Mumsnet Talk

What do you guys think of my Halloween Stories? This is link to the third in the trilogy (I write one each year, but skipped last year):

here.

They are written completely on the cuff when I have time during the day in October. NONE of it is pre-written. I just sit down and write the next bit then and there. I have a general idea of story line at the start and then they take off on....

They are usually slow going at first until the story starts forming.

It's not great literature, but maybe decent enough scary stories?

They should be read in order. the first post is a link to the first two stories.

That's how I write, Kerry, and how nearly every good writer writes as well, as I understand it!

Do you edit or do any rewriting? I'll read them a little later when the kids are in front of the TV - what sort of feedback do you want?

i don't edit these (sometimes I wish i could as I mess something up - grammar, a name wrong, etc.)

just general impressions really. it may take a bit of time if you read all 3 but best to start with first one really.

not going to go anywhere with these but want to hear other writers' opinions (i.e. don't give up your day job kerry )

ta!!

LOL

Do you want to be a writer, then?

Why do you want writers' opinions? If you want to write, then write, and keep on writing, and keep on getting feedback and learning. The more you do, the better you'll get

Never fear! I've been writing since I was a kid. Even have the first draft of a 700 page novel under my belt (and in a drawer needing editing).

working on my second now

I want opinions [stamps foot and pouts]!

OK, OK, keep your hair on! :D

700 page novel! Faints.

Kerry, why don't you edit the 700 page novel (ffs how many pages is that!) before starting a new novel? That's when the real work takes place, in the editing, and once you've moved on to another novel it's hard to get back into the first.

Write, rewrite, and write again. That's what they say.

can't bear to tell me how bad they are?

Which thread is the start and I'll have a read? Stop worrying woman.

if you go to thread, go to OP and there's the link to the first 2.

Kerry, the fact is that nobody ever writes a first draft that's really readable. No matter how well published a writer is, the first draft is the one they've written to get the story down - they all go back and work and work and work on it.

Can you tell us what age group you're writing for there, OP? I found it difficult to tell.

oh it's just for mumsnetters.

a bit of fluff and fun for halloween. nothing serious. just wanted to tell a scary story

certainly nothing i would seek publication for.

novels are different subject matter altogether and taken much more seriously.

imperial - i realize that. did my first draft, then got married, had the dc and the subject matter of the novel had come and gone. A main part of it was a plot to take down the power of a fictional city based on NYC. This was a few years prior to 9/11.

thanks Belle

What a nightmare, writing all that and then a real-life incident happened that meant you couldn't go on with the book! (Of COURSE 9/11 was more of a nightmare for everyone involved, before I get flamed.)

well it was my fault really for letting it sit so long.

i really did love the story but it needed a lot of work (and cutting down)

Ok. You're doing a lot of telling, not showing. When you show the reader you transport them there. They can feel the texture of the fur coat, they can feel the cold making the end of their nose numb, they can taste the bitterness of the coffee. Telling is different. You tell the reader that there is a pane of glass in the window frame, you tell them that there's music blaring out of the stereo. It's perfectly acceptable to use both. I'd also look out for repetitive words, like 'she'. It's a draft, a first version. No one ever writes a brilliant first version. Ever. It's a very good first version though. Finish it, put it away for a few months, then come back to it. Read it out loud and see if it all makes sense. Does it flow? Are there holes in the plot? How does the character develop? Are there things in the text which don't need to be in there?

Best of luck

what did you read belle?

all 3 halloween stories were written as i had spare time here and there. no forethought or plot outline. nada.

wouldn't even dream of trying to get them published. Was going for telling a story. thought too much descriptive text would detract from the story (plus i have deadline each year of halloween so need to keep pace, thrill but not bore, etc.

very different medium from say a novel or other fictional forms.

but well pointed out. thanks

kind of like an H.G. Wells thing

or a serial in a newspaper.