Fictional Skies

So you choose to stay in for the weekend instead of being social. Those who go out or invite you out don't understand why you chose to stay in, or when you do venture out, may avoid alcohol. It's difficult for some non-writers to understand (and respect) what goes into living a creative life and ambition. They think taking a random day or weekend off is no big deal, drinking a beer or two; doing this or that. But if we're serious about writing and our commitment - and enjoy it - then these are big deals to us. The Long Road  A writing ambition is a long road and requires a daily effort. There are times to relax and have fun, but productivity and momentum are the main stay. If the wrong fuel is going into the train then it's not going to work properly, or at all. Things must always be moving. If they're not - then we fall behind. To achieve that ideal, sacrifices have to be made. We can try to explain and help others to understand our actions and passion ...

Saturday May 5th saw my story contribution to 3 Hundred and 65 . Some people may compose and send their story tweet from work, while juggling the kids, or put a few casual hours in beforehand. Or like me - the days leading up to it are ripe with inspiration, creativity and practice tweets - some major indulgence. Although, the final story tweet and overall story development almost went a different way. As I thought about bringing in a new storyline at the time and ambitiously, to push for a multi-narrative story. In fact, it almost went all wrong, and was heading for this: Hunched over, his fingers clasped to a jar: frozen tears imprisoned by glass. The Orphan glared at the Stranger by the mast.  Thankfully, I voiced my intentions on the 3 Hundred and 65 Widows unofficial Facebook fan page , and soon realised new characters and narratives wasn't what the story needed. Therefore, my Orphan character, Stranger by the mast, and the frozen tears imprisoned by glass - bit th...

Three months ago I began work on my second project for the year: an urban horror series.  The first:  Project Spacebound began over four months ago and is being written at the same time.  From Half-Idea to Series  The big bang moment for this came when a half-idea met its title-to-be and fused together to become something with potential. The combination of those two intriguing elements told me that this was something to pursue. Its title was a word I thought I had initially made up, as it just appeared in my head and got me hooked. It conjured up emotion, atmosphere, genre and images. Later on, I discovered it was a real word, however, its slang meaning better suited the show and helped define a major element. The 'half-idea' was a notion and genre twist on a recent news story at the time. A 'what if...' scenario resulted and one that would lead into a high-concept horror sub-genre story. From then, I knew I had to construct a new and compelling ...