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Day 15: 30 Day Blogging Challenge – Editing a Story – Characters
On days 11 and 12 I published two halves of a story. This story was written for the purpose of showing you what I do when I edit. I have deliberately published a first draft, with very little editing apart from immediately spotting spelling mistakes etc so that you can see how it will change…
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Day 14: 30 Day Blogging Challenge – Love and Relationships on St Valentine’s Day
As it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I would take little look at the use of love and relationships within the context of this story. Writing a believable love story takes careful thought and the relationship should definitely not be roses all the way. Your romantic couple should have a quirky way to meet. Ask yourself,…
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Day 13: 30 Day Blogging Challenge – 10 Ideas for Writer’s Inspiration
My story was written by using a picture as a prompt. I keep a folder called ‘Writer’s Inspiration’ on my Pinterest account. Any picture that looks like it could come in handy as part of a story some day is saved there. Using picture prompts is a great way to inspire a story. Here are…
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Day 12: 30 Days of Blogging – Story, Part 2
Days 11 and 12 of my 30 day blogging journey have been two parts of a story. Through the next day or so, I will then be editing the story. To read the first part of the story, go to day 11. Here is the concluding part: Story so far: Janice, the estate agent, is…
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Day 11: 30 Day Blogging Challenge: A Story, Part 1
The Old House on the Hill The estate agent turned the key in the lock. The key was large, wrought iron and it took her two goes to turn it. The heavy lock clicked open. The woman, smart and professional, pushed open the door. It swept two months of mail to one side as it…
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Day 10 30 Day Blogging Challenge – Writing Prompts
A writing prompt is something that is designed to spark a story or poem in you. There are ideas all around us everyday, but it is important to tune your brain up in order to notice them. Writing is almost like a muscle – the more you use it, the better you get. Today’s blog…
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Day 8: 30 Day Blogging Challenge Review Week 1
I have blogged for 7 days straight and it’s been tough, but I’ve managed it. It’s been an interesting experience so far and I have learned a lot. I began this challenge by working out some idea of the kinds of posts that I could do for the blog. My posts, however have gone in…
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My Top 10 Fictional Villains
We love to hate the villains in the fiction we read and in the films that we watch. These days, villains can be multi-faceted and are not necessarily all evil. Here is my top 10 villains: 10. Lucius Malfoy – I love Malfoy senior’s name from the Harry Potter books. Lucius is reminiscent of Lucifer…
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Great Hero Character Names
Naming characters can be very problematic as an author. Some of the cleverest names have come from the author playing with words and enabling the name to reflect the character. Here are some of my favourites and why I like them so much. Heroes of stories don’t always have heroic names. Harry Potter immediately comes…
I love short stories: each one has its own character.
Sarah Charmley.
Latest posts
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August blog – where have you been since January?
Good question! Life got a little busy in the middle of February and did not calm down again until June. That is one reason for my neglect of this blog. By the time the dust settled, we had a holiday and then just all the stuff that goes on after a holiday. Suddenly it’s August.…
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2024 wrap up and 2025 goals
I have begun this new year by documenting the writing goals I have achieved. Looking back and comparing where you are at the end of this year can help you work out what you want to achieve the following year. Last year, I aimed to rewrite and publish a novella that I had worked on…
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Where to find story ideas
Have you ever read a story and thought that it was amazing and that you could never do that? Generating story ideas acts a little like a muscle – the more you use it, the easier it gets. Actively looking for story ideas can help you to generate more. You want to begin writing stories…
