Naturally for a rebellious fairy godmother, Eileen has plenty to say....



What is the single thing you regret most?
My ever allowing myself to be used by the Queen.  I should have quizzed her a lot sooner than I did as to why she was leaving the dangerous work to me.  It wasn’t just because of her accession I swear it.  Even before she tragically lost her mother, she seemed to like others to do the dodgy, difficult, dangerous stuff.  I should’ve realised I was being used earlier.  I guess I was kept too busy precisely to stop me from thinking!

What would you say was your greatest strength?
Guts I suppose and determination to keep going.  I’ve needed both to see me through a lot of dangerous situations.  And the people know I’m honest.  I think that’s helped me in my dealings with them.

If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
I know I’m stubborn.  I’m aware that’s sometimes a good thing as it helps me keep going but I also know it has got in my way, given me more difficulties than I needed.  I need a better sense of perspective at times.

What would you say was your finest achievement?
Magically being the finest aim with a wand in five centuries and when the Queen kept sending me on dangerous missions managing to come back alive every time! Laughing in Brankaresh’s face whenever he looked disappointed at that.  Not many laugh in the face of a Chief Wizard and live to tell the tale!  Personally, meeting and falling for Derek, marrying him and giving birth to Jennifer.  I’ve managed to have two lives – magical and non-magical.

Do you regret not breaking the news of your daughter’s half-magical blood to Jenny sooner?
No.  She had a normal life for as long as possible before my darling cousin (does sarcasm come across well in print?) interfered.  I appreciate if Jennifer grew up with the idea of being half-magical, it might have been easier for her to accept but all in all I still stand by my decision to shield Jennifer.

Would you have killed the Witch if necessary?
I would have done everything I could to have avoided the necessity.  I maintain that the Witch was greatly misunderstood.  More diplomacy on the part of the Queen and her government would have made it more difficult for the Witch to justify being violent.

Which spell was your favourite?
I was always a dab hand at turning errant beings into amphibians at considerable speed.  A basic spell but one which no fairy should be without.

Do you miss living in the magical world?
Generally no but I miss Hanastrew and Melanbury who were great to train and work with.  Both girls will serve the Fairy Kingdom well.  Certain things about the magical world had advantages – I rarely had to queue for anything given most things can be summoned or created magically.  I don’t miss the power abuses and always having to kill dragons!

Do you see yourself as an ambassador for magical beings generally?
Definitely not!  I know I have a mouth on me as wide as Scotland’s Moray Firth!

Is your relationship with Jennifer as it should be?  Has she forgiven you yet?  How do you cope?
This question borders on the impertinent but knowing my daughter she’d answer it so I’d better!  Our relationship is better than it has been but things are not fully rectified.  Jennifer does still resent me for my past.  I cope with it because I must, Jennifer’s attitude is understandable and by being conciliatory I hope it will speed up the process of her coming around to being half magical.  Now she’s a mum, I think as Edward grows she’ll understand better the dilemmas I faced and why I acted the way I did.

How did you feel when Derek found out what you are? Did you betray him?
I was horrified but not surprised.  I’ve known since my defection there was a risk the Queen would try to pull the rug out from under my feet by telling Derek my past.  It says far more about her than it does about me. I haven’t betrayed Derek.  Nor will I ever do so.  All I tried to do is protect him.  You don’t expose anyone you love to the horrors of the magical world.

Very Good, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Sublime prose, wonderful humour,  some of the best short stories ever written and if you can’t find something to like here, it probably means you’ve got no soul.  Jeeves and Wooster are beautifully portrayed and it is clear they need each other.  Wooster needing Jeeves is obvious perhaps but Jeeves needs  someone to “guide”.  Can you imagine Jeeves not advising Bertie?

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Loved the book and the New Zealand based film adaptation.  The story stands up on its own and is also a wonderful explanation of what Christianity is all about.  I love the idea of explaining the resurrection as “death working backwards” , its power broken by the self sacrifice (death) of Aslan.  The horror of Aslan’s death is particularly well shown in the film.  Jesus’s sacrifice was brutal.  Yet the Lewis story doesn’t preach.  It just shows you a gripping tale and you pick up the connections.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
A wonderful gripping story that isn’t only a detective tale but gives a hard look at whether killing someone could ever be justified.  It also looks at what can happen when the justice system fails.  I loved the TV adaptation of this with the magnificent David Suchet as Poirot.  It’s a bit different from the book at the end (though I feel sticks to the spirit of it) where Poirot is angry at the failure of the justice system and what it has led decent people to do.  I’m still anti the death penalty though for the character of Ratchett … well read the book and find out!

The History of Britain by Simon Schama
I watched the TV series and was gripped so had to get the books too.  What I love is Professor Schama presents his history as if he is telling a story and brings in links you might not automatically have thought of.  I found the books page turners because I wanted to find out what happened next (!) even though I’ve a reasonable history knowledge and knew the historical sequence of events. 

Uncle Fred in the Springtime by P.G. Wodehouse
I’ve always loved the idea of older rebels showing mere youngsters a clean pair of heels and PGW exploits this thought with his wonderful Frederick, Fifth Earl of Ickenham.  This novel is hilarious and you root for both Uncle Fred and the put upon Clarence, Nineth Earl of Emsworth.  Unlikely heroes perhaps but not in PGW’s hands.  When I want cheering up, this is a great book to turn to and it is very fast paced.
_

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
One of the few books to make me change my mind about something, in this case the guilt of Richard III.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
Of all the people never to receive the Booker, this one is a real shame.  This book is the ultimate fantasy epic and has everything - adventure, epic battles, a break for some humour now and again though I will admit to only ever reading the appendices once!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
A masterclass in understatement and irony, wonderful characters, dry humour and an early example of a really good heroine.  There’s nothing weak about Elizabeth Bennett.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickins
I must confess I need to read more by the great man but I first saw the film of this starring Alec Guinness as Fagin.  You could feel the evil.  I then read the book.  The story is fantastic, conditions in London at the time vividly portrayed and what happens to Nancy is truly horrific.  A truly gripping story.

Reaper Man by Sir Terry Pratchett
My favourite of the Death novels because of the formidable Miss Flitworth and Death, though he likes her, does not spare her at the end (as indeed he cannot spare anyone).  It’s the characterization in this novel that makes it.  

Men at Arms by Sir Terry Pratchett
My favourite Vimes novel and where I think his character really takes off.  Also more on the other Watch characters.  Good gripping mystery too.  I can’t think of novelty candles now without picturing Cherry Lightbottom hanging on for dear life in the candle factory.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
A wonderful and gripping fictional examination of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s Minister.  The book makes Cromwell look human, which given what he’s been accused of over time, is a major achievement.  Indeed the book makes you even pity Cromwell (despite knowing he was almost certainly behind the plot to destroy Anne Boleyn).  This is the only Booker Prize winner I’ve bought.  It is so readable.

Escaping this world for a while when real life gets a bit much.

Ideas for stories can spark themselves off anything you see and whatever you hear.

It is fun “joining” composites of attributes together to make a whole new character (s).

The buzz I experience when it goes well.

The buzz I experience when I edit my work well and I see a vastly improved story.

The fact it is therapy (and if you are lucky you can earn money from it!  Either way it does you good).

Reading about writing (and author interviews) is almost as much fun as writing in itself.

Reading your work as if you were a stranger to it and discovering you like the characters and the story grips you.  Always very positive.  You are your work’s first audience.

The fact you have achieved something tangible.

Taking me out of “real life” as there are times I physically feel the need for that.

When my stories and characters come to life and seem almost as real as “real” people, I receive a great deal of satisfaction as if knowing I’m writing “properly”, I’m “doing it right” as such characters need to “catch on”.  If I can’t convince myself, I’ll have a hard job selling the book to anyone else.

Knowing this is something I am doing.  Nobody can write my stories in exactly the same way so even if someone had the same ideas as me, the way they’d write the works out would be different.  While not meaning to be an egocentric, it is nice to know there is something I do that’s unique to me.

Stories that challenge injustices (To Kill a Mockingbird  and most of Dickens’ back catalogue are good examples!).

Stories that change my  mind about something I thought I knew.  The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey changed my opinion about Richard III.

Stories that take me completely into their world so when I finish reading I feel almost bereft, sorry to go.

Stories that show me a whole new world.  Sci-fi and fantasy are the best for this.  Yes I know I can be shown a whole new world on earth but I prefer what other worlds in some universe could be like.

Decent one-liners that make me laugh.

A story that shows me motivations or stresses characters are under that I might not have considered before.  For example murders are committed for serious reasons and to what appears to others to be trivial ones.  Yet a good story will take you into the mind of that murderer and show why the trivial reason isn’t trivial to them.

Good, sharp pace with quiet bits in between giving me good background on the setting and characters, knowing said quiet bits are gearing the reader up for the next big scene.

A satisfactory ending, which is not the same as a happy one necessarily.  The ending has to be right for the story and the main character.  It won’t feel right if the match isn’t there.

Characters I can rally behind (or metaphorically boo for) but either reaction has to be genuine.  I don’t want to see the author’s hand making their characters act in a certain way.  The characters’ acting has to be realistic for those characters.

I love getting to the end of a story or novel and in a sense wishing neither had ended.  Always a sign of a well told tale!  Going back over a story/novel and picking up the bits I missed first go around.  This is particularly true for a detective novel.  I always miss some of the clues on the first read!

I like a happy ending where the hero/heroine has “earned” it.  I also like to see villains get their comeuppance but again in a realistic manner.  Villains generally are not going to fall apart.  They can be caught out.

Good, strong characters that make me care about them (and that includes caring enough to loathe them). 

Characters that can keep me guessing as to whether they’re villains or not.  Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series is a great example of this.

Dialogue that flows…

One liners that can make me think, make me laugh or ideally do both.

On reading a story, knowing it’s going to stay with me, a sure sign of a tale well told.

A story or novel I don’t want to put down and it takes the need for sleep to do so!  That’s what I call a good tale.

Phrases that “hit the spot” in terms of aptness for the character, the situation and so on.  Wodehouse’s flowery prose (by today’s standards) is so appropriate for Bertie Wooster but would be hopeless for a more modern character.

Stories that can make me “feel”.

I learned a long time ago that if someone makes something look easy, that said someone has worked darned hard for years to get that effect.  So when I read “easy to read” prose I inwardly salute the author who’s inevitably spent years on improving their writing technique.

I love series novels and Terry Pratchett has several within the Discworld series - Vimes, Death, Witches, Wizards and so on.  I love seeing the characters develop over several novels as well as in each individual one.

Well thought out plots.  Twists that genuinely surprise.  (I don’t mind spotting some in advance of the denouement but if I get to guess them all it spoils the surprise).

From a female perspective, I adore well written, well rounded, gusty heroines.  This is why I much prefer to the lively Elizabeth Bennett to the, my mind, duller Fanny Price (Elizabeth gets into predicaments of her own making and works to put things right.  Fanny gets her man mainly because bad things happen to others to bring him to her - or at least that’s how I’ve always read Mansfield Park).

All of the following are things I like to see in my work...

Seeing work improve and read better as I edit.  I should be able to sense the work “tightening up”.

Being able to tell my characters apart thanks to their use of language, style of dress etc

As I write more, I’m filling in mental pictures of my made-up worlds.  Ironically it helps make my world seem more real.  I like that. 

Prose that is easy to read and flows at a great pace.  Whenever someone makes something easy to read, you can bet that same someone sweated blood to get to that point.

Memorable phrases.

Funny one-liners.

Characters that you want to read more about as it means the writer’s carried out their work properly.

Stories being accepted!  Successes do breed confidence.  Confidence helps your writing. 

Feedback (critical and positive) via sites with good reputations like Shortbread as  you learn a lot from things like this.  Also contribute as it shouldn’t be one-way traffic.

Witty characters who grow on you, who come up with memorable one-liners, who live on in your imagination after the tale ends.

Keep Writing
Keep writing even if it is only short pieces, journal entries, blogging etc.  See it as flexing your writing muscles ready for tackling longer works later on.  When work is rejected, can you rework it and send it somewhere else?  Can you turn a script into a short story or vice versa? 

Rejections
Expect rejections.  Expect a lot of them too!  If you’re given any specific comments consider them carefully.  And just because one story has been turned down for one outlet, it doesn’t mean it’ll be rejected for all of them.  Sometimes rejections can be for reasons outside of your control like the outlet you target has already had stories in on your theme.  If, however, you keep getting rejections on the same piece, put that work away for a while, study it again later and see if you can spot weaknesses then.  A time delay like this can suddenly open your eyes to faults.  And of course you’ll be working on short stories all the time so you’ve always got something to send out or out there doing the rounds!

What I Need to Watch Out for in my writing
I love writing dialogue so it can be easy to have too much of it.  I know there has to be a balance between dialogue and narrative. I always overwrite (though it is easier to cut back rather than add material.  You can always tell padding). Sometimes getting started is problematic.  I’ve got the idea outlined, I know where I want to go with the story but choosing the correct start point can be difficult.  Sometimes there is more than one start point that would be appropriate_.

Writing Conferences
Pick a reputable writing conference to go to.  You meet other writers (it’s good not to be on your own all the time), you learn from the lectures and you may make a break through if you get the chance to make appointments to see editors, agents and/or publishers.  Visit any associated bookfair to support fellow authors and there’s usually a wide range of books to help support your writing too.

Reading
You can’t write unless you read in and out of your genre, fiction and non-fiction, modern and classic.  You’ve got to know what you like and/or dislike to help you decide what you want to produce.  Also it is a question of supporting the industry you want to join as an author!

Charlatans
Always go into things with your eyes wide open and accept that every industry has its charlatans.  Why should publishing be exempt?  After all writers are dealing with “dreams” – and what do con artists exploit?  Check things out, the Society of Authors is very helpful, and if in doubt use Google.  If there’s something dodgy about a company, someone somewhere will have Googled about it.  If it seems too good to be true, it is.

Spell Checking
Always spell check your work with a decent dictionary and don’t rely on the computer.  I find the grammar check more useful but still like to check grammar for myself.  All faults are my own etc etc!  Be professional in your approach to agents and publishers.  Your cover letter/synopsis must be word and grammar perfect.

Being too Perfect
Make your work as good as it can be before submitting it anywhere.  But don’t use that as an excuse never to send work out.  Ultimately submitting work is the way to get the feedback you need.  If it’s really good someone somewhere will want that piece.  You’re looking to make sure that nobody can read your work and automatically dismiss it.  You want them to read it, love it, remember it and publish it! _

4 Crucial Things for all Writers to Do
Read, read, read.
Write, write, write.
Edit, edit, edit.
Persist, persist, persist.

Targets
Target accurately. Study the publications you want to write for. There are no shortcuts but this kind of research should be fun given you’re looking into areas where you want to write.

Extending your Range
Keep your brain active by writing different things.  It’ll exercise your writing muscles too.  And it makes sure you are never short of something to work on.  It can also buy you time.  If you’re stuck on a novel, you can work on short stories and working on something else can help free the sticking point.  I still don’t believe in writers’ block but I think it natural there’ll be days when the words flow beautifully and others when they don’t!  We’re writers, not robots.

Outlining
Outlining is well worth doing.  It can save an enormous amount of time in that you work out the rough plot first and fill in the gaps  as well as it stopping you going off on any kind of tangent given you have a kind of road map to help you write your story.  I didn’t discover the joy of outlines immediately.  Now I wouldn’t write a story without one. 

Knowing the Rules
You need to know the rules, not just of writing competitions, but on formatting and always including SAEs etc.  It pays to double check what you’re sending and keep records.  You may not get anywhere immediately but keeping records shows to the Revenue that you are serious about your work.

Reading and Writing
If you want to write, read and read widely.  I don’t understand those writers who look at you blankly when you ask them what they’re reading.  If you’re not prepared to read what has come before, why should anyone take a chance on your new work?  Read classics and contemporary so you get a feel for what has been done and what is being done now.

Being Professional
If you want to be treated as a professional, you must act like one.  This goes from checking spellings and grammar (and not relying on your computer here) but, more importantly, in terms of attitude.  It’s a question of being confident but never arrogant and not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought or being a doormat.

A Writer's Essential Supplies
You can never have too much paper, stationery, ink or toner cartridges or information.  In most professions there are journals for that market.  Writing is no exception.  And to be taken seriously as an author you need to know what’s going on out there. I use Writers’ News, Writing Magazine and Mslexia.

_Surprising Characters
Just as you shouldn’t underestimate fellow humans (if only for our stupidity capacity, it is endless), writers shouldn’t under-estimate characters.  Let them develop their lives.  Let them surprise you.  The story belongs to them.  You are the conduit through which it ends up on the paper.  Character led plots are easier to believe.  We want the characters telling the story.

Short Story Timescale
Remember when writing short stories you are looking at a relatively short period of time in which your tale “happens” so focus on one character, one major change of life event and one viewpoint.  You haven’t room (word count) to have too many characters, viewpoints etc.

Short Story Competitions
Writing short stories and entering them for (reputable) competitions is good practice at writing to a theme and to a deadline.

Magazines
Buy the magazines you would like your short stories to appear in.  It is a question of supporting your own!  Take out subscriptions to writing magazines.  Have a go at the competitions.  Enjoy the read.  Take in how author interviews are done.  Learn a lot!  See these magazines as taking your interest in writing seriously.  And they are great to relax with too.  Build up short story successes (listings, winnings etc) to help build up a writing CV.  There is some prestige from winning  or being listed in these magazines.

Professional Checking
It really is worth double checking spellings and grammar are correct before sending anything out.  You don’t want to give “silly” reasons for an agent/publisher to turn you down.  The only reason should be your work is not right for them.  Also there is a presumption if you can’t be bothered to check things like this the rest of your work will be littered with mistakes.  Nobody has the time to correct these mistakes – it is what you as the author should do.

Blogs
Read other writers’ blogs (look for those with a good record in the profession) as you learn a lot from these, including how to present a good blog!  You learn a great deal by absorbing.  Follow a few good blogs (if only to make sure you still have plenty of time for your own writing).  If you decide to set up your own blog, plan it well before you start so you have plenty of material to “feed” it.

Character Attributes
Your characters’ main attributes should be evident through (a) what they say and (b) what they do.  Having said that great fun can be had with hypocritical characters or those who don’t think they are hypocrites but everyone else around them knows differently!  Eileen, for example, thinks hypocrisy is something that happens to other people!  Do you like your characters?  Can you see good points even in your villains?

Visualisation
Even when writing fantasy stories, can you visualize your world?  What do your characters love/hate about it?  Every world has its faults… Can you write objectively about that?  Know how your own world works and that will help fuel ideas for your creative worlds.  Are there ambiguities in your world that frustrate your characters or that they can take advantage of?  How does your world treat criminals? Can people visualize your world?  We don’t need an atlas or an in-depth history but enough details to see what you see when you write, enough to make it seem as if it could be real.

Oomph
Have you given your tale enough “oomph”?  There should be no “boring bits” with information drip-fed in.  You need to alter the pace a bit as too much excitement is exactly that - too much - but too little and there is no story.  The “troughs” in between should give your reader information they’ll need to take your tale forward and a chance to get their breath back as it were, but not for too long.  Do play cat and mouse.  There should be a sense of something “coming”.

Character Speech
Do your characters speak in an appropriate way for how you’ve portrayed them?  L’Evallier I’ve deliberated portrayed as never using contractions, not even when stressed whereas the Queen sometimes will, partly to try to keep her “common touch” up and running.

Character Traits
Your characters may be the weirdest aliens imaginable or have intellect we humans can only dream of but they should still have traits we can identify with.  After all I think it’s a fairly safe bet to suggest the Daleks are a tad on the aggressive side but it’s how our hero overcomes that aggression that drives the Doctor Who stories.  No aggression = no Dalek.  No character trait = no character worth writing about.

Character Striving
What are your characters striving for?  What can they use to help them achieve their wishes?  If everyone can do magic, then that’s no story but if everyone can do magic but there are those who can do a lot more then you get a tale, if only based on the inevitable resentment of those who don’t have so much.

Character Organisation
How do your characters keep on top of what they must do?  Or don’t they?!  What are the consequences of either (a) being well organized or (b) unable to organize a party in a pub (ruder versions of that phrase are available!).  Do the species in your world show differences here? Can one species’ incompetence provoke restlessness, even riots by other groups?

Motives for Writing
You must write for the love of it.  It’ll be that which keeps you going during the periods of hopelessness and constant rejections.  Also when you meet those who dismiss writers or at least dismiss what you write.

RSI
Ensure your typing position is correct.  RSI is a pain in every sense. 

Novel Stages
See your novels as stages.  The first stage is getting the initial ideas down on paper.  Then comes the first edit, the second edit and so on.  Don’t send out anywhere until you know you can’t do any further improvements to it.  And do edit on paper.  It’s easy to not see things on screen.

Criticism
Listen to criticism carefully.  Yes, you will get the negative, destructive stuff, everyone does.  You will also get criticism that genuinely will help you improve your work.  The clever bit is working out which is which but good criticism will open your eyes to new possibilities and/or confirm thoughts you may have had as to how strong/weak a piece is. See criticism as a tool.  It is for you to use it to improve your work. It is not something to beat you up, no matter how much others might want it to be!

Reading
Read inside and out of your own genre.  Get inspirations from many sources.

Building on Foundations
Every writer builds on what’s gone before.  The trick is to put in your unique ingredient to add to the mix.  Know where and when you can break the rules.  For instance, it is widely known that fairies can be cruel and capricious.  My ingredient is to get one fairy so fed up with that she defects.

Characters
How do your characters develop?  Do they develop?  Remember it doesn’t necessarily have to be for the better.  Bad experiences can make characters bitter.  That in turn can affect their relationships but that character is still developing.  What does your character have to lose/gain from  your tale?  Is the stake high enough?How does your character cope with crises?  Do they bring out the best or the worst?  Are there enough crises in your story?  After all something’s got to happen!  Can you make use of your character’s memories to shape them?  For instance, the Queen’s mother was murdered, obviously having a traumatic effect on the Queen and triggering her wish to keep her family close to her, no matter what it takes.  Do your characters have friends?  What do they think of the characters?  Could friends be useful for subplots (though note these still have to move your tale along and shouldn’t be a distraction or a device to get your word count up)? Can the friends guide your characters as to which route they should take? And friends can get it wrong, just as much as the main characters can by themselves.

Write what you want to write.  Don’t try to aim for something that’s currently popular as by the time your MSS is ready, the publishing world will be well on to the next big thing and probably the one after that too.  Have in mind an ideal reader for your work.  If you can picture one, you can picture a market for your work, something to bear in mind when drafting a submission letter to an agent or publisher.

Use speech appropriate for your characters.  I make L’Evallier speak in a very formal way.  He will never use abbreviations such as I’ll, it is always I will.  The Queen, by contrast, generally speaks formally but when stressed lets some abbreviations leave her lips.  This also confirms it is the Chief Elf who’s the real snob in the realm. Do your characters speak the same way to everyone they meet?  They shouldn’t.  We don’t.  I love writing about Eileen  mainly because she doesn’t have a problem with hypocrisy.  This shows up in her dialogue.  While Eileen is not formal at all, she speaks as formally as she is going to get with the Queen, attempts but fails to browbeat her daughter, and bosses everyone else, usually successfully but even there she is more wary with L’Evallier, partly as he is an ally, partly because she knows if anyone will tell her where to go it will be him.

Do your characters have habits?  Traits they’re not conscious of but which others observe?  Details like that add to your novel.  Eileen has a reputation for eccentricity due to her name change, defection, and she wears seperates, not traditional fairy costume, all of which I’ve drip fed into the books. 

Expect a long hard slog to publication.  Don’t give up.  If it comes to it, consider self publishing but don’t go down the vanity route - it will backfire.  People in the industry know who these companies are and will avoid your work like the plague.  Better to take a long time and get it right.

Go to the writing conferences.  They’re good fun, you learn a lot and you may make useful contacts.  And yes it can help make you feel like you are a “proper” writer, something the unpublished relish from time to time - or at least this one does.

Keep receipts for stationery etc.  If you need to prove to the Inland Revenue, you are a writer, albeit part time, you need the evidence for it!  Going to conferences backs this up too, as does subscribing to professional writing magazines.

If there’s a professional body relating to your genre, consider joining it.

Get an unbiased opinion on your work.  Friends/family can’t help there but there are numerous editorial services available. Check out Writers and Artists Yearbook for listings.  Most have websites giving further details of what they do.

Listen to audio books.  Not only are they great fun (well they are if you listen to Pratchett ones!) but you can learn a lot about how words flow, how dialogue should sound to the ear and so on.  And you can put them on whilst you’re working.  It’s a bit difficult reading a book while cooking the dinner!

Read in and out of your current era.  See how things used to be done - you may find a use for it, if only in wanting to craft an old-fashioned character and how they might speak.  Think about how the things we take for granted would seem to anyone who’s not come across them before.

An angel is a messenger.  Is there anyone playing that role in your work?  How does information get passed on?

Research for Writers  by Ann Hoffman is well worth having in your library as not only does it advise on how to research, it gives lists of website addresses and so on that may prove profitable to your work.  On Writing by Stephen King is often recommended for beginner writers by the professionals - rightly, it is brilliant.  Strongly recommend getting a copy.  From Pitch to Publication by Carole Blake does everything it says in the title, which in itself is something to aim for in your work.

Have a sense of place in your work.  It adds colour, depth and reality, can help your readers “see” what you see.  People get defensive about places that are special to them - can you use that trait?

Good writing is an effortless read. I realized a long time ago if anyone makes something look easy that someone has worked bloody hard to achieve that. Prepare yourself for the long haul -  your work will be better for a damned good edit.

Can you see your characters acting out what they’re going through?  Do your characters learn from what they go through?  Do you have a nice range of characters?  In any society, you get all ages, all backgrounds. Give them emotional depth - and remember experiences can make folk bitter as well as courageous.  Jenny, for example, as I write at the moment is at loggerheads with her mother and is likely to remain that way for some time until Eileen shows some contrition or Jenny decides to let her grudge go at Eileen for dropping her right in it.

Character versus plot?  Plot versus character?  It’s like trying to decide whether you need oxygen or food.  You need both.  Both need to be well thought out.  Eileen’s awkwardness helps drive her plot as she makes life damned difficult for herself but she also needs a story to set up those difficulties for her to try and resolve.

Look at motives.  Not only can story ideas come from these, they can add emotional depth.  Eileen’s chief motive is to stay on earth with her family and never to resume her old life.  It colours  her attitude, fuels her behaviour and sets up clashes with the Fairy Queen.  Are the motives for your characters strong enough? Overwhelm your characters with problems - you get your story from how they cope.

One great thing about writing is you appreciate reading more.  As well as enjoying the story, you can appreciate the writer’s skill, you can spot the apt turn of phrase and perhaps ponder if it took them as long to come up with it as it does for you when finding the right words!  Also you should read more as a writer to inspire your own writing and sometimes to see what not to do, so what is there not to like about this!  You like words, you have to read, better get on and do it then!

Nothing on the telly?  Good!  Settle down and see what you can come up with!  I’ve been known to go through the Radio Times and spot nothing worth watching and think “good, should get loads of writing done then”!!  Plus the BBC have the Writers’ Room website, full of tips and interesting interviews.  They issue a newsletter to subscribers (it’s free).  There are job opportunities listed.  And every so often Radio will have slots for stories to be sent in…  

Grudges cast long shadows.  Things from the past affecting today form the basis of many a great story.  Anything you can use here?  And bear in mind that a character’s development takes time.  Eileen has become awkward because she has become fed up with being “used”.  The Witch wants to take the Kingdom to avenge slights, real and imagined, on her family by the fairy royals.  The Witch “forgets” her own family attacked the royals, naturally the royals were going to fight back. 

Have your characters got enough to play for?  Their ambition has got to be strong enough.  It’s no good just wishing for something to happen.  Have they the means, or the ability to find the means, to achieve t hem?  What will they do to achieve them?  Have they got limits? Can they see to the end of the road?  Do they know where they want to end up?

Does your setting have a history, which may well affect your characters?  The Fairy Kingdom has a history of wars between witches, wizards and fairies, leading to barren areas, which in turn is leading to overpopulation in certain parts of the realm.  This led to Eileen suggesting the more responsible magical beings living, in disguise, on other worlds.  She got shouted down yet she knows this issue won’t just go away no matter how much the Queen and Council try to ignore it.  Has your world got issues it needs to face?  What is its system of government?  If your world seems real to you, it should seem real to your readers.  And every world has to be run by someone - someone with a past, character traits that can benefit the realm/cause it great problems.  There’s got to be some great stories in that!

Every word to count…  Funnily enough that doesn’t necessarily mean everything has to be short but that each word is appropriate for the story being told.  In P.G. Wodehouse’s stories so often he uses very long sentences (he’d never get away with it now!) but not a word is out of place and indeed especially when Wooster’s narrating the long-windedness is part of (a) the character’s charm and (b) the character’s characteristics!

Positive developments in characters, especially a character that goes on to make something good out of themselves. 

I like pinpointing moments of change in a story and watching the drama unfold.

Feeling a slight sense of envy I didn’t write the story/novel I’ve enjoyed is a good sign - and nothing but a compliment to the actual author!

Entertainment!  There are times I want to learn (I turn to non-fiction for this usually) or to be deeply moved but I usually want to be made to smile/laugh, which is probably why I’m such a fan of Pratchett and Wodehouse.  My mother, who taught me to read,  has never liked funny literature.  Maybe this is a more subtle way of rebelling!

Characters who definitely did develop in some way be it for good or evil.

A plot I can follow no matter how many twists and turns it has!

Eileen has written her version of Fairy Kingdom history.  Only a few leather bound copies were produced and these are all kept in the Palace Library.  The only reason they’ve not been destroyed is Eileen would create merry hell if they were.  People are allowed to read Eileen’s works though they have to state who they are when asking for the books.  This puts people off.  Eileen herself wants this practice stopped pointing out with monotonous regularity (Queen’s viewpoint) the bullying nature of this.  The Queen has done what she usually does with anything she dislikes - ignore it!

The official version of Kingdom history is that the Chief Witch’s family were responsible for all the warmongering and damage done to lives, land and property throughout the centuries.  The Witch’s family always argued they were treated shabbily by the royals, especially by Gwendolyn, and had to defend themselves against fairy royal aggression.  Naturally there are faults on both sides but what shocked many, including the current Queen, is that Eileen had a great deal of sympathy with the Witch, acknowledged the royals had their faults and that at least some of the violence of the past could and should have been avoided.  Eileen is very much the renegade here and Brankaresh tried to use her sympathy for the Witch against her, to no avail much to his frustration.

Early Kingdom history was easier to follow.  Someone started a war, usually a witch with ambition, and the fairy royals heroically stopped it.  There is also a lot of snobbery between witches and fairies - both despise the other, both don’t like backing down or admitting they’ve got it wrong.  All the right ingredients for war on a regular basis.  Eileen despises this and blames both sides equally.  The Queen feels Eileen is far too critical of the royal side and not critical enough of the witches’ side.  Eileen is not surprised.  She sees it as her role to criticize the fairy monarchy when it needs it and she will not be silenced. _

The Kingdom came into history not long after humans began telling stories around the campfires.  This magical world needs stories and beings with the creative ability to write and read them to exist at all.  The fairy royals in my world have a divine commission to keep an eye on certain worlds and Earth is the main one.  The reason for this is that sometimes fairies deputize for when it is felt sending the angelic squad would be a bad case of overkill.  As the Fairy Kingdom develops its magic over time, so do humans develop on Earth.  And the beginning of the Fairy Kingdom’s existence was very violent indeed as evil and good magic strove to take the dominant role…  Even now there are those not sure which side won!

At the time of the Brenebourne novels, Roxannadrell is on the Fairy Throne but her ancestors snatched the realm from the control of the witch clans over 1500 years previously.  Not only did this guarantee poor relations between the witches and fairies, when Great Granny Queen Gwendolyn married a wizard, had a child with him and then dumped them to move on to someone new, they went over to the dark side and continued the hatred leaving the Chief Witch to inherit from her grandmother and mother a bloody thirsty wish for revenge.  The royals have brought some kind of democracy and stability to the realm in a way the witches would never have done though.  The witches generally feel the fairy royals bribed the realm with this so the people accepted them.

Over the millennia, the dark magical forces launched many attacks on the fairy forces.  While the latter always defeated these attacks, eventually at least, there were enormous casualties on all sides.  This has led to a hardening of royal attitudes towards the Witch.  Nobody wants to see history repeaitng itself.  Fairy Kingdom history has been far too interesting, and as a result harmful, for anyone with sense to see any of that happening again.  But there is a fly in the ointment, someone who doesn’t take the official line at face value, who questions things and who is too powerful to get rid of - Eileen!

I work in sessions - a session on this log, another on a short story and a third on the current novel.  Once I’ve got a short story out I start work on another one.  I’ve got into the habit, fairly recently, of trying to have something always out there.  Feeling productive makes me feel good and I hope that has a knock-on beneficial effect on my novels.  Competition entries that don’t go anywhere can always be reworked and sent out again.  It pays to look again at work that does come back.  A few times now I’ve reworked stories and have noticed the improvements. I also have short stories out on Shortbread as a “free shop window” for my work.  Well you never know who might be reading!

I listen to a lot of radio comedy.  It gives a good feel for dialogue and the art of comic timing but I also use it as a test.  If I hear most of a programme, it means my scene or story needs a lot of work.  If I hear some of a programme, my scene or story needs some work.  If I have to replay the programme because I barely heard any of it, it’s a good sign.  If I’m engrossed, hopefully readers will be too.  But then when set homework at school I had to have something on in the background to help her, to use that awful Amercianism, “get in the zone”.  Incidentally I don’t have anything against Amercianisms particularly but I do loathe that one.

Have a go at different writing tasks.  It makes life interesting and gives you something to work on while your main idea is ticking over.  And it may end up giving you another string to your bow.  I say this as I’ve had a go at a humorous poem, The Cake Bake, which is now on the Shortbread Stories site.  It was hard work, not normally something I’d do, but it was also fun.  Stretching yourself is good for you!

Always write down ideas that occur to you as soon as you can.  You will forget them otherwise.  Flesh ideas out later.  You never know where that might lead and it can be fun finding out!  “Collect” ideas.  Ideas need to be a renewable resource for writers.  Think about how things you come across can fit in with what you’re doing.  In my case and taking a rough example, if there was a political scandal here, could I write something similar affecting the Fairy Queen and her Council?  What would the impact on her realm be? _

Eileen McCarruthers, later Paige
(Fairy godmother sent on missions to worlds, including earth though her name was changed from Deamadrell).

Fairy Queen (Eileen’s cousin, called Roxannadrell, drell is royal name).

Queen Gwendolyn
(Ancestor of Queen, Eileen and Witch. Started civil wars. Killed by dragon sent by Council. Gwendolyn set up Council system! Gwendolyn’s actions still have repercussions).

L’Evallier (head elf), Brankaresh (chief wizard) and Rodish (head dwarf), most important Council members. Rodish is Council leader.  Thunderock (troll), Nimble (goblin), D’Dathsom (orc) are other named Council members.  There are 22 on Council.

Chief Witch (related to Eileen and Queen).

Hanastrew (an earnest fairy trained by Eileen in specialist magic).

Melanbury (L’Evallier’s new wife, aristocratic herself. Marriage unconsummated though L’Evallier is crazy about her).

Stanrock and Whespy (Sprites renowned for fighting). Stanrock was expelled by own kind (unusual). Witch destroyed Whespy’s family. 

Fresdian (fairy afflicted by age-related craving to steal children).  Changes name to Rose. Goes to earth with Stanrock and Whespy on Queen’s behalf.

Roherum (nicknamed Fred), anchorman for Fairy News Network, set up by Gwendolyn. Has long-term rivalry with weatherman. Earth ideas are often “borrowed” by the Kingdom despite its wariness of humanity.

Derek Paige (the human Eileen sacrifices everything for).

Jennifer Paige, later Williams (Eileen’s hybrid child). To say she's not best pleased that her mother's unusual background has come to light is an understatement.  Jennifer realises at once her mother's odd story has implications for her.

Paul Williams (Jennifer’s husband, detested by Eileen). 

Greyfur, Podgy, Redsong and Captain are squirrel, pigeon, robin and blue tit enchanted to talk to Rose, Stanrock and Whespy.  This experiment causes problems later for Jennifer.  For a start it proves there are magical goings on at Brenebourne and Jennifer would've liked to have been able to deny it all.  Pretend it doesn't exist and the problem goes away kind of scenario.

Peter (boy elf, sole survivor of Witch attack)

Eloise (mother of Michael, Brankaresh’s assistant)

Michael (Brankaresh’s assistant and murdered by him for attempted blackmail.  Michael also planned to blackmail Manatrix.  Michael only interested in easy money and power).

Manatrix (old, infirm wizard, hates Brankaresh but is detained by him).