F = Fiction.  Write about what you know is the most well known hint but there is nothing to stop you writing about what you don't know.  Just do your research well and, if inventing a fantasy world, remember it still has to make sense to your reader for them to stick with it and your story.

G = Grammar.  Grammar is merely a tool to help you make your meaning clearer.  Style guides such as Lynne Truss's Eats, Shoots and Leaves are a great source of information but, if grammar is a weak point, remember just get the story down first.  Find a trusted friend who likes their grammar and ask them to vet your story before you send it anywhere.  Writing groups (as long as they are sympathetic to the fact all writers struggle with grammar at times) can also be useful here.

H = Heroes/Heroines.  They have to be fully developed characters and not "puppets".  They have to have off days the way the rest of us do.  Yet there should be something in their character that makes it obvious yes they are the heroic characters and deserve to be.  What is special about them?  What is the heroism they are renowned for already?  What situations will being out the best in them?

A = Anthology.  Look out for reputable ones especially those produced by the independent press and try to get your stories included in these.  Great way to build up your writing CV.

B = Book.  The book is what matters, not its format so get your work out there in paperback, for the Kindle and so on.

C = Characters.  Without strong characters there are no stories.  The tales we remember best all have the strongest characters in them.  Are your characters strong enough to be remembered years later?  (This is a challenge for us all!).

D = Denouement.  Every story has to have a satisfying ending, one that is appropriate.  It doesn't have to be happy but the denouement must seem to be the natural conclusion.

E = Editing.  The writer's friend!  Nobody writes a perfect script or story immediately.  So write on, edit later.

And more tomorrow, hopfyully.

One way or or another, we all look for meaning in life, especially at times of grief or any other forms of trouble.  It kind of helps us to try to make sense of it all.  One thing I've learned to accept as a Christian is it is okay to accept there are some things where making sense of it is not going to work.  In my case at the moment, it is that grief is just grief and the way I am feeling right now is natural (and indeed there would be something wrong if I didn't feel the way I do).  There is no sense, as such.  I need to grieve and that's that.

Our characters should have some idea of what they are looking for in life.  What is their purpose?  What stops them from achieving it?  How do they handle the frustrations and disappointments of their fictional life?

Part of the reason why my website blogs have been more spaced out recently has been due to the illness, and sadly now death, of my father who, bless him, supported my writing and absolutely had to have a copy of any book where I had a story published.  I shall miss him a lot.

Then earlier this week came the bombings in Manchester which are beyond belief.

I think part of the role of stories is to comfort and console in troubling times.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with escapism (indeed I believe it is necessary at times).  I think sometimes you do need stories to take you out of yourself.  Yes, sure, there are stories and books that explore issues but do you really want those when life is grim? I certainly don't.  I can come back to those when life has settled down and I am ready for a more challenging read.

So to any and all who are going through a grim time of it, for whatever reason, I hope you can find the right stories that will console, cheer or be whatever it is you need them to be to help you find some relaxation.  It has been my experience that if I do not have periods where I can just relax, I become far too tense and am not much use to anyone else.  The strain literally shows.  A relaxed me is of far more use!  And books can help here, as can music.  I truly believe them to be gifts from God for us to utilise for our enjoyment, and yes our mental health too.

This is one of those perennial themes where there is always something to say on it but it does no harm to remind ourselves of what should be in every story we write.

1. Strong characters.  Strong in terms that we can picture them readily and identify with them.  Some strong characters can be weak but we need to see why they are weak and be able to see where the character comes from.
   
2. A promising opening. We have got to want to read more so the opening lines have to entice us into reading more.
   
3. A satisfying ending.  It has to be appropriate for the story and doesn't necessarily need to be a happy one.  Your reader must feel the story couldn't have ended any other way.
   
4. A world your readers can visualise.  It might be this world, it might be one set in the future, it might be a fantasy epic world but we should be able to picture it and accept the way it works, because it has been set out propertly.  Where magic is involved, there needs to be a clear depiction of how and when magic can be used, if anyone is restricted (and if so why) in their  use of it and those situations were magic mustn't be used.
   

One way in which fiction shows itself up to be very clearly fiction is that the point of it all (whatever your type of story) is defined and known by at least your main character (and often several others of your "cast" as well). 

Yes, they might lose heart or forget the purpose of the quest they're on but there will always be someone to remind them at crucial moments.  Okay in life we might have people who will remind us what the point of it all is for us but that is not definite in the way it has to be in fiction.  If Character A forgets why they have to get rid of an evil ring, Character B will ensure they're reminded of it in no uncertain fashion.

So who in your story acts as the guide to your main character?  Does your main character lose sight of the point of it all and how are they helped to regroup and refocus?

Okay, just for fun, how about crossing some fairytales and seeing what might happen?

1. Cinderella versus the elves who helped the shoemaker.  Can you imagine what those elves would make of someone careless enough to lose a beautifully crafted glass slipper?  I think some harsh words would be exchanged!
   
2. The Three Bears versus Snow White's wicked Stepmother.  Now the bears won't be in a good mood, given a certain person nicked their food and wrecked their house, so what are they going to make of a crone who has never been seen in the area before offering suspiciously shiny food?  My money's not on her making it out of there alive...
   
3. The Three Little Pigs versus the witch behind the gingerbread house.  Two of the pigs will certainly scoff the walls etc but the sensible one who realised a house should be made from a sturdy material like brick will probably have the sense to realise the gingerbread is being used for purposes that are not strictly honourable!  I could see that pig trying to send the big bad wolf to the witch's house instead.  Advantages = no kids in the oven and the pigs lose the wolf.  (As a side issue, the witch also gets to eat well for some time).
   

World building problems to overcome include:-

1. System of Government(s).  How do they work?  How did they come into being?  Did the world ever know anything different? Is it a good system of government or a tyranny?
   
2. What species live on your world and how do they exist?  This covers everything from populating your world with different species to growing food to dealing with sewage to how your people(s) earn a living.  Is water easily accessible or does your world (or parts of it) experience drought  and how is that coped with?
   
3. Limitations of Magic.  Assuming your world is a magical one, you need to work out limitations.  If all the problems can be solved with a wave of a magic wand, you have no story.  Where's the conflict?  But there can be plenty of conflict between different magical species and between magical and non-magical.  (The latter will have to have at least one way of getting the upper hand at least sometimes to prevent them being wiped out).
   
4. Education and Culture.  How well educated or otherwise is your world?  What counts as culture and do all enjoy this?  Are there different forms of culture such as highbrow for the highly educated, lower brow for those not so well educated?
   
5. Relationships within the world/Relationships with other worlds.  Great sources of conflicts and stories possible here of course but how do these relationships work in relation to your writing?  Is your world peaceful or warlike?  Does it despise anyone within it (and say why if so)?
   

Life has been more hectic than usual this week, so apologies for not being around on here as often as I usually am.  The good news is I am preparing for my first book signing for From Light to Dark and Back Again, my debut flash fiction collection published by Chapeltown Books.  I am also literally doing the footwork locally with regard to putting postcards and indeed the books themselves into various outlets.  There is a lot more to be done but am pleased to be making a start on this after the success of the cyberlaunch earlier this year.

My biggest problem at the moment is striking the right balance between promoting, writing new material (including for my blogs and websites), getting on with the next book etc.  I know I will find the right balance eventually - every published author finds the right way of doing things for them.  All I know is I haven't quite got there yet!

How do your characters strike the right balance between the various things they have to do/people they must keep happy somehow in your stories?  Do they ever get it right?  Who/what do they prioritise and why?  Do they go AWOL from one particular thing to do when they have to focus on something else for a while?  What is the comeback on that (and there will be some!)?

How do your characters cope when their lives become more hectic than they have previously been used to and how do they adjust to their new circumstances?  Is their natural instinct to sink or swim?  Who is putting the pressure on your characters and why?  (The reasons should be really strong and pivotal to your story).

In a recent episode of Doctor Who, David Suchet plays a landlord of a house that "eats people".  His  character is both charming and then creepy by turn and he plays both aspects with utter conviction. 

Yet the character is not totally evil, despite being responsible for the deaths of those staying in his house.   His reasons for doing this were to try to help save someone he loved and the story is both tragic and gripping. 

The Doctor interestingly does not just condemn the Landlord character (as he so often does with those characters who are just evil for the sake of it - i.e.  the Daleks!).  Indeed it is clear the Doctor can see exactly why the Landlord has done what he has but that it has to stop and indeed the Doctor forces the stop.  Brilliant performances all round and excellent writing.  Truly convincing characters.

And that is what to aim for with all of our characters, whether they are evil, good or a mixture.  Their motivations must be powerful and realistic enough to convince your reader yes someone really would be like this for the reason(s) given. 

Reading for pleasure is probably the single most important thing any writer can do to improve their writing.  You take in how writers layout their work, how dialogue works, the correct use of grammar and so on.

Reading then opens  your mind to what life could be like on other worlds, time travel etc etc.  So what do your characters read for pleasure?  Is reading encouraged?  Is fiction writing subscribed or over-subscribed?  Is non-fiction encouraged?

What are your characters prepared to do to ensure they get to read what they want when they want?

Playing the game means, to me, working your way through life with honour and honesty.  People know you as a person of your word and so on.  So how do your characters do this and do they play the game "well"?

What obstacles get in the way?  How do they handle those who won't play the game well and who are happy to lie/cheat/trample all over everyone else in life?

Do you have a character who could be described as the referee and whose judgement is final?  Do they act justly and play the game well? 

At the end of your story, what is the result?  Have the cheaters prospered or have the characters who played the game well got their reward and won?

I'm duty bound, of course, to point out there is no such thing as the perfect character so why choose this as a topic?  It's a question of getting the character "perfect" from your, the creator's, viewpoint.  If you need your character to be a complete and utter pain in the neck to all and sundry, then have you created the perfect example of that?  Do all aspects of that character fit in to create that personality type?

The "perfect" character then has to be fit for the purpose you've created them for.  Are they portrayed strongly enough to be able to carry out what you want them to do?  The reader has to believe the character is at least capable of behaving the way you've set them out to do without there being any "jarring notes" that would make that open to question. 

The way the character speaks, even the way they dress, their minor traits etc should all add up to create a composite picture and it should be the one you want to come across.  Have your characters ever surprised you with what they've come up with?  Mine have!  It's a good thing - it shows there is life to them but it can also show you needed to get to know them better before writing for/about them!  Sometimes of course in a longer work like a novel you do need to get a certain amount of words written before you really know your characters.  But then this is what rewrites (especially of the opening chapters) are for!