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Ray's Blog: June 2010

Plot Twist Ideas: The First Cut Is The Deepest

So far, in my analysis of an age-old story, I’ve covered the creative writing techniques and plot ideas as follows:

THE STRUCTURE OF A NOVEL A novel is the unfolding of a fictional prose through the thoughts, words and deeds of its characters. An understanding of characterisation is, therefore, essential. The structure of a novel depends...

Posted at 21:34pm on 28th June 2010

Creative Writing Techniques: Show & Tell To Develop Plot Ideas & Character

For aspiring authors, creative writing techniques may appear to be difficult to master. The main thing to remember is that the structure of a novel demands the creation of three dimensional characters, and that it is their actions and reactions which shape the plot ideas of the book. Analysis of a Bible story like...

Posted at 10:16am on 25th June 2010

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World Cup? What World Cup?

Five to three this afternoon, and my local Sainsbury's carpark was virtually empty. Did someone say something about England playing in the World Cup ?

Posted at 23:22pm on 23rd June 2010

Develop Plot Ideas: A Combination Of Negative Personality Traits

My posts, in the last few days, have covered the way in which an aspiring author can use a combination of plot ideas to develop characterisation. For the purposes of demonstrating this aspect of creative writing, I’ve used a classical story taken from the Bible: the tale of Samson and Delilah. Since the entire...

Posted at 11:28am on 21st June 2010

Developing Plot Ideas To Show Characterisation

I suggested, last week, that creative writing - that is writing a novel – requires an understanding of human nature. So where is an author to turn for such material? How can your book have that ring of authenticity whilst maintaining a page turning quality?

Any well-known, classical, story may be used as the...

Posted at 10:58am on 16th June 2010

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Creative Writing Plot Ideas: Dealing With Manipulative People

Whether you’re looking for new creative writing plot ideas, characters for your novel, or how to deal with negative personality traits in real life, there’s plenty of material to be found in this old story about Samson and Delilah. Tom Jones song must, surely, have made her one of the best known bad girls...

Posted at 18:11pm on 11th June 2010

Open To Hope Radio Show: Thursday 10th June, 2010

I shall be speaking to Gloria and Heidi Horsley on the Open To Hope radio show tomorrow about the merit of creative writing when dealing with grief and loss. If you've suffered a bereavement, or know someone who has, don't miss the show.

Posted at 22:54pm on 9th June 2010

Empowering Solutions: Lift Up Your Eyes; Enlarge Your Vision!

Have you ever felt weighed down in an emotionally draining situation – as if someone had thrown a heavy, wet, cape around your shoulders; as if the effort of having to drag it around drained you of energy for anything else? Especially anything inspirational, like creative writing.

Of course you have! Most of us have...

Posted at 09:02am on 8th June 2010

Blogging Simplified: The What, Who, Why & How?

What follows is based on a talk I gave to my Writers' Group, to encourage them to be brave and try a new form of writing. ;)

WHAT is a blog?

The word comes from an abbreviation of weblog, and began as a form of online journaling.

WHO can blog?

Well, anyone, of course! Social media...

Posted at 17:49pm on 5th June 2010

Does Your Creative Writing Style Encourage A Relationship With Your Readers?

Is it ever a good idea, as a book author, to stop writing? This isn’t a trick question: I have a genuine interest in your views – especially those of you who subscribe to my blog and are regular readers of my articles – plus it may be something you should be asking yourselves....

Posted at 19:21pm on 3rd June 2010