The beautiful Cambrian mountains – spectacular scenery to drive through, to your daughter’s first university open day. A misty, rolling, dreamlike landscape – ideal for a journey, but not a place that many find easy to live in. The route took us from the Midlands through the England/Wales border country, to Aberystwyth on the west coastContinue reading “Defining Moments of Life: Journey To a University Open Day”
Category Archives: SC Skillman
The Writer’s Journey: A Satisfying End to the Story
The way in which a novel ends is critical to its success A satisfying end determines whether readers will go away and say to their friends, “I’ve just read this fantastic novel!” I believe that a novel is defined by the way it ends. The theme becomes clear, and the focus of the story shinesContinue reading “The Writer’s Journey: A Satisfying End to the Story”
Do Fiction Writers Use Real Life Characters in Their Novels?
Surely if you put a real person in your novel they might recognise themselves? Is it all right to use real people to create characters in your novel? Suppose they recognise themselves? In my experience this is extremely unlikely. JK Rowling based the character of Gilderoy Lockhart on someone she knew. In “Harry Potter and theContinue reading “Do Fiction Writers Use Real Life Characters in Their Novels?”
The Double-Edged Sword of an Artist’s Silence
“If I didn’t make films I don’t know what else I would do, apart from playing jazz and making a nuisance of myself.” (Woody Allen) Woody Allen’s words above show the nature of passion for art. For many creative people cannot imagine giving up, retiring, or falling into silence, before they die. The master of comicContinue reading “The Double-Edged Sword of an Artist’s Silence”
Unconscious Research and Dream Yoga
What might walking backwards through the Australian rainforest have to do with a mystery romance novel set in the Cotswolds? It was all part of my “unconscious research”. And it was a long research journey too, I admit. If you’re intrigued, go to Martin Willoughby’s blog to read my guest post on how “Dream Yoga” played a roleContinue reading “Unconscious Research and Dream Yoga”
Minor Characters Who Highlight the Theme in Great Fiction
The success of a great novel does not lie entirely in the hands of its hero. Many of my favourite novels come with a surprise gift – the character who is most interesting of all, who is not the main protagonist. This is the character you wonder about later, the character that seems to step outsideContinue reading “Minor Characters Who Highlight the Theme in Great Fiction”
Structure, Collapsed Middles and Fiction Writing
One of the greatest challenges I have found in writing a novel can come through a surplus of ideas. Which ones do you choose, and which have to be set aside to be used in another novel? The result of trying to pack in too many ideas is often a collapsed middle. So the best way to dealContinue reading “Structure, Collapsed Middles and Fiction Writing”
Mystical Circles, Emotional Charge on the Spiritual Journey – How Life Itself Inspires an Author
Over the last few months, some readers have been asking me, “What inspired you to write ‘Mystical Circles’? And, as I have just issued a revised edition of the novel on Kindle with a new cover design, I thought now would be a good moment to answer some of those questions. The story evolved outContinue reading “Mystical Circles, Emotional Charge on the Spiritual Journey – How Life Itself Inspires an Author”
Mental and Emotional Byways, Complexes and Hang-Ups in Fictional Characters
Having just read an interesting blog post about depression, I was led to reflect upon how easy it is to allow your own “principles” to override compassion, empathy and honesty about the reality of human life. This applies to all of us, but there is a special challenge here for those of us who write stories, andContinue reading “Mental and Emotional Byways, Complexes and Hang-Ups in Fictional Characters”
On the Outside Looking In, Royal Barges, Rowing Boats, Glimpses, Panoramas and Artistic Vision
As I watched The Diamond Jubilee River Pageant on TV and tried to work out whether I wished I was there, or whether I was glad not to be, I remembered these words in a radio interview several months ago. ‘I have always felt myself to be on the outside of everything, looking in.’ IContinue reading “On the Outside Looking In, Royal Barges, Rowing Boats, Glimpses, Panoramas and Artistic Vision”
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