Obviously (if you click the “Become a Writer” section) I am still having problems making this site work as I would like.  This is an almost personal slight as I am certain a true php/css professional could sort it out in about 30 seconds.  However, at some point you have to let things go and in my current slightly dazed state I have reached that point.  If I cannot fix it in the next few days I will find another way of listing these pages.  Searching the web for a solution has already taken up too much time.

Still, the capes and cowls website is now working fine, apart from one defective link.  My web-heading looks like it can come to temporary end!  Woohoo!

Happily, it is time to write some fiction again…

A few days ago I posted to say that I had an article about science fiction listed in one of the online directories and was pleased about that.  Well, I now have a second article up at GoArticles.com about fictional character development.  This is less of a big deal as I don’t think the articles are reviewed by a human, but I could be wrong.

Here is a taster of the article:

Creating Effective Characters

Do you wonder how to add depth and reader interest to the characters in your writing?

“Characterization is integral to the theatrical experience”, Robert Ludlum.

A good story creates an emotional bond between the characters on the page and the reader. Effective characterisation makes the reader care about what happens in the next scene and ensures those pages keep turning.

The whole article is called “Developing Effective Characters” and is aimed at a beginning author.

It is always nice to see your name on a website that you aren’t paying the hosting bills for!

Dave Felton.

The Truth About Writers.

Today, the “one post a day goal” for this blog looks in danger again.  Even as I write this the hands on the clock move ever nearer to midnight.  No point in trying to edit the post date either, WordPress tells no lies!

My excuse this time is that I have been resurrecting an old website of mine most of the day.  Technical problems can be simple, or they can take ages.  If I hear the word “PHP” again I will scream.  Still, the new (old) site is beginning to look good again, all it needs is some traffic and it will be truly open.

The other thing I blame my non-production upon is the renewal of an old acquaintance, Lee Auburn.  Together, we look sort of like Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Twins” if we stand side by side.  Good fun if we tell people that we really are twins that were separated at birth!

Lee and I met through an online MMORPG called City of Heroes.  Back then he ran a large supergroup called “FoxBase”.  (A  supergroup  is a group of friends, playing online super heroes – don’t ask.)

Those days were good times and I met some really nice people, Lee being one of them.  The site I am rebuilding happens to be a community site that served that same group of gamers, amongst others, so meeting Lee again was kind of a synchronicity.  After we had Facebooked, linked and otherwise managed to re-connect in the cyber sense, we did an old fashioned thing; we chatted on the phone.

We chatted on the phone for a few hours in fact.  It turns out that Lee is also learning to become a writer right now.  Talk about synchronicities; do they come in threes?

Lee hasn’t been writing long, but his writing is pleasant and easy to read.  Look Lee up here on Facebook and here in his “Explore Auburnville” personal blog.  Tell him I sent you!

Dave

It occurred to me after writing that blog post that maybe some of my readers might care to hear the words from the man himself.  So here are a few YouTube videos of Stephen expressing himself on the subject.

There were some truly funny comments in that video and if you just clicked past it you missed some great stuff for any aspiring writer!

Where does Stephen King get his ideas for novels from?

Another good video, with admittedly slightly iffy sound/picture quality.

And finally, probably the best, although it is from a commercial source and so is cut short.

Stephen talking about novels, short story writing and the problems of writing them.

Did you know that Misery and Gerald’s Game were originally conceived of as short stories?  It seems that he finds a problem writing short stories now, as since he became a full time professional writer his mind has become conditioned to writing longer material.

Stephen King is a modern master craftsman of the writing profession.  He proves that it not just possible to make money from writing but that it is also possible to become exceedingly rich.  While it may not be likely for everyone to be this successful, I find it useful to hear those that have been exceptionally successful speak about their subject.

Maybe some of the “stardust” will rub off?

Dave Felton

I just had an article accepted by EzineArticles.com.  It was my first submission to them as well.

Right now I am really happy!

Don’t laugh, beloved reader, but writers are simple minded creatures at heart and it is a truly great feeling when an editor accepts an article.  The article has to pass through two sets of editorial assessment in order to be published on this site and so it is doubly nice to hear that it was accepted first time.

The article is about a personal bugbear of mine; the fact that science fiction (SF) is not considered to be “serious literature” by many.  You can read the article here:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Is-Science-Fiction-Writing-Necessarily-Not-Serious-Literature?&id=3753554

SF has truly changed the world through the stimulation of ideas in the minds of its audience.  The article only lists a few of these instances, but I thought it was better to keep it short and to the point.

Where SF is concerned I am not a “true believer” or some kind of zealot.  It is a justified criticism to say that much SF is indeed sub-standard writing.  Furthermore some quite famous writers have suffered quite badly in their ability to develop characters, especially female characters.

These faults withstanding, it is still totally wrong to write off an entire genre because of the failings of the few.

Anyway, I will not spoil a great piece of news by ranting on my soapbox.

My article also gained me “expert author” status with the site too.  A nice bonus and another step towards becoming a professional writer.

Do you Heart EzineArticles.com, too?

I love EzineArticles.com right now…and I hope you do too.

Dave Felton

“On Writing” is however, definitely not a normal “How to become a writer” type book.  Instruction and hints, books to read etc., are present, but the book is as much autobiography as instruction.  If you are looking for instruction on writing only, you may well be disappointed.

Instead the book deals with Stephen’s experiences as a writer and how various events have changed his life, not least being run over by a van and nearly killed.  Being the master storyteller that he is the books anecdotal sections are excellent.  There is some great information about the early days as an unknown writer and the effect of his first sale “Carrie” had upon his life. If only that could happen to us all!

Stephen expresses the viewpoint that “Fiction writers, present company included, don’t understand what it is that they do – not why it works when it is good, not why it doesn’t when it is bad.”  He holds the opinion that any instruction book on writing should be short as it will be mostly *ahem* nonsense (not his actual words, but if you want to know what words he did use, buy the book!).

It is this viewpoint that writing cannot truly be taught that keeps him from giving a true tutorial.  This is, in my personal opinion, a shame as the small amount of material he includes on the “How to” of the writing process is excellent.

What I found interesting was that he was yet another author that recommended Strunk and White’s guide.  At the time I read “On Writing” I admit that I didn’t possess a copy and had never read it.  It was Stephen King’s recommendation of the book, along with his scathing attacks on the poor English employed by many writers, which finally pushed me into ordering a copy.  This small book has no doubt improved my English, but I still have a long way to go.  Stephen’s attacks on various aspects of poor writing can at times be hilarious and the book is worth buying for this reason alone, for example; “The road to Hell is paved with adverbs”.  Great stuff, especially from a horror writer.

In closing let me say that Stephen King’s “On Writing” is a great book.  It made me laugh and cry, provided some excellent advice and gave an insight into the mind and the life of one of the most popular authors of our time.  While it is not an instruction book on writing, it certainly is worth your time and money.  Go out and buy it.

Dave Felton