the policeman.

“Mrs. Crochet, Laddie,” she said sweetly.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Crochet, I think Mary needs me, however, I would love to hear more about the school and the village another time, perhaps.” He tried to let her down gently, but was not sure he had achieved it.

“Och aye! That’s my shop down there; ye’re more than welcome anytime.” She pointed to the building just a few yards down on the opposite side of the road, “the post office, that is,” she said to confirm.

“Well, when I am next passing, I’ll pop in and share a cup of tea with you.” He smiled and walked away towards Mary who was standing talking to another villager.

He stopped next to her and waited for her to stop talking and for her friend to leave before speaking, “So, you happy?” Michael took hold of Mary’s arm and kissed her gently on the cheek.

“Are you kidding? I’m loving it!” She turned and wrapped her arms round Michael and kissed him on the lips, “Thank you for agreeing to come.”

“Hey, I needed a new challenge, I was going nowhere in that last school,” he lied and hoped Mary did not notice. “This change will do us both good.” He smiled and looked at the villagers and tried to listen to the bustle that filled the high street, but everything was rolling into one loud noise, finally his eyes fell upon the table of scones, “here, you have got to try one of these scones, they are absolutely delicious.” He took a plate carrying a scone covered in cream and jam and gave it to Mary, “seriously, you have not tasted anything as gorgeous as these.” He helped himself to another from the table.

“I noticed you liked them; I’ve seen the five you’ve scoffed.” She smiled taking the plate and began breaking a piece off and placing it in her mouth. Michael loved that about her; she always did that with cakes and biscuits and as a result, rarely made any crumbs. He, however, took a large mouthful irrespective of the outcome.

“Four actually, this is my fifth,” he said after swallowing the mouthful.

Michael spotted the policeman again, this time standing on the opposite side of the road. His tall physique made him stand at least a head’s length above everyone else. Michael felt another shiver shoot down his back and leaned over to Mary, “Hey, what do you make of him?” nodding in the policeman’s direction.

Mary looked across the road, “who?”

“The polic…” He looked back but the officer was gone. Michael took a few steps, looked up and down the road, but could not see him. Returning back to Mary he shook his head, “that’s odd, I could have sworn the policeman was watching me.”

“It was probably just your imagination, nothing to worry about. Come on, this is supposed to be a party, ain’t it?” Mary kissed him on the nose and walked into her shop to mingle with some potential customers. Michael smiled and nodded, but continued looking.

If you like what you see, download it from Smashwords.com

Reading - A New Concept - But Will It Catch On?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:37:00 +0000

5.2 million (1 in 6) people in the England cannot read.
14% (i.e. 1 in 7) people in the US are illiterate.
15% of Canadian adults are unable to read the basic word.
4 million Australian adults in work have a low reading ability.
18% of the World's population are classed as illiterate.

Shocking numbers for England, the US, Canada and Australia. Should we be embarrassed? Should be kicking ourselves in the foot at allowing so many people to slip through the proverbial net of basic skills such as reading and writing?

For goodness sake, this is the 21st Century. We have travelled to the moon, sent probes into deep space, explored part of the deepest ocean, harnessed the power of the Sun, water, wind and created a hidden energy called electricity.

We have produced written works of in excess of 4 million words (The Wheel of Time is a series of epic fantasy novels by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson), paintings by Picasso, classical music by Beethoven and incredibly complex instruments to play them.

We have a world-wide network that connects almost every country to each other, a messaging system that can bring two or more people together from different locations around the world and technology that allows us to see to the far reaches of the known Universe.

Yet...

18% of the world's population cannot read or write to an acceptable standard - and that does not include the children! What can be done? Well not much, that is not already being done, can be done for the adults who are illiterate - but...I believe these high percentages and numbers are due to a failing educational system and a disinterested student populace.

As a teacher myself, I teach students (11-19) who can probably read better than me, but they are few in number and yes you would expect the majority of students to read at a level less than the teacher (I get that - truly I do!), but, what about those students who, when they are in year 11 (aged 16) cannot read above the level of an average 5 year old? On the other side of the coin (I guess?), the vast majority of children who leave school do so without having any interest in reading what so ever. This disappoints me! Not because I am a teacher, but because I was one of them!

I hated reading in school, mainly because I found it archaic, boring, and time-consuming - why should I read when I can play on my computer or go out with my friends (there were no such things as game boys, games consoles and DSs). I put my disinterest down to the English department of the school I went to. I did not see the point in reading a poem or a novel and then breaking the poem or novel apart to analyse why the writer or author chose to write what he or she wrote. That very action, in my honest opinion (and yes there will be some who agree and some who will not) seriously creates a mental image in the vast majority of children today and, in turn, although that can read, choose not to! That is sad!

What can be done about it? Teach literacy! Not just at school, but at home! I strongly encourage my children to read and write as often as they can. Even if it is just a signpost, they will race to read it. They have lots of books, they love to read and I will continue to encourage their reading interest.

When I published Black Donald through e-Quill Publishing, I encouraged my year-9 students to read it, but giving it to them for free. They downloaded it onto their iPhone, eBook readers, etc. and read it and gave me feedback, and yes others made fun of me. Did I care about the negative, immature behaviour - no, at least they read something! You see, I became a writer to elicit emotion and enthusiasm - I think I achieved that!

In the end, I don't care if I get sold copies, or people just download ONLY the valuation copy, all I am bothered about is encouraging people to read. What's your excuse?

Research - How Much Should I Do?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Thu, 26 May 2011 09:45:00 +0000

As a scientist and a secondary school teacher, I value the importance of research in any form. Whether it is for a school project, starting up and running a club or something completely different like writing a story (I'll say story, because I would like to include everything from a short story to a full blown novel in this!). But, how much research should I do for a particular story? When should I do it for it to be effective? Where should I do my research? And...do I really need to do research when all I want to do it write?

The way I see this, if you want to write a believable story that will engage readers, then your story needs to have some elements that are true. Research is a must if you want your reader to belief it could be true.

This is especially true for political thrillers, period dramas, science fiction but I suggest you do some research for all the other genres in which you write. Research is a must!

How much research do I need to do?
That is entirely up to you as the writer. Based on the type of story, for example, a story set in the early 14th century would need far more research to get every aspect of the scene correct for the era than, say, a romantic story set in the 21st century (i.e. today!). The type of story is also a factor in deciding how much research you do. For example, a full blown novel of 111, 000 words would need a lot more research than a novella of 45, 000 words. The time you have spare to do the research is also a major contributory factor, I mean if you work full time (like most writers - me included!) you spare time is limited to those hours you are not working, which considerably diminishes if you have a family or do other activities outside work. So, how much research you do is entirely up to you, use your own judgement.

You do, however, need to be warned. Too much research can be detrimental to your story. What do I mean? Well I have a friend who has been trying to write a science fiction novel...for the past fifteen years...yes fifteen years, when the average novel is usually written from anywhere between a few months to a couple years. He is taking so long because he is STILL researching it. He has not written anything of the novel and when I ask him, he says, 'I have some more research to do.' I looked at his research once and was amazed at the information he had acquired, but...most of it was superfluous to the plot he told me about. Why is it detrimental? Surely it is better to be prepared than not? In my opinion, too much research can be detrimental because it prevents you from writing your actual story. Think about it, if you did the same amount of research that my friend is currently doing for EVERY novel - how many would you get out in your life time? Just think - do I need to do all that research, do I have the time?

When should I do my research?
I always do my research for any story I write during the writing stage, however, I am not saying that is when everyone should. This is, again, determined by your own judgement. If you want to do all the research before you start, then do so, but in my opinion, you can only do this if you have a strong plan in your head of what is exactly going to happen in every chapter. In my experience, stories tend to evolve as you write, which is why I research during my writing time.

Where do I do research?
Again, your choice. There is a wealth of information out there for what ever you need to know. The Internet is a fantastic resource but so is your library and friends and family. The T.V. is a great source of information. You choose. I would suggest not buying huge numbers of books, especially if you have children and a house to keep - the chances are you will not read it!

Do I really need to do research?
Yes. Absolutely. But how much you do, when you do it and what you research is entirely up to you.

Editing - How Important Is It Really?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:04:00 +0000

A friend of mine recently told me that he was taking another look at one of his writing creations after about a month of not looking at it. He was pleasantly surprised when he found typo after typo, grammatical error after grammatical error and parts of his narrative that just did not make any sense at all, which leads me to the question, should we edit our work and suffer disappointment, and who should edit it, you, family, friends, strangers?

Have you ever heard the saying, "I can't see the wood for the trees."? Simply put that is saying you are looking, yet you can not see the obvious right in front of you. Now, please do not think I am insulting anyone - I'm not, but the fact remains, if you are so engrossed in something, you are less likely to see the obvious things right in front of you. I know as a teacher, I call out a student's name, don't hear their response and look up, can not see them and then mark them absent, only to find that they are sitting right where I put them and I completely blanked them out.

It is the same with your writing. Since you are enthused by what you want to write, you want to get your story down on paper (or screen), you neglect the common errors; the typos, bad grammar, etc. This is not your fault - you are only Human after all. Therefore, you should always revisit your work and correct any mistakes you pick out. Every author does this and it is an important aspect of writing. The alternative is, being slammed hard for your poor English writing skills and rarely get anything published professionally.

So, I thought I would answer a few questions I have been asked by other would-be writers:

When should I edit my work?
As you write, you may find the urge to go back and reread what you have written. This is OK to a certain extent. If you continually return to what you have written, you will, like a friend of mine discovered recently, end up never making any progress on the story, because you are always making corrections to the story. I suggest, and many other authors do likewise, write the story in its entirety and then leave it for a few days, maybe even a week to a month (your preference), so that you have chance to push the story out of your fore mind. When you return to it, you will be looking as if it is a new story you are reading. You will pick up mistakes you first missed and will spot any inconsistencies and grammatical errors.

How many times should I edit it?
As many times as it takes to polish your manuscript. Each time looking at something different. For example, the first time you edit, check for continuity of script, the second time you could look at the characterisation, a third time, speech, a fourth scene structure and so on and so on. If you are interested in learning more about this, there is oodles of information on the Internet to help.

Should I get someone else to look my manuscript over?
Yes, absolutely. There is a wealth of benefits to doing this. They are more likely to see errors that your eyes have brushed over, they do not know the story back to front remember, but I suggest you only do this once the manuscript is complete. However, there is merit to check with a friend of continual believability and continuity of story plot. I have done this with a friend of mine P.E. Alty, wrote a chapter and sent it to her and she checked to see if it was running smoothly and suggested alternatives if necessary. Editing should happen at he end of the story.

Who should edit it then?
Anyone. Family tend to be over kind or harsh though. You may end up falling out if you ask family (a bit like a father teacher his child to drive!). A friend is a better bet. Particularly if they are writers themselves. They know what to look for and will be more likely to spot them in your manuscript. Other authors, professional editors/proofreaders or others who do this for a living, they would be, by far, the best people to approach, but they come at a cost, and sometimes extremely hefty cost. So think wisely before making a choice. Be careful though, you do not want too many people as that would just serve to confuse you. I ask at least three people, so I can get an average of my work. I find one person's opinion is not necessarily the same as someone else's. Use your own judgement in these cases, it is your work, you decide.

Right, I asked my friends, but they are not interested in the story, but I don't want to pay anything yet, what should I do?
Join a social network, like facebook.com or twitter.com and befriend authors. Be bold and interact with them first of all and then ask if they would check out a few chapters of your novel (chances are they will say yes) and if you feel up to it, offer, in return to do something similar for them. You could also join a writing group. This activity is incredibly beneficial to you and others who join. Not only are the members of like mind to you, writers wanting to be 'edited' but people who are willing to read your work as well. Win win scenario. One site I used to be a part of is writing.com. Thousands of people are members and are willing to read and edit your work, they will comment and make suggestions. There are regular competitions, writing classes in different genres and loads of social interaction. I recently joined another writing group called The Highway Writing Group. You will need to request to join through the administrator of the group, Piotr (access through the link!). The Highway Writing Group is part of eQuill Publishing group and is still new in its infancy, but it has already seen fantastic stories offered for editing or looking over. I recently read a story by Dennis Wilder, author of DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST: THE MILLER'S MAIDEN and was blown away. I can not wait for it to be published. Get socialising.

In summary:
Get socialising so you can find people of like mind and willing to edit your work, offer to edit their work, see how other people do it and if it works, do it yourself. Edit it as much as you can to get a polished product to offer for publication and most importantly of all - don't take critique the wrong way. The readers are only giving their opinion and whether you take it or not, is entirely up to you.

Back From a Long Spell

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Sun, 15 May 2011 23:15:00 +0000

Welcome back. It has been a while since I last posted a blog entry and you will no doubt, if you have visited previously notice a few changes.

I have changed blog provider!

But more importantly, during the time between the last blog entry and this one, I have exploring new ways to reach out and communicate with the wider audience and thought I would just write a few of what I experienced here in order to help others who find themselves in a similar position.

Obviously the most famous and easiest method of reaching friends and family on the internet is one of the many social networking sites. You can choose one (e.g. Facebook, Myspace, twitter, etc) or all of them, it really is your choice. I personally chose Facebook.com since I already had an account. It can be fun, it can be boring, depending on what you are looking for. If you want games, communication with friends, catchup with old friends, photo sharing and much more, then Facebook is for you. But it does have it's issues. Unless you opt out of messages or updates from friends, your newsreel tends to get filled up of total useless information, for example, such and such answered a question about you, click here to see what they answered or such and such got 1 trillion points in such and such game. For the point of being a professional person, an author, writer, cartoonist or just bog-standard famous person, you may wish to hide all those comments and news updates.

In saying that though, Facebook does have its merits. Any announcements of up and coming books publications can be sent to all your friends quickly and easily, even links and images of the cover books, etc.

Of recent days, I have created a Twitter account. This is a social news network that has taken the world by storm and is a fantastic way to send news to the entire world (well those who have access to Twitter). You can even now hook both Twitter and Facebook together, meaning you can send an advertisement or publication date to Twitter and the message is sent to Facebook. A notable author, Diane Duane did just this some weeks ago when asking for volunteers to proof read her latest novel in return for a signed copy after publication. Twitter also has its draw backs - spamming. I have had people follow me just to try and sell something to me or people I would rather not show any connection to (for legal reasons due to me being a teacher!). Thankfully, Twitter have introduced a process by which you can ban certain individuals from following you.

Of course a good quality website to show off your stories is a must. The world is so much smaller now with the advent of the world wide web and an author's best tool for advertising and displaying their own work is a colourful website. I created mine (only because I have the necessary skills), but you can easily create one through google or any number of cheap designers.

Joining forums is also a really good way to plug your novel and to gain a voice the world. You offer comment on a number of topics enough, people will begin to take notice and your name will become a household name (eventually!) - still working on that one!

I have just hooked up with another author, Michael R. Hicks author of the IN HER NAME sci fi series and linking to each other's website is a great way to build your credibility and name. Other authors I have linked with is Piotr Mierzejewski author of VESTRA CENTRAL and SCENE OF TRANQUILLITY. If you are an author and want to share links on our websites just let me know on twitter (@Ngillson).

Of course, by far the best, and will no doubt always will be the best method (in my honest opinion) is word of mouth. I recently published BLACK DONALD with eQuill publishing (it is also available on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk) and have handed to a member of staff in the school I teach - she had read it and passed it on. I also gave a free copy to one of my year 9 students who distributed throughout the year. I have got some positive feedback from them (as well as negative!). I remember being asked, "is it wise to give students ammunition to make fun of you?" - my answer? At least they are reading something!

Word of mouth is an excellent way to get your work known throughout the local and national (and sometimes international) community.

As always, if you know any other fantastic methods to share with the world and get your name out there to the prospective audiences, comment on this blog.

Till next time.

ebooks - a thing of the future?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Mon, 09 May 2011 02:34:00 +0000

You ask a librarian, they would most probably say outright, "No!", nothing compares to actually having a paper book in their hands, and you know what, for several years, I would have agreed with them. You see I liked having the book between my fingers, it is something, not sure what, that you just need to feel the pages. However, since I published my first novel, Black Donald (available at Amazon.co.uk), ebooks have grown on me considerably.

The world is constantly evolving. Something new is always being created to make life a little better or easier: The VHS was revolutionary because you could record T.V. to watch at a later date meaning you did not need to be in when your favourite program was on, then they created the DVD, which blew VHS out of the window; now we have blue-ray which makes the quality that much clearer.

They do the same with computers, cars and mobile phones; just when you are getting used to what your device can do, they go and create a brand new one that is a million times better and no doubt faster. (Don't get me started on phones - not sure why everyone needs a mobile phone - what did they do before they were created?) But I digress...

eBooks are no different. Paper and hard back books have been around for many years, there are probably literally thousands (if not millions) of paper books in circulation today (whether they are currently in publish or not is another matter!). It must have been a great idea, because they lasted for such a long time and it is only until relatively recent they have been improved; technologically.

The eBook reader allows you to store thousands of books (yes complete books), whereas you would struggle to keep that many in paper format in your average house. Amazon created the Kindle, but there are several other makes and models at varying prices. You can also download an app for your mobile phone now to allow you to read ebooks.

So what are the advantages of ebooks over the traditional books - lots! They are less heavy to carry around, they are a lot cheaper to buy and probably the most important reason in terms of writers like myself, they are a lot easier to publish.

Unfortunately, publishing has got to the stage where it is extremely hard to publish a paper book. It is extremely competitive! Most good traditional publishers tend to only accept queries from agents who, in turn, usually only accept unsolicited work from published authors (unless it is 100% fantastic!). eBook publishers, however, are not so stringent, mainly (I believe), there is no printing, no costs for ink and relatively little labour costs involved. You could change a document into pdf within minutes.

However, do not get roped into people who say they are publishers for ebooks, yet are clearly not bothered about your sale or story. There are a lot of them out there - be aware!

Continuing the theme of authors/writers, ebook publishing also allows you to earn a much higher royalty from your sales, anything between 35% to 80% in some cases, granted the books themselves only cost between £1 to £5 on average, but with a little well placed advertising, word of mouth and a variety of other methods to drive traffic to your new published book, those sales would sore before you know it.

So, are eBooks a thing of the future or something that is in the here and now? Clearly it is now. It is new technology that we must embrace. Our children will prefer using readers than books, so we should make provisions for that. Don't you think?

Publishing - self or professional?

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Mon, 09 May 2011 02:33:00 +0000

As I write to you this evening, Amazon.co.uk are finalising my cost for Black Donald on the British book store site. What a feat for newbie writers, to find your book cover (and ofcourse book content) on Amazon, both America's and the UK's. Friends, if you are a writer, you should get your book on Amazon. It is the first port of call for any online book buying whether it is ebook like Black Donald or paper/hard copy.

Anyway, Black Donald should be live both in UK and America in the next 24 hours or so. But this begs the question, should you self-publish or seek out a reasonably professional publisher? What are the pitfalls of self-publishing or would it be better for the newbie writer?

I went with eQuill publishing for Black Donald (and will probably go with them for the next few titles) because they were cheap (i.e. free) and professional. I did look into self-publishing and even vanity publishing and was shocked at some of the costings.

Vanity publishing is a major no no - why? Its a waste of time. If you want to make writing a career or long term hobby, professional publishers and agents would not touch you with a barge pole if you have evidence of vanity publishing. Vanity publishing is where you pay (sometimes thousands of pounds) to have your book published. You usually have to purchase anything up to 500 copies (or more in some cases) and are left to foot the bill if you fail to sell any of them. Any author can (with the write amount of cash) publish any book of any quality of any genre of any topic through vanity publishing, which makes this type of publishing derogatory and shameful in the eyes of professional agents and publishers. I researched one publishing company who charged your minimum $5000 for publishing paper books and you only got 25 copies (any more would cost you!) - what a rip off!

It is important, however, NOT to get vanity publishing mixed up with self-publishing. Self-publishing is where the author can publish the book (usually online) for very little or no cost to him or her. Sites like smashwords and writing.com are reasonably good sites that allow you to publish your work and allow others to view it. It is considered published if allowed on these websites. However, Smashwords allows anyone to publish almost anything and sometimes your profits are considerably small, whereas writing.com you only earn the website's currency of Gift Points, which can be spent on anything, including upgrading your membership. Each website allow others to view your work and rate and review, which is always good, but is it enough for the big leagues? Agents don't care if you have published on line unless it is a reputable publisher.

But there are other sites out there that allow you to self-publish your work, still get royalties and get your name out there into the world. Amazon are good. Black Donald is now on Amazon. Amazon is probably the world's largest book store and is the first one that everyone turns to. Ok, not a traditional publisher, but any good publisher sells through Amazon. Agents recognise Amazon. I have a writing friend (P.E. Alty author of The Healer's Stone - see review) who has sold more than 50 copies since January just by publishing on Amazon. She had done no advertising whatsoever. Amazon is a good tool for sales.

However, it is not as good as the real thing. Most professional publishers require an agent to showcase your writing skills, and most agents now need proof that you are a viable client by having published material previously that have been successful. This is where Amazon comes in. Get on Amazon and get sales - then approach an agent with future works.

Publishing a book is a fiercely competitive process and you are up against professional writers who have been writing for years, and perhaps millions of other newbies each of whom have a story to tell, some better than others. So do yourself a favour. If you want to get into writing, self-publish or find a free ebook publisher who will publish your work and advertise on Amazon. Gets successful sales and then (assuming you have kept writing), approach an agent for a future story.

Good luck with your endeavour!

Book Review: The Cyber Chronicles: Queen of Arlin by T.C. Southwell

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Mon, 09 May 2011 02:30:00 +0000

Just finished reading The Cyber Chronicles: Queen of Arlin by T.C. Southwell a couple of weeks ago.

The Cyber Chronicles: The Queen of Arlin is about a young girl is forced to grow up when her father dies leaving her the throne of Arlin. Within days of the funeral, the three powerful neighbouring kingdoms attack with the goal of taking the Kingdom of Arlin as their own. However, one king, a rapist and woman-beater shines out on top.

Secretly, the Queen's late father agrees plans with a magician to rid the Death Zone, but dies before the plans are brought to fruition.

However, with the Kingdom under constant attack and the life of the Queen under threat, Queen Tassin must flee the kingdom and her subjects at the hand of the enemy to find support against the on slaught.

With an exciting plot line that keeps your turning the pages, characterisation that makes you feel you know them and immensely entertaining twist, I give The Cyber Chronicles (Part 1) a 3 out of 5.

The Cyber Chronicles: Queen of Arlin by T.C. Southwell can be found, FREE to download from http://www.getfreeebooks.com/?p=3465, with more on the author's website.

Check it out!

Book Review: The Healer's Stone by P.E. Alty

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Mon, 09 May 2011 02:29:00 +0000

Hey I just finished reading The Healer's Stone by P.E. Alty and wanted to just write something about it because I am excited about it.

The story is set in present day UK and revolves around a girl who begins to witness strange magical things, like insects coming back to life. Gwen, the teenage girl who is just an average girl attending just an average school inherited a stone from her Grandmother.

It is not long before these strange things begin happening. As the story unfolds, Gwen is taken on a school trip to a place that harbours a mystical stone chair, from which the Healer's stone is taken and as the student listen to the legend of the chair, their imagination goes over board, until Gwen experiences something like she has never experienced before.

Upon returning to school and finding she has a new teacher who is not what she appears, Gwen soon discovers she is torn in an ancient battle to prevent a well-known mythical witch from re-entering the world.

With a narrative that keeps you guessing with every page turner, The Healer's Stone by P.E. Alty is a novel you wont be able to put down once you start reading. The characterisation are well developed and believable and the plot is expert in design, complete with a twist at the end to blow any guesses you foster throughout the book.

It is available from Amazon.co.uk (and .com) as an ebook (Kindle format) or Smashwords in other formats.

I give The Healer's Stone by P.E. Alty 4 out 5 for a fantastic tale. More stories like this one that gives a fresh look at an old story should be published and I for one will be looking out for more from P.E. Alty.

Planning or No Planning, that is the question

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Mon, 09 May 2011 02:26:00 +0000

When my good friend, Piotr challenged me to write a story in an unfamiliar genre, my first thought was, "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" I am only familiar with science fiction, having only read sci fi novels and only then star trek books (since then I have started reading other sci fi and fantasy books by the way!). I really did not know where to start.

I did a little internet research and came across a website maintained by this guy, Randy Ingermanson, the author of Writing Fiction for Dummies,Transgression and Oxygen. Randy is a physicist (like me), a Christian (like me) and likes sci fi (like me). He has been writing for a while now and has designed a technique to help would be authors plan a novel.

You see, like Randy, I believe everyone has a story to tell. It could be real or fiction, but everyone has a story to tell, however, only a fraction of those people actually get that story told in the form of a book. Randy has devised a method to help everyone how to plan a novel, from scratch. Check out his free article How To Write A Novel: The Snowflake Method for yourself and try it.

Getting back to that challenge Piotr had set me last year, I used Randy's Snowflake Method and hey presto created Black Donald. I planned, extended the plan and extended it some more before actually writing the novel. I actually found this planning process quite easy and enjoyed the creative flare it allowed.

However, having written another novel (to be released in the coming months) and several short stories where planning before hand was non-existent, I can not absolutely say, "yes planning is essential!" Sometimes you just have to tell the story that is oozing out of you without the planning. Sometimes you need to just start writing, otherwise you get stuck in the planning stage. Sometimes you can get bogged down with the planning and the planning process takes over and before long you have written an instruction manual on your novel, giving every intricate detail of the novel and not allowing the reader to guess some aspects of the story, which in my opinion (as an avid reader) can be a big turn-off.

That is not to say, you should not plan, of course you should. I am currently writing a novel (no spoilers) where no planning has been involved before hand, but as I have written the first couple of chapters, my brain is starting to kick in and I have done a little research (as it is historical fiction) and planned (in my head) what is basically going to happen in the story, but chapter by chapter will be written as it comes to me.

This method of writing worked extremely well for the System Force Alliance:Sacrifices novel (to be released soon).

I guess what I am trying to say is plan if you want to or if you feel you cannot write on the seat of your pants (this, for many, can take years to perfect!). If you are like me, with oodles of years experience writing fan fiction on the seat of my pants (so to speak!), then just write.

You weigh up the pros and cons and see which one best suits you.

Idea Hunting

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Mon, 09 May 2011 02:25:00 +0000

I have been asked by a couple of people where I get ideas.

It's funny really, they generally just pop into my head, when I am least expecting it and when I have nothing to write it down on, or when I am driving and have no free hands to write it down (perhaps I should get a Dictaphone?).

The truth is, there is a phenomenal amount of ideas you could use as a story backdrop. Lets look at the old classic: Romeo and Juliet

There's the original (or copies of it) found here

There's the not so classic film from 1996 Romeo and Juliet

There's the musical West Side Story

And the most modern Gnomeo and Juliet

And no doubt there are countless more adaptations, stories based on or of a similar theme of a love that cannot be.

"Get on with it, Nigel!" Fair enough, what I am trying to say is, many stories are existing stories in a different setting. For example, the original Romeo and Juliet does not involve guns (as in the 1996 adaptation film) or fist fights as in West Side Story, yet even though each story follows a similar pattern, they both are accepted and hugely successful the world over. Why is this? I wish I knew and if anyone could tell me I would appreciate it.

Perhaps it is to do with being well written; so well written that the reader forgets they have read (or seen) the story before in a different context. Perhaps, readers don't care whether the story theme is the same and are just more interested in the context. I really do not know. But the point of this is this: You can look absolutely anywhere for a story theme, including films, books, stories, T.V. programmes, anywhere!

Providing, of course, you do not copy the story into another story and claim it as your own, you do not infringe on copyright. In fact, an idea, such as a story idea can not be copyrighted only the idea in a particular setting or context can be, which makes our whole idea hunting a lot easier.

The idea I got for Black Donald was a mixture. My good friend, Piotr (who's website can be found at the top of this blog) set me a challenge back in the early part of 2010. He told me to write in a genre I was unfamiliar in and said it had to be 20, 000 and to do with a folklore. I thought, "Great! How on Earth am I going to think of something to include that." I searched the internet and found the perfect folklore, but how was I going to create the story? It was about the time, the final season of Supernatural from Warner Bros was being viewed in the UK. Of course, I only took one idea from the show and that was angels and demons walk among humans taking human hosts. The context is completely different, the story is completely different and so no copyright has been broken.

I like to take ideas out of the Bible, again another book I took ideas for Black Donald from. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis was originally themed from the Bible and the obvious parallels between the story in Narnia and the story of Jesus Christ are clear.

So, next time you are stuck for an idea, watch a film, read a book, talk to someone, go for a walk, anything and anything can be the start of an idea and although not every idea ends up being a story, every idea has the right to be thought of and therefore, has the potential to be an award-winning story.

Go idea hunting!

The Average Sci Fi Novel

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Mon, 09 May 2011 02:24:00 +0000

I am very lucky.

For Christmas, my darling wife got me an ebook reader, something I wanted and needed to read lots of books that I don't have space to keep.

I took the opportunity to put all my Star Trek novels on the reader, since I had a collection of over 500 or so and was pleasantly surprised when I opened on file in word (on the computer that is!). It's word count was about 30, 000. I quickly checked another, and another and another and every book was between 30, 000 and 50, 000, with obvious exceptions of course.

This gives me hope! Black Donald is around 34, 000, but that is not science fiction.

By comparison, my up and coming book, System Force Alliance: Sacrifices is science fiction. Set in the early 22nd century, a dishonourably discharged marine is forced to put his past behind him and work with those who falsely accused him when an advanced alien race attack Earth.

This novel (as I will call it) will be part of a series, with a sequel coming out later in the year. Its word count is 41, 000 words. As I said, this news of the word count for Star Trek novels is great. Why? It means I am doing something right.

I have done a little research on the lengths of stories (in the incredibly small free time I have) and as far as I can tell, the boat is still out on what word count to associate to which type of story.

It would seem, however, that I am quite comfortable writing around the 35, 000 to 45, 000 word limit, which is fine, but unlikely to get recognised by any agent looking for new talent, unless by a stroke of luck (but I don't believe in luck!). I have heard rumours, that a publisher would not even look at a novel that is less than 100, 000 words, which to me seems a lot of work, which needs a lot time - which I don't have.

I am, therefore, resigned to the fact that it may be some time before I can hold my published novel in paperback version. This does not mean, however, I am not aiming for this, but I think it is going to be in the distant future and so for now, will continue to publish in ebook format to build a name for myself.

Incidentally, all my published written stuff is put on my website, nigelgillson.co.uk.

Until next time then.

Write What You Enjoy!

noreply@blogger.com (N. M. Gillson) — Mon, 09 May 2011 00:27:00 +0000

Hey folks,

It is about time I joined the 21st Century and started a blog.

As I type this, the dark blacks and twinkling stars are slowly being swapped for the light blues and white clouds of the sky, early birds are beginning to sing and my stomach is rumbling telling me breakfast is not far away. Surely, I will be up in about an hour to begin yet another half-term at school, not as a student but as a teacher.

I really do enjoy teaching, working with young people and ensuring they have every possible opportunity to achieve success, but the early mornings are tiring, but then again, I have just pulled an 'all-nighter'.

So, you know I am a teacher, great. I teach science for my sins, specifically Physics, which has its merits, particularly when I write science fiction, but in saying that, knowing science does not necessarily make you a great sci fi writer (or any kind of writer for that matter). Sure, many of the great authors of sci fi novels and short stories had a science background and most probably drew a lot of their information on that experience, however, there are many who have not.

I have a writing friend, Piotr Mierzejewski from Dunedin, NZ, who, as far as I know, has the average scientific background, akin to secondary education and yet has written some great science fiction stories, including Vesta Central available from
e-Quill Publishing. This novella, the first from Piotr, depicts the adventures of Captain Nelson Straw who must against all odds resist an invasion of the planet Vesta.

I have read this and it reads well. There are others you can read from
e-Quill publishing including my first novel, Black Donald.

Black Donald is a modern day thriller set in the valleys of the Grampian Mountains and has links to an ancient Scottish folklore.

Well what was the point of this blog, because everything happens for a reason?
'Write what you know' does not always apply - rather 'write what you enjoy!'