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Ray's Blog: April 2009

Bereavement Rituals And The Effects Of Grief

Dear Mel,

Last week it was exactly a year since my Penny passed away. We’d only been married ten years – no children – and she meant the world to me. I never thought I’d get through this last twelve months but I have and I wanted to mark the occasion, but at the same...

Posted at 15:21pm on 29th April 2009

The Shack By William Young: Uv Readers' Group Discussion Summary

Is The Shack A True Story?

This was one of the issues raised when twenty-one of us met on Thursday to share our impressions of William Young's debut novel. Many of us found ourselves thinking of Madeleine McCann, the four year old who disappeared in Portugal whilst holidaying with her parents...

Posted at 22:50pm on 25th April 2009

Right Brain Dominant: How To Make Your Writing Flow

A comment on my post The Structure Of A Novel: 12 Tips, complimented me for my articles on writing fiction, but asked when you should give up the brainstorming and simply sit down and let the narrative flow? It’s a good question and one which I thought deserving of more attention than I could give...

Posted at 16:00pm on 24th April 2009

2 Comments

Uv Book Group Questions - The Shack By William P Young

UV READERS’ GROUP 7.30pm Thursday 23rd April 2009 The Shack By William P Young PART ONE: GENERAL IMPRESSIONS What do you think of the style in which the book is written? Can you identify the theme of the book? The book was originally self-published and, it has been said, would have benefited from editing. Do you agree? Following is...

Posted at 18:43pm on 21st April 2009

Blogging For Beginners: The Use Of Keywords

21st December, 2009 - This article has been revised, and may now be reproduced, subject to the conditions shown below.

Blogging as a means of driving traffic to your website is a well-documented fact. I’ve written in Essential Blogging Advice For Beginners about the need for beguiling blog branding, tantalising titles, and compelling content for your...

Posted at 17:16pm on 20th April 2009

2 Comments

There Is Nothing Loving In Living A Lie: Telling Children The Truth About Divorce

Dear Mel,

My husband and I are getting divorced. There’s no one else on either side. We just shouldn’t ever have got married in the first place. And I don’t think we would have been married as long as we have except that I’ve put up with everything that wrong without saying anything about it.

The...

Posted at 18:37pm on 19th April 2009

Creative Writing As A Means Of Illustrating Compulsive And Obsessive Behaviour

I hope you’re not going to lose patience with me, but I’m so impressed with Friedman’s Fables that, yet again, I’m going to apply one of them to a real-life situation, in what I call a ‘combi-blog’. Because it addresses not only a real life relationship problem but is also of relevance to writing fiction.

DO...

Posted at 12:54pm on 15th April 2009

Writing And Editing A Book For Publication: Listening To Dialogue

Whilst it is true that editing and proof reading are an editor’s job, many would-be authors erroneously believe that they will undertake to knock their unleavened narrative into shape. However, your manuscript is unlikely to progress from the slush pile to the editor’s desk unless it has undergone some serious editing before hand. And whilst...

Posted at 16:10pm on 12th April 2009

What Drives You: Final Instalment Of The Easter Story

Previous Episodes: What Drives You? Part I & Part II

The rev rave on the cliff top was no longer a happy blare of horns and engines but had taken on an entirely different ambience, bordering on what appeared to be mass hysteria. From where he stood, in the corner of the car park,...

Posted at 18:01pm on 10th April 2009

3 Comments

What Drives You? Part Ii

What Drives You? Part I

Now read on:

The rev-rave on the cliff top was a riot of music and laughter, as engines were tuned and horns were blasted. The little once-white-now-pink car was ecstatic; he’d never seen anything like it before. His little red car – he still thought of her as his, though she...

Posted at 13:43pm on 9th April 2009

2 Comments

What Drives You?

Once upon a time there was a little white car, shiny and new. It had been specially made by its designer so that they could go out and about together, and although the little white car knew that there were bigger, fancier cars than himself, he always felt that he was – well, special!

He...

Posted at 14:25pm on 8th April 2009

Writing In Style Requires Rewriting & Revision

Can any one of us honestly say that the first draft of our book has been written in style? Yes, we fall in love with great chunks of our work – phrases, paragraphs, heck, whole chapters. But I’d be the first to admit that if I put my work away for a few weeks...

Posted at 20:56pm on 5th April 2009

April 2009 Meeting Of Uv Readers' Group

APRIL 2009 MEETING OF UV READERS’ GROUP

We meet on: Thursday 23rd April
At: 7.30pm
Where: The Library, Grand Hotel
Book: The Shack by William P Young

Posted at 15:30pm on 5th April 2009

My Mother In Law Or Voluntary Work? My Husband Says Charity Begins At Home

Dear Mel,

You once wrote something about trying to please everyone – I forget what – but you know what I mean – people like me who still have kids at home who don’t seem to want to leave, and who have to hold down a job, ok its only part time - and now...

Posted at 21:03pm on 3rd April 2009

Really Good Writing Requires Really Good Editing!

Anyone, it has been said, can write. But as any published author knows only too well, the secret of writing well is in the rewriting.

GOOD WRITING STYLES

I was very fortunate in that my first book was commissioned. Actually, what happened was that what had been one book became two. It had taken me many...

Posted at 17:52pm on 3rd April 2009

2 Comments