Scenes in Splashes

After making an outline plan for Instructions for the Working Day, I wrote a large number of short scenes. Simple, quick, rugged splashes, like the cat above. A brushful of paint released into water and allowed to diffuse. Not much to look at, but a burst of creativity nonetheless.

The purpose of these small scenes was to highlight the beats of the novel: vital elements of the story, shifts in the mood and pivotal moments of change.

This method helped ideas to unfold at a fairly fast pace. These scenes were not necessarily as intense as a piece of flash-fiction, in which a huge amount of story—beginning, middle and end—is condensed and packed tight. But they still needed to engage me from the first sentence and keep me captivated throughout.

I wrote these scenes in the same way as I would write flash-fiction, but, like the unkempt cat, there was no need for a polished finish. Splash-fiction, perhaps. With an element of tension in anticipation of the scene to follow.

The next task was to add length - although some scenes worked well as they were and I kept them short. The most important part of this process was to decide which aspects to develop and how the action could reveal more about the characters.

As the scenes grew, they gradually turned into rough chapters, which became the basis for my first draft. There was still a lot of work to do, but those small beginnings were the first flashes of inspiration.

So if you write flash-fiction and are contemplating a novel too, this construction method might work for you. Although it was important to keep in mind the larger picture of the novel’s theme and rhythm, writing small was an effective way to be imaginative, build foundations and stay focused.

Unsettling the Reader

I was thrilled to be asked to run this masterclass for Retreat West as part of their Short Story Festival - and overwhelmed by the positive response! So I'm delighted to have been invited to run it again on October 1st, as part of their Saturday series of Zoom workshops.

In this masterclass, I deconstruct a story from my collection, When Planets Slip Their Tracks, exploring a variety of ways you can develop hints of the extraordinary within your character's ordinary world.

Discover how to unsettle your reader by booking now. Price £5.

Publication Day for Sybilla

It was a great honour for Sybilla to be chosen as the winner of National Flash Fiction Day’s inaugural Novella-in-Flash Award!

Sybilla is set in a second-hand bookshop in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. Its themes are loss and separation, loyalty and betrayal, but most of all it is about the power of love to transcend barriers.

You can read more about how I wrote Sybilla and designed the cover here in an interview with Jeanette Sheppard. I am so grateful to her and Diane Simmons, Co-Directors of National Flash Fiction Day, for their brilliant support and hard work during the edits.

I would also like to thank Dr Stephanie Carty for reading the entries with Jeanette, which led to Sybilla being shortlisted. And huge thanks to judge, Sophie van Llewyn, and to Angela Readman for the wonderful cover quote.

And a huge thank you to National Flash Fiction day for the beautiful publication day cakes!

If you would like to listen to a couple of extracts from Sybilla, you can watch videos of me reading them here. And if you would like a copy of Sybilla, you can purchase it here.