Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Resolutions
Friday 6th January 2016: Resolutions
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: The new year has rolled around but it is not the usual happy event people have got to know. After the war ended, a law was made that every new year, people should make a list of things they have done wrong throughout the year and for each one, a punishment is administered.
Write about one person who goes against the law and what the consequences are.
by 
Courses and Competitions: Travelex Team’s Up With Penguin To Find Aspiring Travel Writers
Calling all aspiring travel writers….
Travel can really excite the imagination. The best travel writing can transport us, make us feel as though we are there.
This is why Travelex and Penguin have come together. They want to find the best new writing talent in travel writing.
So whether you’re a student with writing ambition, a well-travelled person who likes documenting your adventures or spend days writing notes on your next trip, Travelex and Penguin are giving you a chance to win a session with a Penguin editor.
They are looking for travel savvy short stories inspired by ‘a travel experience unlike any other.’
What the experience is and how you tell it is entirely up to you as long as the story is up to 1,000 words.
One lucky writer will win an hour with an editor from Penguin and will be able to get tips, advice and feedback. The winner will also receive £1,500.
There will also be an additional £500 bonus prize for the best entry by a current university or college student.
There will also be a chance for the general public to vote for their favourite travel writer through social media. This will be for entries that make the short list.
If you’re planning on entering, you need to be over 18, and a UK resident (exc. NI.) The piece needs to be unique so not something that has been submitted elsewhere.
by January’s Novel Kicks Book Club: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.
I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Every month, I pick a new book for discussion. I will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.
The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.
It’s 2017 and I am kicking the year off with a great book. This month, it’s We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.
We are the Liars.
We are beautiful, privileged and live a life of carefree luxury.
We are cracked and broken.
A story of love and romance.
A tale of tragedy.
Which are lies?
Which is truth?
by My Writing Ramblings: My 2016 Round Up
MRC, Panic Pictures, Soundtrack New York, Trigger Street and Netflix
Usually, as we reach the end of the old year and are approaching the new one, I am a mixture or happy, excited and nervous. I’m also a little sad that the year is coming to a close. However, 2016 has been a year I am quite happy to say goodbye to and won’t be too sad to leave.
It’s been a difficult year personally (probably the worst one I’ve had) and so I look towards 2017 with hope that it has got to be better than 2016. Please, 2017? Pretty please!?
One of the few saving graces of this year are the great TV shows I’ve discovered and amazing books I’ve read.
Thanks to Netflix and fiction, I’ve managed to procrastinate beautifully.
Some of my favourite shows this year have been House of Cards (such a fan of Kevin Spacey anyway but he’s brilliant in House of Cards,) The Big Bang Theory, which had me wondering why it had taken me so long to discover it and The Gilmore Girls. I want to go live in Stars Hollow.
Book highlights this year have included so many wonderful books. Some of my highlights have included The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell, Lyrebird by Cecelia Ahern, Bridget Jones’ Baby: The Diaries by Helen Fielding, No Turning Back by Tracy Buchanan, Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent, The Comfort of Others by Kay Langdale, Somewhere inside of Happy by Anna McPartlin and Hungry For Love by Lucy Beresford.
by My Favourite Christmas Books and Film Traditions
Penguin Classics, New Ed. Edition. Oct 2003
Happy Christmas Eve all. This has to be my favourite day of the year. Christmas day is great but the anticipation of Christmas almost being here is so magical and wonderful. Everyone has their traditions at Christmas whether it be seeing family, going for a Christmas day walk or snuggling down with a Christmas themed book or a movie. I wanted to share some of my Christmas story and movie traditions. There are certain ones that I try to watch and read every year. Some of these traditions I have had since I was a kid and some are fairly recent. I can never wait until 1st December to be able to begin them.
My first Christmas story/film tradition is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I have been watching various adaptations of this all my life (I actually really love the version with Kate Winslet. Does anyone else?) This is the film I will usually put on when wrapping presents. The latest version I love is the Jim Carrey version although the scene where the candle changes faces quite frankly is creepy.
It wasn’t until last year though that I read the book these wonderful adaptations are based on. I don’t know why it took me so long. It’s full of great moments and in places, very funny dialogue. I love how faithful some of these film adaptations have been to the book. Reading this story though gave me a whole new appreciation for it. I will be trying to read it every year now instead of just watching it.
Snowman Enterprises, CH4 Television corp. TVC London. 1982
Hardcover Edition, Harper Collins, 2008
My next tradition is also a film adapted from a book and that is The Snowman. I mean, it’s a classic. I have been watching this animation since I was small and Christmas is not Christmas without it. This twenty minute film is so magical. I wanted to be able to build a snowman and go off to the north pole but I can’t remember the last time we had snow. I still hold out hope even though I am now in my thirties that we will get a white Christmas. It’s always good to hope right?
The Snowman is so wonderfully animated and even though it doesn’t have the happiest of endings, I can’t help smiling when I hear those first few beats of Walking in The Air and they begin to fly toward the North Pole. I notice something new every time I watch it. The Snowman is so timeless and will be part of my Christmas for years to come.
Speaking of which, The Gift by Cecelia Ahern is one of those Christmas stories that will have you reaching for the tissues as it will make you cry. It did me. Lou doesn’t have enough hours in the day. The advancement of his career comes at the sacrifice of spending time with his family. His life is turned upside down when he meets Gabe. Something happens where Lou can be in two places at once but can he discover what is important before it is too late?
This book has stuck with me for so long. Even years after first reading it I still think about it and this is a book I always try and read this time of year. It has such a lovely and important message especially for Christmas. If you’ve not added this to your Christmas reading list, I urge you to. It’s wonderful.
by Book Club
