Novel Films II Co-host

I am delighted to say that the wonderful 

Misha Gericke of Five Year Project 

has agreed to co-host our Novel Films II Bloghop, as both my parents and my father-in-law are currently quite unwell, so I may not be as active online as I had planned.

My HUGE THANKS to her.

Like last time, it will be a three day fest and on each day there will be something different: However, you can choose to post on just one day if you prefer.

Thank you for supporting this Bloghop and for all your prayers and kind wishes.

and have fun!

SIGN UP TO THE LINKY BELOW:

Vacation ~ Flash Fiction entry ~ Write Edit Publish~ IWSG

Monthly Blog-hop hosted by Denise

I have chosen to do a Flash Fiction Slice of Life piece. 
Please note this is not the beginning of a story it is FLASH FICTION

The Vacation by Madeleine Sara             © Madeleine Sara Maddocks August 2013
Kate’s daughter had pronounced that she would never agree to a vacation. Then, on a whim, Kate decided to enter a competition, sitting between the boxes piled ceiling-high with her precious possessions, laptop on her knees. As she pressed the submit link on the web page, pure elation filled her cheeks like rosy helium balloons. ‘First prize: a holiday break for two in Mauritius’.

        Her rainbow smile rapidly deflated, as the late, spring sunshine made its way through the smallest chink of unobscured window. What if she won? What would she take? Could she find her swimming costume? Where was her passport and was it up to date? After all it was now some years since she had come to live in the UK. She closed her laptop and slowly squeezed out of the little nook; edging past stacks of novels she didn’t need to read. She reserved this space, because it was near to power and telephone sockets, but one day it might also be needed for more of her ‘finds’.
        Like a narrow cat trail in a lawn, she followed the strip of carpet she had left, along the landing and down the staircase. Between piles of papers, bags and stacked-up things she had found on her various forays into charity shops; she could just glimpse her front door at the end of the corridor. She couldn’t get into the living-room anymore and she had long since stopped cooking for herself, now that the kitchen appliances were no longer accessible.  Somewhere a letter from the council lurked; filed away in one of her precious piles. The dust, stale, musty smell and lack of space didn’t bother her, so much as when others tried to make her give up her precious possessions or suggest taking them away. A panic attack threatened to rack her body. NO she could not part with any of her things. She began to gasp uncontrollably.
          The doorbell rang, startling Kate. A welcome distraction from her anxieties and her breathing began to calm. She hurried to let her daughter, a regular visitor, inside, but it wasn't Claire.
    “Mrs. O’Donnell?” the official, suited woman asked, standing beside an official, suited man, with briefcase in hand.
     “Yes” Kate said swallowing the lemon drop of shock and disappointment.
    “We are from The Council” the woman began. “We arranged an appointment for this morning to visit you regarding 45, Bay View. I trust you received the letter?” a pause “As stated, failure to comply with the terms and conditions of your lease require you to vacate this property in fourteen days. May we come in?”
   Knowing how right her daughter had been about vacation, Kate hurried to shut the door against them. Predictably, it jammed; always hard to close these days with the hoards of belongings she had amassed. She looked down to see what could be causing the obstruction this time, when the official man thrust the eviction notice at her, his shiny shoe, wedged in the doorway.

(500 words)

Check out this link for more information about  compulsive hoarding. 

On a personal note: 
Please pray for my 84 yr old MOTHER, who has fractured her spine, has arthritis and an infection. So I will be offline a lot I'm afraid. Thanks
If anyone feels able to co-host my Novel Films II Bloghop, I would be very grateful
Thank you! 

Novel Films II ~ Have you signed up yet? Co-host appreciated

Thanks to Milo for the wonderful interview.

Hello to all my lovely followers.

There's still time to sign up to my  Novel Films II Blogfest 

Any questions or observations, please comment below.

Like last time,  Novel Films Blogfest I, it will be a three day fest and on each day there will be something different:

However, you can choose to post on just one day if you prefer.

Oh and do please shout out about this Blogfest and add the button to your own blogs. Thank you

On a personal note:  Please pray for my 84 yr old mother, who has fractured her spine, has arthritis and an infection. So I will be offline a lot I'm afraid. Thanks
If anyone feels able to co-host my Novel Films II Bloghop, I would be very grateful
Thank you! 

SIGN UP TO THE LINKY BELOW:

Social Media links~Author Interview#3 ~ MiloJamesFowler

 

Kindle

AmazonUK

B&N

Smashwords
iBooks/iTunes
Website

Twitter

Facebook

Many thanks Milo for agreeing to this interview
it has been great hearing about his impressive journey.

And please, pretty please, don't forget to sign up for Novel Films II blogfest< HERE  

Oh and a quick Welcome to my new followers
and Hi to my existing followers

Writing Dates and Covers ~Author Interview#2 ~ MiloJamesFowler

Kindle
AmazonUK

B&N
Smashwords
iBooks/iTunes
Website

What a wonderful idea; writing dates in coffee shops!

You and me both, I enjoy design as much as writing.

 Does anyone else go on writing dates or enjoy designing their own covers?

And please, pretty please, don't forget to sign up for Novel Films II blogfest< HERE 

I started writing when ~ Author Interview#1 ~ MiloJamesFowler

In Medias Res

What made you start writing?
And please, pretty please, don't forget to sign up for Novel Films II blogfest< HERE 

Author Interview Announcement and Excerpt ~ MiloJamesFowler

Speculative Fictioneer and Blogger, Milo James Fowler, of In Medias Res 

will be interviewed here at scribbleandedit 

over three consecutive days from Monday 12th - Wednesday 14th August 2013.

Here's the opening to Milo's novella, Immaterial Evidence:

Excerpt Immaterial Evidence © Milo James Fowler

They say no good deed goes unpunished. I had two bullet holes in me to prove it.

 My tale of woe, like so many others before and since, starts with a girl. But this one was just a kid—snatched off the street while out for an evening stroll with her parents. I should have known better than to take the case, considering how little I had to go on, but times were tough, and I needed the money.

 I couldn’t have known how much it would cost me in the end—or how special that girl truly was.

 “They’re here.” Wanda Wood, my part-time secretary and full-time confidant, let the drapes fall back in place on her front window. “You sure about this, Charlie? Leaving town? Ain’t like you.”

 “Can’t stay here. Not with Ivan gunning for me.” I winced, adjusting the sling that held my right arm. I glanced around Wanda’s apartment—a nice place, but not nearly big enough for the both of us. Had it been a week already? “As much as I’ve appreciated it.”

 “I wouldn’t let anybody come after you.” She sat down beside me on the sofa.

 “My own personal bodyguard.” I chucked her under the chin.

 She shook her head, blonde curls bobbing. “You save that little girl’s life, and you’re the one who pays for it. Office burned to the ground, your friend killed—” Just as her eyes started to glisten with tears, she turned away from me. “Life really ain’t fair sometimes.”

 “Hey.” I touched her cheek, and she fixed me with her pair of shining sapphires.

“The mayor’s office is a real step up, don’t you think?”

 “I liked working for you.”

 “And you will again.” I stood. “Soon as I get my detective agency up and running in Little Tokyo, I’ll send for you. It’ll be just like old times. You’ll see.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Unless you don’t like the idea.”

 “Oh, I like it fine.” She took the crooked arm I extended toward her—like I was the one escorting her to the door and not the other way around. “I’m just afraid I’ll never see you again.”

 “You should be so lucky.”

 She gave me a playful shove. I gave her a peck on the cheek.

 “You’re a hero, Charlie. Don’t let anybody tell you different, not even your own self.”

Here's Milo's original typed MS for the character and story:

 

Have any of you kept your original MS's from years back in your earliest writing days, like Milo?

IWSG ~ August 2013

There is no doubt about it, I tend towards being an insecure writer (see Monthly bloghop hosted by Alex J Cavanaugh ) 

However, I am working towards improving on this. As I mentioned in a previous post,  I have recently started reading Writing and Selling your Novel by Jack M. Bickham, 

and one thing I feel proud of regarding my writing is the fact that my on demand Flash Fiction composition has matured since I started tackling the challenges set in various blog hops over the past 3 years.

If you have trouble with on demand writing why not try participating in some of these challenges:

 

Have you tackled a particular area of your writing lately that you felt needed improving?

Have you seen improvement? 

Oh and don't forget to sign up to my Novelfilms II blog-hop 

Novel Films II Blogfest ~ Announcement & Blogversary

You may remember in 2011, I launched my first  Novel Films Blogfest 

And for the 3rd anniversary of my blog site (10th August) I have decided to launch a second Novel Films Blogfest with a slightly different set of rules.

Like last time, it will be a three day fest and on each day there will be something different:

However, you can choose to post on just one day if you prefer.

Oh and do please shout out about this Blogfest and add the button to your own blogs. Thank you

and have fun!

SIGN UP TO THE LINKY BELOW:

My Imagination Sparks when...

This Blogfest is hosted by Charmaine Clancy

Brief: We all know at least one good warm up exercise to get our brain geared up and ready to write; the one creative task that gets our imagination bubbling with ideas. 

Share them and try each others' out.

Okay so I have some ideas

First: Natalie Goldberg’s 'Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within' suggests using scrappy notebooks, so that a writer feels less inhibited about what they write. 

This is excellent advice for me, as a pristine, 'posh' notebook calls for pristine posh writing right?  Okay so now you have the note book sorted...

Have you ever tried Free Writing? 

It’s like surfing your mind with the thoughts spilling out onto the page like waves. Somewhere amongst the foam and buffeting surf boards will be your story idea.  

A FREEWRITE is whatever flows from your mind through your pen in 10 -15 mins. If you have a topic heading, maybe a Competition Challenge Theme, then you can use it as a Word Association Cue as your 'Focused' Free write prompt.

Random thoughts are allowed, it’s part of freeing up your writing senses. Let the words flow freely, you can switch from subject to subject without worrying about spelling, grammar or punctuation

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Also sitting at home can make you stale. Go Out and getting stimulation/ ideas. A railway journey really gets my juices

flowing or a wonderful walk.

Do a chore: Ironing seems to make my brain think better!

Read a Book or a Poem, a magazine or a newspaper. Listen to the radio. All ways to find that little gem for a piece of writing or even a whole novel! 

Also I have started reading Writing and Selling your novel which suggests that one must set a writing target for every day not in hours but in pages or words to get your writing juices flowing.

What sparks you?