tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:38:32 +0000Short Storyagecharactersdescriptionsarah callejowriting instincts classical writersWriting on My Secret Island called Imaginationhttp://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)Blogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-4387991005140169138Mon, 24 Feb 2014 21:02:00 +00002014-02-24T22:02:56.977+01:00I could barely remember my way here, but Kathryn Eastman has nominated me for "My Writing Process" blog tour, and it was a good reason to find my way back to my blog. I'm going to answer four questions as part of the blog tour: What am I working on? I'm in the middle of my fifth novel. I was aiming for a Gothic novel, but I'm not sure if this will be the end result. I think the Spanish http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-writing-process-blog-tour.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-6762736320618932945Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:39:00 +00002012-01-25T10:39:05.083+01:00Maybe I should be blogging about my experience with writing, but to be honest, there are so many brilliant blogs out there on the subject, and written by real literary authorities that I wouldn't be contributing much.  What I really want to write about today is small details in life. We hear too much moaning nowadays. The prices, the service, the traffic... and yes, I'm not saying that thesehttp://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2012/01/small-pleasures-make-big-treasure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-7360117104886715513Sat, 05 Nov 2011 08:16:00 +00002011-11-05T09:16:33.862+01:00My mood drops with the temperature as the cold seasons arrive. I only realize this when the sun comes back and the green shoots start to appear. That's when I can compare my new sunny mood to the gloomy cloud hovering above me during the winter. I'm sure this isn't very professional, but my mood influences my writing. The story becomes darker during the overcast months and lighter as the days http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2011/11/seasonal-writing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-4424531525782163060Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:20:00 +00002011-09-14T09:20:50.276+02:00My dog. Even if I do admire many people, I can't think of a single human being who'd live a better life than my dog. Lazing around all day, I'd get my food brought to me, I wouldn't have to clear the table or wash dishes, I'd get tickled by raising my eyebrows into a don't-I-look-cute pose, I'd get to be told I'm a good girl for just sitting down or lying down... And as for my duties, when I feelhttp://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2011/09/if-i-could-be-anyone-id-be.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-8951804259134764691Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:02:00 +00002011-08-23T11:03:25.622+02:00A few nights ago I was planning to rob a bank with a bunch of thugs (none of them George Clooney unfortunately). I won't disclose the details in case I ever decide to take up that career, but when I woke up I felt as if it had all been real. For a whole day, I had this burden on my shoulders that only lifted when I remembered that it had only been a dream. I kept reminding myself that I didn't http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-do-your-characters-sleep-at-night.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-100547254897415660Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:06:00 +00002011-04-12T09:35:41.487+02:00The past weeks have been full of good news for several writer friends. There's been a bout of joy rippling through twitter triggered by writers being taken on by fantastic agents, astonishing book deals, successful book launches...  The bearers of these good news received congratulations from all corners of the world sent by people whom they've never met in person, but they were honest http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2011/04/finding-hope-in-our-friends-success.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-4861142078388865578Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:52:00 +00002011-03-07T13:52:53.529+01:00I've been reading Head over Heel by Chris Harrison this weekend. It's his witty account of life in Italy through the eyes of a foreigner and it got me thinking about my life in Spain. I've lived here all my life but I still consider myself a foreigner in many ways and there are things I find difficult to get used to. For instance, Spanish people are extraordinarily welcoming. If they invite you http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2011/03/foreigner-in-your-own-country.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-4925712010470466979Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:51:00 +00002011-02-03T14:53:08.836+01:00I've been rewriting my first novel this past month. When I say rewriting I don't mean a little tweak here and there, I mean cutting out entire scenes, killing off some characters and resuscitating others. Anyway, when I got to the end I realized I had to change my hero's name. Well, I must be honest, it wasn't me being clever, it was Julie Cohen nudging me to consider my mistake. So http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2011/02/search-replace-or-search-reproach.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-4207159993107346251Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:04:00 +00002011-01-15T15:04:49.297+01:00At a young age, we strive to fit in with everyone else. Trying to be normal is the common aim at school and any difference with the rest will probably trigger a complex, so we hide it to blend in with the masses. However, as we grow older, we strive for the opposite. We seek the unique quality that will distinguish us from the rest. We no longer want to be lost in the crowds but rise above them.http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2011/01/words-that-mark-difference.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-207864900602861889Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:14:00 +00002011-01-04T13:14:26.030+01:00Feliz Año Nuevo, or Happy New Year for non Spanish speakers. Many of you are sliding back into your routines, but the Christmas holidays haven't finished yet in Spain. We are now awaiting the arrival of the Three Wise Men on the 5th of January. Traditionally, children wouldn't get any presents on Christmas Eve in Spain, they'd get them on the 6th of January, brought by the 3 Kings on their http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2011/01/feliz-new-year.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-6014417334171835182Tue, 21 Dec 2010 10:39:00 +00002010-12-21T11:39:25.466+01:00I write contemporary romantic fiction and I love reading it. When the book is excellent, it's quite depressing, but when it's not so excellent, it will boost my self-confidence. I like thrillers and mysteries too, but I find it helps to read in the same genre as I'm writing to get in the mood. I noticed that my sentences became blunter and shorter when I was reading thrillers so my pace speeded http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/12/reading-in-your-genre.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-3858156359903143651Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:24:00 +00002010-12-09T09:24:19.465+01:00I enjoyed the privilege of listening to Julie Cohen at the enlightening Cornerstones' course I was in September. As she taught us countless writing essentials, the recurring motto was "Fiction is Better than Life". This is the plain truth. As a writer you shape fiction into your dreams. You mould the hero to your tastes, portray unimaginable (or imaginable) landscapes to your needs and http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/12/switch-from-real-life-to-fiction.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-3579313590220281119Wed, 01 Dec 2010 07:59:00 +00002010-12-01T08:59:39.655+01:00  Help Talli Roland's debut novel THE HATING GAME hit the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk by spreading the word today. Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon helps push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers. Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/hNBkJkAmazon.com: http://amzn.to/hX2ieD No Kindle? http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/12/hating-game-brilliant-debut-novel-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-6467390263586653077Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:36:00 +00002010-11-19T14:22:12.646+01:00I have read many blogs and sites on Copyright and I must say I've found mixed information on this topic. Some say you should always copyright your work, others say it's not necessary, that the moment you write something it is yours. I'll always remember reading an agent's blog (Jane Judd) where she joked about our work probably not being that good to steal anyway, and even if she was joking, she http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-want-to-know-everything-about.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-4456570951806321492Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:30:00 +00002010-11-12T16:03:47.061+01:00It’s funny how we need writing to establish terms formally and make sure there are no holes in agreements, and yet writing often leads to many misunderstandings. The lack of intonation, visual feedback and personal connotations or context can often make the reader understand a completely different message. This is where sarcasm is so dangerous in emails. A few months ago a friend of mine wrote anhttp://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/11/aggressive-anonymous.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-4092505643341111869Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:43:00 +00002010-11-05T09:43:11.148+01:00I've always considered myself as someone with little imagination. However, I recently discovered that by using it and exercising it I could make it work. In Spain, the educational system, especially in secondary school and university, consists on learning things by heart. Yes, it's useful if you process and understand what you're learning by heart, but you can probably get away with pouring out http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/11/deep-frozen-imagination.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-9029990396274278994Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:17:00 +00002010-10-26T21:15:39.305+02:00This may sound contradictory but the fact is I recently realized I barely give my mind a rest to think on its own. I'm constantly feeding it with information. It's like one of those poor geese in France being fed through a funnel to fatten their livers until they practically burst. I keep doing the same with my brain. When it's not work, it's reading books, or listening to audiobooks or the http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/10/give-your-mind-break-make-it-think.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-4107785545489935738Fri, 15 Oct 2010 07:18:00 +00002010-10-15T09:18:48.637+02:00He looked up and resorted to his habitual shake of the head to flick the hair out of his eyes. As his sight focused again, his gaze met the almond shape of bright green eyes. He didn’t look away in a hurry as she did, embarrassed by the intimacy of the moment. He fumbled trying to thread his belt through the tight loops of his chino trousers and barely suppressed a smile as he risked a glance http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/10/flying-dreams-fridayflash.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-6207743760081692388Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:08:00 +00002010-10-11T15:08:51.232+02:00As a newbie writer, one of my recurrent problems is insecurity. In any career, we want to know that we are reaching goals and improving our skills. So writing isn't any different. We want to know our writing is moving forward and we are heading towards mastering the different techniques. So this insecurity doesn't only affect newbie unpublished writers who don't even have the approval of editorshttp://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/10/are-you-fraud.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-5621893210486768043Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:22:00 +00002010-10-04T10:22:43.862+02:00Last week I was on a writing course in Oxford. It was How to edit your own women's fiction given by Julie Cohen and Helen Corner.  In three days I learnt so many things it will take me some time to wrap my head around it, but the most important  advice I came home with was to always ask yourself WHY. You should write as if you had a nagging little four year old sitting on your shoulder http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-factor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-8585974569969314838Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:28:00 +00002010-09-16T10:35:53.084+02:00I'm a known addict of Twitter. Maybe I should try to sound professional and say my reasons for using it are related to work or writing, but I'd be twisting the truth. I first went on Twitter because it was mentioned in a writers' email loop and it sounded as a good way to meet other writers, both published and not published. I don't know any English ones in Spain and the long journey to http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/09/should-you-enter-twitterland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-372129114968193396Thu, 09 Sep 2010 10:14:00 +00002010-09-09T12:14:59.799+02:00A large part of me is back from holidays -in fact it's larger than it was a week ago-, but I must have left another part behind because I just can't get it to work. I've given it the order to initiate and function several times, but it just stalls and crashes on me. Maybe it's time to change my hard drive, but I'd have to transfer so many files and images I'd be bound to lose some on the way andhttp://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/09/has-anyone-seen-my-brain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-4747774190614747102Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:03:00 +00002010-08-27T19:03:18.829+02:00I'm going away on holidays this week. I'm going to a small village by the seaside, near Murcia. It's on the Spanish coast but it would be hard to tell if it wasn't for the sun. Everywhere you go you'll find English and German people acquiring a surprisingly bright colour of beetroot under the sun. There is such a large English community in that area, that many cafés have a corner with http://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/08/holidays-and-books.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-6984383461110078252Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:55:00 +00002010-08-23T17:55:18.220+02:00I'm delighted with my eReader. I can fit it in my bag and take it everywhere with me, and it's pink and shiny! For some reason, I read faster on the eReader than on paper, I haven't quite worked out why. Maybe, due to my job, I've got used to reading on screen or maybe it's just that the books I read on my eReader were lighter reads. Having an eReader means I can download books from the e-Libraryhttp://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/08/are-you-ereader.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1476401392603475533.post-6632982703730644929Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:17:00 +00002010-08-15T15:10:05.864+02:00Hi my name is Sarah and I'm addicted to... For a long time, television was where I found comfort and I'd watch about anything. However this comfort was usually quite short, it would only last an episode or film, so the cravings would come back every 90 minutes.  For a time I also found cooking had a calming effect but it had a very fattening side-effect, so I had to decrease the consumptionhttp://sarahcallejo.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-is-your-comforting-vice.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah Callejo)14