This website will count how many time you've typed EVERY word in your essay, story, poem... whatever you've written. My outcome 'Scrabble Pieces', my 'work in progress', was kinda boring at the top of the word list, but as I got down to the words used less than 10 times it became a much more eloquent list! 

The nerd in me loved this. 

I won't be making any changes given my top 12, but it did make me consider more about which words I choose to use. Interestingly though, my two protagonists (female twins) are  6 spots apart from each other, Rachel having her name 40% more.

If you're writing something at the moment I thoroughly recommend having a play with this tool. You only need ot paste your text body into the text box on the website and it's analysed instantly. 

Lou x

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A friend of mine is running an anthology submission competition and she asked me to contribute. It was on a subject I'd not normally write about - sex - and, being a personal story, I chose to write in disguise under a different name. Initial feedback on my honest piece is more than encouraging, so I hope it makes the final cut of the book. 

​How did I choose my (secret!) pen name? I could have used a pen name generator, but that's so impersonal, I think. I still wanted to hang onto a bit of me, even if I was in disguise.

There is a former footballer with a sexy, strong sounding last name, so I pinched that. I think my married and maiden names were both strong, so that was pretty important to me. I always thought Louise XXXX sounded good, so I've kept my first name featured in my pen name, just changing the surname. It still feels a bit like me that way.  

Other ideas I had: 

1. Something inspired by a favourite film or actor of mine... Perhaps Louise Trinity (The Matrix), L Miller (We're The Millers), Louise Everdeen in homage to the awesome Jennifer Lawrence in Hunger Games...

2. I'm a country music fan so Louise Cash, Osbourne, Rogers or Swift? 

3. My favourite book for a long time was Rebecca ~ Daphne Du Maurier - I'm not so keen on Daphne but Rebecca  could have worked as a first name. 

4. Maps have always been fascinating to me - a true geographer! - so I considered incorporating something from my local area. The area of Bristol I'm currently living in is called Lawrence Weston, but that would make me a man. A step too far for a disguise??

5. Wildlife inspired - how about using Lark, Wren, Daisy, or Poppy as a first name? I did quite warm to Lark, being another strong sounding name, but I'm not sure how plausible that is, not having known of anyone named that. 

How would you go about choosing a pen name?

Lou x

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This isn't a huge ask for me, as it's kind of like a paper blog, right up my street, especially when I have a pretty notebook to scribble in. We've been encouraged to do whatever we wish for content, just to record something every day to help with anxiety, depression, boredom etc during Lockdown. 

I know writing can be therapeutic - have even blogged about it in the past - but I hadn't realised just how good journaling can be for your mental and physical health.

For me, it helps me keep my brain ticking over while I'm not working. It's a fantastic outlet for emotions and can help with clarity. When I'm in a bad patch with my anxiety (thankfully not for several months now) I feel confused and foggy, and clarity is something I really need to work towards, so this really helps. 

On good days, like today, journaling helps me to appreciate the small things. Today I wrote down three  good things which came along today. 

1. I made a new type of sweet bread - Dulce Milanese. (Not worth the 6 hour prove and 25 mins of kneading!!)
2. The sunshine was amazing today.
3. I spoke to my grandma who's isolating with my uncle in Norfolk. 

It's easy to see here how journaling can really give you a boost. The blog on Positive Psychology says there's 83 benefits!!!!

https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-journaling/

Have you ever tried journaling? It doesn't have to be much, just listing three good things each day counts, but some people write poems, sketch, 'flow' write, do a diary... you can do whatever takes your fancy really, as long as you do it every day.

Stay well,

Lou x

Night all,

Lou x

I've been reading 'It' by Stephen King for over a year now.
I can't read too much in one go as it's a bit of a monster (pun intended) and I start to dream about creepy clowns at night, so it's slow progress.
It's a great book though, if you like a bit of horror. Here's a video from SK himself, and 20 tips from Smart Blogger's interview with him, sharing tips on writing horror stories.
Enjoy...!

Lou x

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I used to be a prolific writer. I was writing monthly for a magazine (around 2010,, for a couple of years), I blogged at least weekly here and on my travel blog, and I participated in group and online writing challenges. I had (have!) a great idea for a work in progress, and I loved every minute of penning an idea and creating a story.

So why did I stop?

I guess that's a little unfair. I haven't stopped writing for fun/enterprise entirely. I still blog weekly for my baking business 280 Bakes and it's going great guns. However, the last post (aside from two in early March when I panicked and got keen again for a day) on my Born to be a Tourist travel blog was exactly a year ago, and on here, my poor writing/lifestyle blog has been severely neglected. The last post here was posted in May last year. Call myself a writer??

Well, actually I don't think I do call myself a writer any more.

I write. I do. I use my skills in writing all the time: I write emails every day, to people as diverse as my Grandma (catching up) to the Lord Mayor of Bristol (a VIP event invite for 280 Bakes), I write reports, minutes, emails in my 'day job' in an office in Bristol... I was praised yesterday, in fact, for my easy style of writing - which prompted this post.  Unfortunately though, it's just writing a shopping list that's missing from the list of things I seriously sit down and write. I just don't do creative writing much nowadays.

And it's not like I cut back consciously. It happened gradually perhaps, and time flew by; suddenly it had been months and years since I'd worked on anything bigger than a 500 word blog about cake.

I think my writing time was diminished for a number of reasons:

a) Life got busy. Busier. Married, a (new) full time job and a business to run on the side, a pup, living in a new town with things to discover, more financial responsibilities... all these things take up time, no matter how pleased I might be to welcome them into my life.

b) Moving from Northamptonshire, I left behind me an awesome writing group which I Chaired. The group was such an inspiration, and the discipline of having to write a short story or selection of poems each month was a real driver for creativity. The group is still going, I hear, I still miss it.

c) I think, honestly, I've moved on a little from writing, too. I felt a bit guilty about this for a while, and I have no idea why. It's not like I was letting down millions of fans. A few thousand followed me on the blogs, but I am sure no one cried. I was fully aware I was never going to get rich writing, but was keen at one stage to see my skills and portfolio develop professionally. Now, I guess, I have other interests, but should use writing more as a hobby or an outlet more.

d) I went through some dark times - anxiety and depression doesn't encourage creativity, but with hindsight, it could have helped. At the time though, I couldn't face writing anything with concentration levels on the floor and low self-esteem. No one wanted to hear from me, I was sure, and I didn't really want to get stuck in writing negatively centred things.

However, there's hope. The fact I'm writing this post is a positive sign. Hey, life is always busy - it's about making time for what you want to do, your priorities. I've not found a writing group in Bristol which works for me, and I don't know if I'm that enthused about going along, really, now. And you know what, it's ok if writing isn't a priority for me now. It's just there, hovering in the background, something I can dip into as and when. Moving on isn't a bad thing, in many aspects of life, but I know I can always go back to it. Life has taught me a lot in the last few years, and I'm sure there's something I could say, especially now I'm much-improved mentally. Still working on it every day, but much mended.

I have 39 unfinished drafts for Miss Write and many more for Born to be a Tourist. Maybe I'll have a crack this weekend. A long, potentially wet weather Easter weekend is a perfect excuse for some inner expression. Watch this space - but don't hold your breath.

Lou x

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​Today I Told Her

Today I told her. 
 
This evening I told my wife a secret.
A year of marital bliss fell from my lips and crashed into foetal positioned dreams around our feet.
 
“How about Annie for a girl?”
 
I could hold back no longer.
I had to speak.
 
She shook off a long blinked. I could feel our hearts sinking together, yet I was convinced.
 
“What do you mean?”
 
I repeated the loaded phrase, more than words.
 
“How… what...? When did you decide this?”
 
Eight months into our marriage I found myself wishing for nothing more.
 
“Are you sick?”
 
No. I wanted no children – she was enough, my love entirely hers.

Lou x
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I'm looking forward to the editing phase of my novel. I'm still only 40,000 words in, so it's a way off yet, but it doesn't stop me procrastinating and planning how I'll edit!

Here are my top 12 tips for when you reach the editing stage. 

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​

• If it’s fiction, are the characters plausible? Do they sound real?
• Are the themes working? What is the one big message of your book? How do the sub-themes relate to it?
• Is it tightly written, where every word carries meaning and builds the picture? Or is it full of waffle that needs to be pared down? Make every word count. 
• Double check your spelling. 'Form' and 'From' are both words spellcheck will recognise but they might be incorrect in that sentence. 
• Are there any excessively long sentences you can cut in two?
• If it’s how-to, are the instructions clear for the level of skill you're writing for? i.e. for beginners, intermediate... Do the steps come in the right order? Do you have a contents page? Does the manual have illustrations or photos? Is it inspiring and encouraging as well as informative?
• Is there enough description to create vivid images in a reader’s mind? Is it groaning under the weight of too much description? Show, don't tell, but make sure it's balanced - like Barbara Kingsolver. 
• Is your formatting standard all the way through? If not, make sure there's a reason for this which enhances the readers' experience. 
• Cut 'in order to'. You never need it. If you’re going to the kitchen in order to make a sandwich… Your sentence could be tighter. Because you’re really going to the kitchen to make a sandwich.
• Same goes for the word 'currently'. Cut it. If someone is working as a sous-chef, they are there currently and it doesn't need to be highlighted twice. 
• Are there holes in the plot, or anything you’ve hinted at early and then forgotten to tie up?
• If it’s memoir, is it engaging? Will anyone care what you did, and why? Check out this great blog on writing a memoir people actually want to read from Stand Out Books. 

Don't give up. Editing can seem daunting and tiresome, but it'll make your book so much better if you get a few things a little tighter. Refine it and make it better, step by step. 

Thanks for reading, 

Lou x

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Take note, writers - here are the writing competition you need to know about which close in the last few weeks before 2016!

STORGY Short Story Competition  Closes December 30th, max words 5,000, £5 entry, prize of £500
Coralle Short Story Competition  Closes December 5th, free entry, max words 2,000, prize is publication
The Growing Unease: NEW Journalism Competition  Closes December 18th, max 2,000, publication is the prize, £5 entry
Boulevard’s Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers  Closes December 31st, max words 8,000, entry is steeep at $15 but the prize is huge: $1,500
Hourglass Literary Magazine Contest  Closes December 31st, max 7,000 words, entry is $8, prize of $1,000
99 Words Monthly competition, max 99 words, entry is free and the prize is publication. 
First Story - schools get £30 if they enter!!! - Closes 4th December, no fee, prize is publication on Sunday Times Online and a writing residential course. 
Magic Oxygen Closes 31st December, entry £5, prizes up to £1000.
​Henshaw Press Closes 31st December, £5 entry, up to £100 prize.

Get writing!

​Lou x

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I'm currently reading Barbara Kingsolver's 'Flight Behaviour', and I struck a real gem among her words last night, cuddled up in bed. The protagonist, at this point, is going out to check a scientific instrument, showing dedication and interest in a project she never dreamed she'd be working on, right in her backyard (page 323). It's pouring with rain and yo-yoing between 30-40 degrees Farenheit (it's an American book). 

Doesn't it make you shiver? I can remember mornings like that...

It's good writing for empathy and atmosphere, but the real reason I wanted to share this masterful (part) sentence was to showcase the skills Kingsolver has for 'show, don't tell'. The idea of this tool for writing is to create texts which enable the reader to tune into the story through action, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings of the characters involved, rather than through description.

Why is 'show, don't tell' so important? It's essential to good writing, and something I try to achieve on every page I write. The writer is hinting at a subtext, in this case, the personal description and character of the protagonist. She is clearly someone who needs to wear glasses (or perhaps chooses to - but in this case, most people would leave their specs at home if it was raining, should they not require them for more than a fashion statement!), who owns a decent outdoor weather-ready coat, and the character needs to be able to see clearly for the task she's about to undertake. The creative writing leaves it unsaid, unshown, yet obvious about what the character looks like in a basic form. You can get all of that from one little sentence about a waterproof hood. 

The old adage 'show, don't tell' is so important to writing it's now included in Key Stage 2 English classes in English schools. Bravo!

Anton Chekov put it brilliantly:

​However, 'show, don't tell' should be implemented with some caution. According to writer James Scott Bell, "Sometimes a writer tells as a shortcut, to move quickly to the meaty part of the story or scene. Showing is essentially about making scenes vivid. If you try to do it constantly, the parts that are supposed to stand out won't, and your readers will get exhausted." In other words, use with restraint! Joshua Henkin also agrees. The object of the work is to find a perfect balance between a deep, vivid picture conjured in the readers mind, and allowing them to fill in the blanks themselves.

Over half way through the (thick) book, I'm not enamored with 'Flight Behaviour'. Yet, page by page, I notice examples of fantastic writing I hope to emulate one day. And that's reading, not critiquing. I'm reading as a reader, not as a writer (for fun!), but hopefully some of the better examples of writing are drip feeding into my consciousness, day by day making me an improved writer.

Check out these quick and dirty tips on showing, not telling from Grammar Girl, Mignon Fogarty - well worth the read.

I'd love to hear if you've been struck by a specific sentence or two while reading. What has the text spoken to you?

Lou x

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Born to be a Tourist - this week, tips for perfect holiday snaps!