Flash Fiction Competition #WEEDS

Happy to win (joint) third place in Watford Writers Flash Fiction competition last night on the theme "Weeds". There was an eclectic mix of takes on the theme, from parenticide by weedkiller to the throwing off of "widow's weeds".

Here is my entry, THE WOODS.

The Woods

It’s late and we are in the woods.

I have a terrible feeling like roiling waves in the pit of my stomach.

But Lorna is my best friend, and though I can’t forgive her, I can’t walk away.

Deeper into the woods we walk, thistles and nettles clawing at my bare legs. Our feet crush stalks. A bramble runs a ladder across my skin. In front, the torch beam judders this way and that. My breath is loud in the vastness.

The torch stills.

“Here.”

“How—”

It doesn’t matter.

I hold the torch and she starts to dig. Soil, stones, bits of tree root. The ground is tough and dry and she pants.

And then: scraps of a plastic bag.

I can barely look.

Something hard.

A flash of white beneath the mud like the glint of teeth.

In another life, in another time, we are digging holes in the sand, making a moat. The water rushes in from the sea. We bury each other. We are laughing.

I shiver.

One by one she gathers the bones of the body of the baby that never breathed.

The spade clangs on stones as she smooths the ground over. Soon enough this patch of brown will be covered by hungry weeds again.

We walk.

Past the bulldozer.

Back to the car.

She is quiet.

We were never here, this never happened.

In the morning I will never see her again.

We drive to the quay. There is a westerly wind tonight, the tide is rolling out into the blackness.

The world will never know that my best friend and my husband made this child.

Creating Believable Dialogue

This week I ran a workshop on 'Creating Believable Dialogue' for about 20 writers. I love using dialogue in my writing and it can serve many functions if executed well. This is what we covered:

Reasons to use dialogue

1) To advance the story: Moves the story forward in a more straight-forward way than a narrator’s explanation would.

2) To develop character: Characters can evolve through dialogue. The way people speak can indicate their age, gender, class, geographical background, and level of education. Real people don’t all talk the same. Just think of the people you know. Probably some of them talk a lot without a filter, others don’t say much. Some will use more complex words (‘object’ instead of ‘thing’). Some will swear while others never go beyond ‘gosh’.

3) Provides information: Dialogue provides information for the reader about the plot, the relationship between the characters, their personalities, their moods. BUT the warning here is not to over explain, or it will lose credibility.

4) Adds drama: Dialogue increases the story’s pace and allows for conflict and action. It is harder to read a whole paragraph of step by step narration which cover the same things a dialogue can transmit in a few lines.

5) Adds realism: Dialogue shows what is happening instead of telling it. It portrays a scene vividly and breathes life into the characters.

But you should never use dialogue if:

• It is only used to break up a narrative passage.
• It provides exposition that isn’t credible.
• It slows down the plot.
• It inappropriately provides setting that is better in narrative.
• It expresses author opinion rather than the opinion of the character.

It mimics directly what a character might say in the real world. Dialogue is stylised talk. It should give a flavour of real speech, without seeking to recreate it on the page.



Listening to real people talk
After looking at the principles, we listened to some real dialogue from Radio 4's The Listening Project, and along with a transcript, reflected on the nature of real speech. At points the two talkers spoke over eachother, there were many 'umms' and at one point a: "Yeah. No. Definitely" in response to a question.

We asked ourselves:

• Which parts work written down?
• What makes those interesting? Is it the subject of conversation? The situation? The characters? Language? Is it funny?
• Is dialogue logical?
• Does it fit character desire and motivation?
• Does it support theme and meaning?
• Does it move?

We then spent individual time editing the dialogue, using either a snippet or significant chunk to inspire us to write a short piece, the basis of a story.

Debunking some writing myths

This week at Watford Writers, Linda Spurr, a former BBC sports journalist, author and writing tutor, ran a workshop on debunking the writing myths. Here are a few:

1) You have to write everyday to be a writer

Writing daily is not entirely practical if you're someone that also has a job, a family, a home to look after and maybe a dog to walk. But that's fine. As long as there is some time each day dedicated to thinking about writing. That could be as little as adding mental colour to a character as you overhear snippets of conversation in the street. Last night I fleshed out a scene as I drove home, and felt very smug about it.

2) Writer's have to wait for inspiration

Rubbish. I'm a strong believer in making things happen for yourself, and if that means inspiring yourself, then so be it. Of course we all have times when the words don't want to flow, but even in these times there are things you can do. Scan the newspaper headlines, keep a box of pictures of people cut from magazines. Take a break, go for a walk, write something completely different. If that fails, do research instead. 

"There's no such thing as writer's block. That was invented by people in California who couldn't write." - Terry Pratchett

 

Some writers need a routine to get the ink flowing. Hemingway used to sharpen twelve pencils before he could write. I like to do the washing. Find out what works for you.

3) You have to write about what you know

If you understand people and feelings, then you can extend these to a historical or dystopian setting and it will still feel real. Fear, sadness and joy have not changed much.

4) Writing is a lonely, solitary activity

Well...yes and no. I find great inspiration from sharing my work with my writing group (and others!), and the discussions I've had with classmates during writing courses have been just as fruitful as the lessons themselves.

Jackie and Brian from my writing group have spent the last five years writing a novel together, and meeting three times a week in the pub, followed by numerous arguments over characters and their paths is definitely not a solitary activity.

5) Writers are born, they cannot be taught

As long as you have a passion for it, I think it can be taught and refined. You've got to put the work in.

6) "The character ran away with me"

A poor excuse for a spell in a story that doesn't quite fit. Stop. Get back to the goal of the chapter or episode, the conflict, and the lasting image you want to leave. 

Sometimes we all have to kill our darlings, as Faulkner said.

Cocktails and Composing

Today I am doing something that I love. Travelling.

Travelling helps me write. It's the feeling of having so much time to kill in departure lounges. I can be anonymous, shut the world out, and lose myself in the characters. I can look around and see people I have never seen before and borrow their physical traits and mannerisms.

Today I have the added fortune of travelling business class for the first time, and am three cocktails and one chapter in to my second novel, the psychological thriller DEER LEAP.

I'm not sure if booze helps or not, but it is certainly making the experience very enjoyable!

I hope to have more progress to share when I am back from South Africa.

Poems from my 13 year old self

Last week I discovered a book of Rachael Muirhead original poems from the mid to late 1990s. Most are angst-ridden, exaggerated nonsense about drugs I had never taken and love I had never felt.

This Roald-Dahl-esque one made me laugh. It's called "Listen".


Listen
What do you hear?
Your heart thumping loudly
Shaking with fear.

Listen
What was that sound?
Approaching footsteps
On the ground.

Listen
What could it be?
A burglar? A monster?
Open your eyes, see.

Look
It's just Uncle Fred.
Now go back to sleep.
Wait - isn't Fred dead?