Emily’s Letter by Henry Curry, a story for Halloween.

With Halloween fast approaching the Whittlesey Wordsmiths offer you this timely story from Henry:

Emily’s Story by Henry Curry

I approached the house with some trepidation. In the distance, the Gothic arches and dark windows lent an air of gloom about the place that only made my depression worse. Shadows were already deepening as I reached the forbidding gates and a bell tolled in the distance, as if warning me away. But I knew I had to go forward, go into that place. I gripped the letter.

Emily had been insistent; her words came to me again and again. She had sounded so firm and final the last time we had met. We were friends, no more than friends. She made that clear. As I kissed her on the cheek and turned to leave I saw her smile, but there was no happiness about her countenance. No, there was something else. I had wanted to say so much, reveal my feelings for her. My true feelings. But she had seemed so resolute, and my courage had left me. Now, an unhappy year had passed.

I paused. A breeze shook the trees, dragging the last few leaves away to their autumnal rest. The letter seemed to weigh so heavily. I longed to stop and read it again, to ponder each word, looking behind each phrase for another meaning. But instead, I resolved to continue. My footsteps made the gravel crunch generously, a sound which had the effect of raising my spirits a little. I stepped forward, even strode, along that long drive; I even began to whistle a tune, one that Emily used to sing, my pace in time with the music, holding my emotions back, concentrating on walking, walking. Then the house was in front of me and I was at the great front door. I tugged sharply on the bell-pull, but heard no sound. A crow called mournfully as it rowed its way across the sky, its outstretched wing-tips like fingers against the twilight. I was about to try again when there was the sound of a bolt being drawn, and the door slowly opened.

‘You are expected. Follow me, sir.’ The servant had a faded air about him, as if he had been too long in a dust-filled room. His skin was as pale as the stone of the building, and he shuffled with a peculiar gait suggestive of some illness.

‘Thank you.’ I followed him into the warm hallway and immediately began to cough, I assumed as a result of the stale, stagnant air. Light seemed to penetrate but feebly, as if an unwelcome guest, hiding from all but the middle of the floor. As my eyes became accustomed to the faint gleam from the candle borne by my guide I became aware of a number of doors and a large staircase disappearing into the reddening gloom.

‘The lady will see you in here sir.’ I was shown into a room which I thought was the study, or perhaps the library. It was hard to discern the purpose of this room due to the darkness. I could see a grand desk commanding the middle, with a large high-backed chair of very old design, I fancied, given the detailed carving on its back. In the wavering shadows I could just make out tapestries on my left, and to the right a wall of what appeared to be bookshelves. At this point the ageing servant turned to leave, and as he did so he lit candles in each of the sconces by a great mantelpiece. The light now picked out a fine long case clock to one side of the fireplace. I resolved to examine the timepiece as far as I could, but as I moved towards it, someone else entered the room.

‘Hello Jeremy.’ It was Emily, my Emily. But it was not her. The voice I heard was harsh and broken, as if emanating from a dying volcano. I turned in happy expectations, but drew back sharply at the face before me. Her eyes!

‘Emily.’ My voice came in a hoarse croaking sound. I held out the letter. My words failed me. She stared blankly and spoke mechanically, in a distant way.

‘I knew you’d come. But many things have changed. I… I am to be married.’ The red-rimmed eyes held my gaze. There was no pleasure in her voice, only a sense of resignation. ‘You should not have come here. Please go now.’ I was shocked, but tried to remain calm, measured.

‘You seem unhappy Emily. Can’t we talk further? As friends? I can’t leave you this way, having come so far.’ I hoped she understood that I meant so much more than just my journey.

‘Then stay at the Inn tonight if you wish. Come again tomorrow, in the morning, in the daylight.’ With these words she turned and walked away before I could speak.

I spent an unhappy night at the old Inn in the town. Restful sleep would not come to me. In my dreams I saw only vague shapes and a shadowy figure with glaring red eyes drifting through a vast library. The books were falling towards me, and there was a smell that made me choke – I was trying to speak but no sound would emanate from my throat, and the figure crackled with an eerie laughter. Another figure seemed to be present, but I couldn’t see who it was. I felt hot, fearful, in a wild panic, but I didn’t know why.

I woke early but felt both disturbed and tired, being unrefreshed by my troubled sleep. Washing and dressing, I saw my face in the mirror – I was distressed at how old I appeared. I resolved to make light of the last night, to enjoy a good breakfast and a brisk walk back to the house. I didn’t want Emily to see me looking as haggard as I felt.

There seemed to be a thick morning fog settled over the valley, so my view of the house was temporarily obscured. As I turned onto the drive a vague outline of the old walls gradually materialised. But then my heart raced – something was wrong, very wrong! I quickened my pace, breaking into a trot, then a full blown run. Smoke was lazily drifting up from the broken walls and crumbling ruin – a great conflagration must have taken the house! There was no roof, only charred walls and beams. Without realising, I had started shouting as I ran. I was shouting, shouting, calling Emily’s name over and over.

‘Terrible. A terrible tragedy.’ A bewhiskered man in a tweed jacket was looking up at the building and calling a cocker spaniel back to him. ‘Here, Jack, here boy!’ I roughly grabbed this chap by the coat lapels, shouting at him.

‘Where is she? What happened to Emily? Is she safe?’ He pulled back, placing his hands on my shoulders.

‘Now then, now then. Calm yourself. I’m sure all that could be done was done, young fellow.’ The dog returned with a piece of paper in its mouth. ‘The blaze just took hold very quickly, very quickly. Started in the library, by all accounts. It was burning for three days.’ These last words seemed bizarre, barely registering.

‘But what happened to the people – to the lady, Emily? Where are they?’ Blood was bursting up my neck and into my head, pounding into my ears. ‘Where are they?’

‘Ah, now, you obviously knew the incumbents; well’ he looked wearily at me,’sadly no-one survived. They found the three souls yesterday, but all had perished. The lady, her husband-to-be, and the servant. All gone.’ He gave a wistful look up at the ruins. ‘I am so very sorry.’

‘But… but I was here yesterday. Yesterday evening. I saw them. I spoke to them. I was here. There was no fire – they were all alive!’

He leaned closely towards me and returned a puzzled, old-fashioned look.

‘I can’t dispute what you say you saw or might have thought you saw my friend. The house and all its occupants, such a tragic business, were destroyed three days ago. If you were here, as you say you were, last night…’ He tailed off, frowning. Jack the spaniel, snuffled at my feet, dropping Emily’s letter.

If you would like to read more of Henry’s work find him on Amazon by clicking on the link:

Henry Curry

How to deal with Writers Block

This post is from Stephen Oliver author of “Unleash Your Dreams: Going Beyond Goal Setting”. It gives inspiration and practical suggestions for those suffering from Writers Block. It is a long post but difficult to condense and yet retain his useful advice.

photography of brickwall — Photo by Fancycrave.com on Pexels.com

Dealing with Writers Block

A couple of years ago, I received an email in connection with a post I made on the TUT Writer’s Group on Facebook. The writer asked me about how to become a writer and how to deal with writer’s block. The following is based on my reply.

When it comes to writing, I would like to know where your writer’s block lies, so that I can give you more targeted advice. However, I can give you the following points, to begin with.

What sort of writing do you want to do?

Are you intending to write fiction or non-fiction? I do both, and each needs its own way of looking at things.

Fiction

If you want to write fiction, do you know what sort of story you want to write? Is it romance, general fiction, erotica, fantasy (science fiction, dark fantasy or horror, sword and sorcery, urban fantasy, to name but a few)? Is it a novel or a short story? Whatever type you want to write, you need to do some reading in that genre, just to get a feel for what is acceptable to the reading public. I, for instance, have read all of the above-mentioned fantasy types for years. You don’t want to copy them, of course, but you do need to know the kind of stories that are available.

Sometimes, a story you read will trigger an idea of your own. You might like the story and want to know what happened next. Why don’t you write about that? This is where a lot of fanfiction comes from.

If the story took place years ago, why not rewrite it into modern times? West Side Story is really Romeo and Juliet set in 20th century New York, for instance. The Lion King is a modern take on Hamlet. One of the short stories I’m about to publish is my take on Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid. And so on.

At other times, you might think to yourself “I don’t like the way that story turned out.” So why not write your own version, giving it the ending you would have liked?

Or you read a story and imagine something completely different, that’s still somehow connected with the original, like my story about a modern Frankenstein.

Television and movies are other good sources of ideas. Just as I mentioned above, they can trigger thoughts and ideas that lead to a story.

I’ve also had ideas that have come from dreams and daydreams. You just have to be open to your thoughts. There are stories that I have started writing with nothing more than a single phrase or concept.

To throw a couple of ideas out to you:

What would it feel like to be immortal? You know that everyone you love will one day be gone, while you have to carry on without them forever more. How will you live? What will you do? Is there a problem with boredom, because you’ve done it all before? If they reincarnate, will you seek them out again?
How about someone whose job is to protect a city, like a superhero, except he can’t remember who he is until the city is about to be destroyed? How does he react until he realises that he’s the one to save the day? How do the inhabitants treat him because he’s always so late coming to the rescue?
Or how about a woman who can’t find her car keys, until she remembers that she never learned to drive? Why does she think that she has keys for a car she doesn’t own? Is she suffering from amnesia? Does she have a split personality? Is she channelling someone from a parallel world? Or is a ghost trying to contact her? The possibilities are endless.
What is the exact meaning of a company name, like Blue Dog? Does someone have an unusual name? Why do they have it?

These are a few ideas that just popped into my head while I was writing this. Be prepared to think strange things and follow them up.

If you still can’t think of anything, google “writing prompts” with the genre name. You will find thousands of entries to get you started. Amazon also has large numbers of prompt books, often for only £0.99, or a little more.

If you do decide to write, I suggest you keep some sort of notebook to write your ideas down. Personally, I use a program called Evernote (https://evernote.com), which you can get for free. It runs on the PC, Mac, iPhone and iPad, any Android device, etc. What you do is download it on any device you use and then set up an account with them or Dropbox or iCloud, or some other cloud service. Once all devices and their versions of Evernote are synchronised to the same account, if you write something down on one of them, it will be available on all of them within seconds. You need never lose an idea again. Except in the shower; I still have no idea how I can do it there.

If electronic devices are not your thing, and I know people who still prefer old-fashions methods, buy yourself a small reporter’s notebook with an attached pen or pencil. Keep it with you at all times and jot down any ideas you get. Every so often, say once a week, write them up in a bigger notebook or school book. Give it a title like “My Great Ideas Book.” Cherish the ideas as they come, accept them as the gifts from whomever or whatever you think of as a higher power, and they will keep coming. They will increase, and you will soon wonder why you never had any ideas.

Non-Fiction

Although all that I’ve written about above is as true for non-fiction as it is for fiction, non-fiction has a few extra points you need to keep in mind.

First of all, how much do you know about the subject? If it’s something you work with every day, and you know all about it, then you’re set. You just need to work out how to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard.

If you know a bit, or even nothing at all, then you are going to have to research. There are books available on just about every subject under the sun, many of them cheap or even free, if you know where to look. Try Amazon’s free books, for example, or check out Project Gutenberg for books that are out of copyright. Google the subject and follow any leads you find. Just be aware that there is a lot of useless or even false information out there. As Theodore Sturgeon, a science fiction writer, once said: “90% of everything is crud.”

As you’re doing your research, keep making notes of ideas and concepts that you want to include in your book. As I noted earlier, a notebook or some electronic aid such as Evernote, is an excellent way of keeping everything together. You can even cut and paste whole web pages into it. It doesn’t matter whether everything is neat and tidy, or just a bunch of scribbles and phrases, as long as they make sense to you when you come back to them later.

Once you start writing, you will have to find your personal style. When I’m working on a non-fiction book, I always write as if I’m actually talking to the person. If I’m teaching someone how to use a computer program (and I have written a user manual), it’s as if we’re sitting down together in front the machine and I’m telling them what to type and where to click. This is my style, and I know that there are people who prefer other styles, such as impersonal teacher dishing out commands.

My fiction style varies, depending on the needs of the story.

Whatever you found during your research, don’t write it exactly as you noted it down in the first place because you may find that you are plagiarising someone else’s words. Instead, write it down in your own words, as if you are trying to explain to someone else what it is that you’ve read. Don’t worry if you think you have nothing new to say, it may be that someone else needs to hear it put the way that you can uniquely do it. Say it your own way, and it will be new to someone.

Don’t talk yourself out of an idea just because it’s been done before. Put your own spin on it. Bring in your own personal experiences. You will have your own stories to tell, which will make it unique.

Dr Joe Vitale

Problems

Now, let’s look at one or two problems more carefully.

Ideas are blocked

If you think that your problem lies with writer’s block, try this little trick. If you prefer to work by hand, get a blank piece of paper and a pen or pencil, and write the subject you want to write about at the top of the page. Underline it or draw a box around it, whatever makes you feel that it’s important.

Now, let’s establish a couple of simple rules. First of all, when you start writing, don’t stop! Secondly, you are only allowed to write from left to right and top to bottom. You can’t go back and correct something at the moment; that comes later.

Now, just keep writing whatever goes through your head on the subject. If you find that nothing relevant to the subject comes out, just write whatever you are thinking about, even if it’s about the problem you’re having writing anything down. The idea is to disconnect your creative process from the critical process of editing, silencing your Inner Critic. Once you’ve been writing for five or ten minutes, or whatever feels comfortable, take a break or stop completely

Now is the time to go back and look at what you’ve written. Don’t change anything yet, just read it from beginning to end to see what exactly you have created. If you find something you would like to alter or even delete, make a mental note to come back to it later. If you prefer, mark where the change should be, but don’t actually make the correction yet.

Once you’ve reread it, you can go back and make the changes you thought about earlier. When you’ve finished, use that as a basis for your writing. You can repeat this as many times as you like, until you’re satisfied.

If you’re a computer user and can type fast enough, create a new blank document and start with that. I’ve even used dictation software to get ideas down as quickly as possible.

This is a combination of two different methods that I personally use. The first is Free Writing, where you just allow words to come out of you without censoring them in any way. The second method includes the first as its first stage. This method is called the Disney Strategy and is named after Walt Disney. It’s the way that he and his team of creators brainstormed new ideas for films and features.

If you want to find out more about this and other methods of achieving your goals, I suggest you look at my book “Unleash Your Dreams: Going Beyond Goal Setting”. You can find it on Amazon as both a Kindle eBook (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EX4FVUI) and paperback (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0992744113), or as an iBook.

Another suggestion I can make is to have multiple projects going on at the same time. For instance, right now I am doing the final clean-up on a collection of science fiction short stories, another one in multiple genres looking for a publisher, two more of the same that are awaiting editing, a fourth collection of stories being written on the same theme, and one other collection as a work in progress. I also have a fantasy novel I’m working on, and a follow-up book to the one that I just mentioned above. If I run out of ideas, or find myself blocked on one of these projects, I simply switch to another one and continue working there. I do this because I’ve come to realise that it’s not really a block, as such. It really means that what I’m working on at the moment isn’t quite ready to be written down yet.

No ideas at all

You said that you have no idea where to start? Is this because you have no ideas? Or is it because you have no idea what tools to use?

If the first one is your problem, please look earlier in this post, where I’ve given you a few pointers on how to start.

If the second one is where you’re stuck, any word processor, such as Microsoft Word or Apple’s Pages, will do perfectly well. I wrote my first book using Word, and it did the job fairly well.

These days, I use a product called Scrivener, which is specially designed with the writer in mind, allowing you to structure your work any which way you like, moving stuff around if it makes more sense that way. You can download a free trial at http://www.literatureandlatte.com, which will run for 30 days of use; if you use it only once a week, it will work for months. If you decide you like it, it only costs about $45 to buy the full licence. There are versions for the PC, Mac, and iPhone and iPad. It even comes with video tutorials available straight from the programme.

Summer, the sun screens and writing

We have two posts on this subject:

Cathy wrote about screens and sunshine Wendy followed up with her thoughts on the same subject.

Off-Screen Editing

I’ve read advice never to start a story by describing the weather, but it’s what I notice first when I get up. Perhaps it’s because of where I live, in the UK: we can’t rely on the sun waiting around till we’re free to enjoy it. Before retirement I mourned for every sunny day when I had to work. The weather was certain to deteriorate for the weekends.

Retired, I have the freedom to spend every sunny day outside, but my laptop isn’t garden-friendly.

It’s the screen that won’t co-operate. Sitting in shade, adjusting screen brightness, giving the cursor a trail and making it bigger… nothing makes computing alfresco easy. My solution this year has been to edit off-screen. There are advantages to taking my red pen outside.

Most notably, I’ve taken more time over it, in order to spend as long as possible in the fresh air without feeling guilty. I’m not rushing through the final scenes because I’m fed up with editing this story for the fourth (fifth, sixth, seventh…) time.

I print on single-sided scrap to save trees, and manage with single spaced printouts, but to save even more paper, you can send your work to your Kindle, if you have one, by emailing the file to your Kindle email address with convert as your email title. It is possible to make editing notes on your Kindle version, but I still prefer editing onto paper.

Nevertheless, reading from the Kindle seems to throw up different errors compared to reading from a printout, or a word processor. I also read aloud sometimes, if there’s no-one within hearing range, to listen how the writing sounds. (When reading my story to the writing group, I’ve found that making notes on the fly tends to interrupt

the flow.)

Typing up my hard-copy edits only seems like half a job – the thinking’s already been done. Sometimes I’ll change my mind again and revert to the original, but that happens anyway, and it’s quicker when ‘reverting’ means ‘not changing’.

I plan to continue the off-screen edits when the sun finally flies south for the winter.

How do other writers cope with the lure of the sun in the few weeks Britain calls summer?

Cathy Cade.

Summer and Technology

The incompatibility of summer and technology is an ongoing issue for all us would-be authors.

My solution is to be creative with my pen and paper at this time of year and save the typing for dark, winter nights.

I can wander along the beach, feet cooled by the surf, a notebook in my rucksack. There is always a handy rock where I can sit for a few minutes to jot down odd words that spring to mind or dally for longer if inspiration takes hold.

Come winter, I can stoke up the fire, huddle over the lap top and type from the notes, with the added advantage that I see it all now with fresh eyes. The ideas have had time to mature, making revision much less challenging and the whole experience more rewarding.

Wendy Fletcher

Writing

Bridge Street Cambridge a busy Saturday afternoon — Walking the route a character in my book uses. Bridge Street Cambridge.

Wendy has asked me to write a piece about our writing as a group.

At our last meeting Whittlesey Wordsmiths discussed writing, not just the generalities of it but how we each approached the task. In the past, two of our members explained their different working methods one was able to work while the television was on and manage with the distraction, another needed complete silence. Some members work best at night, others early in the morning.

Personally, I prefer relative quiet, either at home, early or late in the day, during the day at a library or even as yesterday in a pub. Breakfast at a Wetherspoons, a large empty table my small laptop/tablet computer with free coffee top-ups, while my car was at the garage.

We discussed also the acquiring of ideas, the overheard phrase or sentence, an ending to a story then filling in the events leading up to that finale. At least one of our number describes himself as Pantster, “flying by the seat of his pants”, writing down the thoughts as they form in his mind. Judging by his output it works very well for him. Within our group we are fortunate in having a diverse pool of talented writers. Our work in progress; “Where the Wild Winds Blow”, is nearing completion and showcases this talent.

Every one of us works differently. Each has their own way of finding inspiration, a method of working, marshalling thoughts as they are turned into the written word. My own stories are shown to me as a video played out in my mind, whilst I try valiantly to record the unfolding events. Later I return to rewind, stop, pause and touch up the pictures. Adding in the barely seen detail, amplifying the quiet words or thoughts of the actors. As the rough chapters increase to become what will hopefully be my novel, it has become essential to make a chronological plan. The events need to have a semblance of order. Cycle rides and walks help me add flesh to the bones of ideas and concepts. Clarifying and touching up the parts of the pictures that need it.

As my novel is set mainly in Cambridge, trips to the city have been necessary to clarify memories, to fill in the gaps left unseen in maps and on Google. Walking the route a character takes in the plot, enables it to seen, as it appears to that character, a touching up of the detail in the video.

Philip Cumberland

https://fenlandphil.wordpress.com/

Whittlesey Wordsmiths

Fenlandphil's Blog

Lattersey Nature Reserve Whittlesey the walkway in Autumn The walkway at Lattersey Nature reserve the beauty of this scene constantly changes with the seasons

Whittlesey Wordsmiths are fortunate to have within their ranks, two published authors, winners of fiction writing prizes, a very able editor/ proof-reader and a talented biographer.

Set up under the Whittlesey U3A umbrella this local group meets monthly at the Scaldgate Centre in Whittlesey. Meetings are held every first Thursday of the month from 11am, anyone is able to attend a free taster session but will need to join the U3A to become a member of the group, the fee is £3 per meeting to cover venue costs.

At recent meetings we have been fortunate to have had presentations by two local authors on the intricacies of publishing a book, both in print and online. The talks were informal, informative and very instructive. Thank you Stephen Oliver and Stuart Roberts. Like many commonplace objects…

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Whittlesey Wordsmiths

This is the post excerpt.

We are the Whittlesey Wordsmiths, a group of writers based in the Fenland market town of Whittlesey. The group was set up in February 2017 and now has eleven members. We are currently working on an anthology of short stories and poems, a collection of fact, fiction and fantasy. We are planning to publish the book in time for Christmas 2018. Updates as we progress with this, Wendy

Tag: writers

Emily’s Letter by Henry Curry, a story for Halloween.

How to deal with Writers Block

Dealing with Writers Block

What sort of writing do you want to do?

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Problems

Ideas are blocked

No ideas at all

Other problems

Summer, the sun screens and writing

Writing

Whittlesey Wordsmiths

Whittlesey Wordsmiths