Novel Kicks Writing Room: Witchy AGM
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.
Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: Witch AGM.
Your character is on their way to the annual witch meeting. The Witch AGM.
On the agenda, ‘Witches are not hags. Helping debunk the bad myths and stereotypes.’
What we can do to help our image. A practical workshop.
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Spotlight: Words & Kisses Subscription Box
Words & Kisses is a subscription service/online book club for people who like their books with happy endings.
I am a sucker for a happy ending. I am a proper romantic and I love subscription boxes so when I was approached by the lovely Amy at Words & Kisses about reviewing her book subscription box, she didn’t have to ask me twice.
My book arrived beautifully wrapped in pink tissue paper with a lovely note.
It was like Christmas had come early as I couldn’t help but tear the wrapping open to reveal the surprise inside.
I received The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai. One read of the description and it was clear the right choice had been made for me. It is a great way to discover novels you may not have read or picked up otherwise.
How it works is so simple. Visit wwww.wordsandkisses.com.
*Subscriptions are three months for £34.99, six months for £69.99 or a twelve month subscription for £139.00. Alternatively, you can pay a recurring monthly subscription of £11.99 if you want to try it out first. If you live in the UK, postage is included.
by Book Extract: The Summer Springsteen’s Songs Saved Me by Barbara Quinn
Hello to Barbara Quinn and the birthday blog tour for her novel. The Summer Springsteen’s Songs Saved Me
Coming home to catch her husband with his face between the long, silky legs of another woman is the last thing Sofia expects—and on today of all days. So, after scratching an expletive into his Porsche and setting the cheating bastard’s clothes on fire, she cranks up her beloved Bruce and flees, vowing never to look back.
Seeking solace in the peaceful beachside town of Bradley Beach, NJ, Sof is determined to start over. And, with the help of best friends, new acquaintances, a sexy neighbor, and the powerful songs of Springsteen, this may be the place where her wounds can heal. But, as if she hasn’t faced her share of life’s challenges, a final flurry of obstacles awaits.
In order to head courageously toward the future, Sofia must first let go of her past, find freedom, and mend her broken soul.
Barbara has shared an extract today. Enjoy.
***** beginning of extract*****
Behind us a car’s radio blares “Born in the USA.” Curious, I turn and watch a black convertible pull into the driveway next door. The sandy-haired man in the driver’s seat sings at the top of his lungs and bangs his hands on the steering wheel. He alternates his drumming with a little air guitar. He does neither well.
Mr. Air Guitar gives off an aura of happiness and an appearance that says “I’m carefree” that annoys me. I dislike him, even if he’s a fellow Springsteen fan. He makes me think about the huge pack of trouble I’m trying to unload, the one named Jerome, the one who routinely porks his trainer. Still, nothing requires me to be friends with the neighbors.
Terri opens her door and climbs out. She waves at Mr. Air Guitar, but the man remains engrossed in his playing and fails to notice. He strums a muscled arm again to the blast of the radio, and my ears grow hot. The guy probably knows nothing about the meaning of the song he sings. The mantra “Born in the USA” isn’t a rallying cry for overzealous patriots no matter how many times they try to claim it.
by Book Review: The Men by Fanny Calder
City life in the 1990s. Anonymous, intense, paradoxical and sometimes lonely.
A young, haunted woman falls in love with a singer. She finds she has been consumed by the relationship and when it ends – as it inevitably does – she feels unable to quite rediscover herself. Cities can draw you into even darker places, and she embarks on a series of intense relationships with thirteen men of very different types, from a rough sleeper to a millionaire, and from a transvestite to a leading politician.
As she is propelled through a series of extraordinary adventures and wild parties she finds she begins to lose her own identity. Is there a way out?
The Men by Fanny Calder focuses on an anonymous woman. She’s our narrator.
As the book begins, she is in a relationship with a singer. This ends in heartbreak. We then look at the thirteen subsequent relationships she has including one with a homeless man, a Politician and a Millionaire.
This is not a book I would have picked off a shelf and this is why I love running the Novel Kicks blog. It means books like this don’t pass me by.
The narrator gives the reader little glimpses into her relationship history and it doesn’t hold back whatsoever.
The character does have happy moments in her quest for romantic love but she is also insanely honest with her observations about these men, the world around her and her lack of fulfilment with love and life. It’s one of the things I liked most about this novel as well as the conversational writing style.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Structure
I am currently preparing for National Novel Writing Month. October is known as Preptober.
This got me thinking about structure and I have come across many variants of a three-act structure.
Take an idea you have and plan the plot using the following as a guide.
Act One:
1. Introduce your character and their world.
2. An event that sets the story in motion.
3. Determine what happens next.
Act Two:
4. Determine the goal that isn’t going to come easily.
5. The game changer.
6. The decision.
Act Three:
by Book Club
