Ally Aldridge Tips, Writing

Tips on naming your character

Character names.pngToday, I am going to share with you some of the methods I use for choosing my characters names.  Please cherry pick the ones that work for you.

Naming you character

Choosing a name for your character can be difficult.  My preferred methods is to choose names that are an Aptronym.

Try to think about who they are and where they are from in your decision making:

Finding a name

  • Period in time:  If your story is set in the past, you should research typical names for the time otherwise it won’t be believable.
  • Geographic:  Find names that tell your reader where they are from.  For example, if they have moved to America from Africa use a typical African name.
  • Personality:  Check the meanings of names to see if it reflects their personality.  For example, are they bitter or a happy person.
  • Characteristics: Check the meaning of names to see if they describe the way their look.  For example, do they have dark hair or blue eyes and they a runner with strong legs.
  • Abilities:  Check the meaning of names for their abilities i.e. are they clever, a singer or do they have super powers connected to water.
  • Position:  Check the meaning of names based on their relationship in the story for example are they the friend, lover, teacher, mother or leader (boss/manager).
  • Relatives:  If your characters are part of a family then it is more realistic that the parents chose similar style of names.  For example, a hippy parent might call their children “Rainbow” and “Sage” and it would be odd if one child was called “Elizabeth” which has a very different feel to it.  When naming siblings try to stick to names that sound like they would have been chosen by the same person.

Visit baby naming websites with tools to enable you to search for names, meanings and themes.  You can also use a search engine to see if anyone else has made a suitable list for example “Rock Star names”.

Here are some good sites:

If you are using software specially for writers, see if it has a name generator as part of the application.

If you like something physical to use, there are tons of baby naming books that you can buy and some that are for certain themes i.e. Celtic names.

Record your name research

Keep a list of your favourites and important information about them.  This will help you in future.  For example, if you are writing a story about Witches and researched 18th Century names then this list will come in handy for introducing future characters and save you precious time.

I like using Wunderlist for this.

Pronounceable

Make sure the name you have chosen is easy for the reader to pronounce (even in their head).  It is incredibly off putting if you’ve made up a name that slows down the pace of your story because your reader has to think about what it says.

Sometimes, Fantasy writers will create strange names to illustrate that their character is from another species.  This is fine but don’t make it illegible.

Things to avoid

If you are writing fiction make sure that your character is not named after someone.

  • Named after someone: Be careful if your characters name is the same as a living person and make sure it is clear that your fictional character isn’t based on them.  You can write a disclaimer to cover this and there are some great examples on The Book Designer.
  • Multiple nicknames:  If you use a nickname for your character, stick to one.  If your character goes by many names it can get very confusing and frustrating for your reader to keep up.

Temporary names

If you still don’t know what to call your character, choose something that is easy to replace i.e. something unique.  Then when you have made your mind up, use Find and Replace in your word processing software to change the name.

Learn from my mistake:  I once had this problem and called my character “Sam”. When I finished my 65,000 word manuscript and wanted to change the name it was horribly difficult.  You wouldn’t believe the number of words that have ‘sam’ appears within it.  This made it a very tedious task.  If I had picked something unique like Bartholomew then the correction could have been made in a few clicks.

Please note, this is a rewrite of my blog post originally posted here.  

If you enjoyed this, you may like:

Creating a Catchy Novel Title

Tips for Surviving NaNoWriMo

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How much development do you give you Secondary characters?

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Ally Aldridge Books, Festival, Tips, Writing

Spotlight on Summer Literary Dates calendar

Summer Spotlight

Summer is definitely the season for book and literary festivals.  These are taking place up and down the country.

This year, I am fortunate enough to have tickets to Felixstowe Book Festival (June) and YALC (July).  You can look forward to seeing my blog posts shortly following my return. 

Are you going to any book festivals?  

I’m going to take this opportunity to remind you about the calendar I have been updating with literary dates and made accessible to all.

Please feel free to let me know of any competitions or events you feel I should add to the calendar.

Google calendar

I created a public Google calendar so you can see everything I have added. If you want to copy an event then you too will need a google calendar (it is free with a free Google email account).

If you like this, you may enjoy:

Literary dates calendar

Who runs the world?

Making Books

Spotlight on Spring Literary Dates calendar

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Ally Aldridge Tips, Writing

Comma ‘gain!

I love writing dialogue but still feel muddled about how to present it to the reader.  I wrote this article over a year ago on my old blog but I still refer to it when I am editing to check I got it right.  I thought others may find it useful too so decided to share it again.  I hope you enjoy. 

*****

My mistake

I don’t want to even think about how many times I have edited my writing.  I am always looking to improve it and post my writing online to get feedback.  Nobody can be as brutal as I am about my own work, I never feel it is quite good enough.

"I am going to hate it."  I said miserably.  "This sucks!"  X

Recently, someone on Wattpad pointed out that I should have used a comma in the above dialogue.  I didn’t agree.  I felt it was a complete sentence so required a full stop. Plus, in all the years it has been posted online, nobody else had picked up on this.

If someone has taken the time to help me, I feel it important to firstly thank them and then consider the merit of their wisdom.  So, I got a second opinion from an ex-colleague English teacher and…

She agreed with the online feedback and provided a link to help further my understanding:  Oxford Dictionaries – Commas in direct speech

I am now dreading the edit of over 70k+ words looking for how many times I have made this mistake – this will be a painful task.

How to write dialogue

Firstly, normal sentence structure applies so place commas where required for clauses, statements, and lists.

New paragraphs

"Hello!"
"Who is there?"
"It's me,"  he said.

Every time the dialogue changes to a different speaker, you start a new line.  If you do this, it is incredibly easy for the reader to follow the conversation between the characters.

Also, if only two characters are present you can cut most the ‘he said’, ‘she said’ stuff which can get tedious and it will improve the pace of your story.

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen new writers putting dialogue between two different characters within the same paragraph and it is confusing.  Please don’t do that.

“Speech marks”

The most obvious rule is to use speech marks to show the text that the characters say.

"Hello readers!" she said.

You will notice that the first speech mark (opening dialogue) does not have a space after it and the second speech mark (closing dialogue) does not have a space before it.

"Hello."   

"Hello," she said.  

"Hello?"    

"Hello!" she yelled.

The dialogue should always end with punctuation (i.e. full stop, comma, question mark, exclamation mark) and this should be before the closing speech mark.

How a comma should be used for dialogue:

"Hello readers," she said.   

She said, "Hello readers."

In the first example, the dialogue ends with a comma and the full stop is after you identify who is saying it and how it is spoken.

The second example means exactly the same but in reverse.  The comma appears after you’ve identified who is saying it and how and the full stop is at the end of the dialogue.

In both examples, the comma appears in the middle of the dialogue and the full stop only appears at the end.

Dialogue using a question mark or exclamation mark:

"Who is there?" she asked.

"Who is there!" she yelled.

The first example, is a question.  This is illustrated by the dialogue ending with a question mark.  The question mark is contained within the speech marks.  Normally, you’d treat a question mark like a full stop and start the next sentence with a capital letter.  In dialogue, you only do this if the next word is a pronoun (i.e. a name).

The second example, is of something exclaimed.  Exclaim means to cry out i.e. in pain, in surprise, or with sudden strong emotion.  You will notice it follows the same rule as the question mark.

She asked, “Who is there?”

She yelled, “Who is there!”

You will see in the reverse dialogue examples (where the speaker and how it spoken is given first), there is a comma before giving the dialogue.

Formatting broken dialogue:

"Hello," she called into the darkness, "is anyone there?"
"Hello," she called into the darkness.  "Is anyone there?"
"Hello!" she called into the darkness. "Is anyone there?"

In the above example the dialogue is broken into two parts.  You will notice the same rules apply.

The first section of dialogue ends with a comma, question mark or exclamation mark.  Then after the closing speech mark you give details of who spoke and how it was said.

Who spoke and how it was said should end with a comma or full stop.

The second section of dialogue will only start with a capital letter if the information about who and how finished with a capital letter (or if the word is a pronoun).  The second section of dialogue must end with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.

Making it right

I am constantly learning and growing as a writer.  I’m not looking forward to the lengthy edit ahead of me but hopefully the experience will drum this lesson into my head once and for all.

"I am going to hate it,"  I said miserably.  "This sucks!" 

*****

Please share with me any issues you’ve had with writing dialogue and whether this article was useful.  Many thanks, Ally

*****

If you found this article useful, you may also enjoy:

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Tips, Writing

How much development do you give you Secondary characters?

Day 18 of March’s Instagram photo challenge by  #womenwritingfiction #wwfchallenge2019 was “Tell us about your secondary characters.”
 
Personally, I spend quite a bit of time developing my secondary characters.  I like to know what makes them tick so I can ensure they remain true to who they are.  Often, I fall in love with a character so much that I want to write them their own story, like Kya – currently writing Diamond in the Sky about her.  
 
I decided to spotlight Denny.  One of the stories about this character is below.  I hope you enjoy this snipped into her background and I would love to hear about whether you enjoy developing your secondary characters as much as your primary characters.  
 
Image from Unsplash artist Kinga Cichewicz of how I picture grown up Denny https://ift.tt/2DByKkK

 

View on Instagram https://ift.tt/2Ofw15V

Unpack (Denny)

Gwyn had been a mother and best friend all rolled into one neat package. I picked the sticky tape off another cardboard box. Packing up had been a difficult chore but unpacking was a never ending task.

Revealing the contents, I realised this would be no quick task. At the top was a powder blue photo album with white writing ‘My Baby’. I can’t resist the urge to look at pictures of my son. I clutched it to my chest in the same manner I had when he had been small enough to do so.

The first page was a photo of him only hours old. Gwyneth had been my only visitor at hospital and took the photo for me.

Gosh, I look so young. Too young to be a mum!

I pulled the rigid board of the front cover free from the slip to retrieve a picture I had hidden there. It had been taken in a photo booth, a sketch of us together in black and white. Dean believed pictures looked better like that. Now, it was disappointing as the picture didn’t show the kaleidoscope of golds his hair had shone that hot May.

The Easter fair had been in town, we were down for the holidays. Mum had given my brother Greg and I some money to go ‘treat ourselves’.

“What ride do you want to go on first?” Greg asked as we walked along the closed off road.

It was dark and the rides were lit up by brightly coloured bulbs and painted with images of seductive looking women with large breasts and glossy lips.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “They all look lame to me.”

Image from Unsplash artist Gabriel Matula of how I picture a teenage Denny: https://unsplash.com/@gmat07

 

There was the familiar crashing of bumper cars and the rotation of horses on the carousel. There were the more dangerous rides for older kids like Rock City where a row of chains rotated up and down getting faster and faster, Metropolis where everyone put their faith in centrifugal force as they stood in the cage of a spinning wheel tipping on its side as they stuck to the wall. There was Niagara Falls which consisted of two carpeted tubes that spun in different direction causing you to fall to the ground. Last time we were here it gave me carpet burn. All of them looked like they would either make me sick or cover me in bruises.

“I’m gonna get some candy floss.” My brother said irritated by my lack of adventure. He had been bored at the caravan and the fair was all that had kept him going.

I begrudgingly followed him whilst he flirted with two young girls in the queue. He allowed them to steal bites of the blue fluffy cloud of sugary sweetness. My brother was terrible with his cheesy lines ‘are all the girls around here as gorgeous as you?’

One of the girls, who had slicked her hair back into a ponytail eyed me with her dark lined eyes, “Your girlfriend?”

“Sister.” My brother quickly corrected her but his grin clearly read ‘I’m in there!’

The girl rubbed her arms to brush off the cold. “Wanna game of pool?”

Obviously my brother said yes. He had lost all interest in the rides now his sole attention was on this girl, who to me looked like a slapper. Sadly, that was probably what he liked about her.

Her friend was chewing gum and seemed to be eyeing everyone up for a fight. Even when she smiled at my brother her eyes were half closed and she almost looked as if she was snarling, so I was surprised when she said, “You want to play?”

I shook my head. “I’ll just watch.”

I felt a little like a gooseberry standing on the side lines watching my brother tickle this girl every time she tried to take a shot. She giggled and blushed, “Stop cheating!”

I saw a pinball machine and decided to give it a go. The popular theme tune to the Adams Family started up. I pulled back the lever and let it go. The spring raced forward, smacking into the round silver ball and spinning it onto the table. The ball bounced off some bells and was heading down towards the bottom. My hands leaned over the edge of the table ready to hit the buttons to cause the flickers to stop the ball from being lost.

“You’ll never beat my score.”

I jumped and hit the button too late. Angrily, I searched for the person responsible for my loss, only to be taken back by the most beautiful eyes and gorgeous smile I had ever had the pleasure of meeting. As if moving in slow motion, I blushed as I watched the ball bounce and roll down the middle bringing the game to a halt.

“Dean.” He said confidently.

All I could see was his cocky grin and cool blue eyes. He had long blond hair that swept across his face in rebellious waves. He looked like he had stepped off the set of some Californian beach surfer movie and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

“You’ve still got another ball.” He said with a thick Suffolk accent that killed my Mr Muscle Beach fantasy.

My hands shook rapidly to the beat of my heart and it was more difficult to pull the bar back the second time. I let it go and tried again to keep the ball on the table but I was all flustered. I managed to hit it back into the game twice more before it disappeared for good.

“It’s your last ball. Do you want my help?”

My throat was tied up in knots, pretty much like my stomach and I couldn’t speak. I gave a nod. The next thing I knew, he was standing behind me. His hand clasped over mine and we drew back the lever together. “Never go all the way.” His hot breath tickled my neck like a forewarning my body wanted to rebel against. “Otherwise the ball will be too fast to keep up with. You need it to be just enough to put it on the board and get stuck behind those bells. Then you will get the maximum points.” He let go of my hand and I released it. I let it go and as my hands fumbled for the buttons, I felt his fingers guiding me into place, finally resting gently over the top of mine.

That was how my romance for ‘Hugo Boss’ had begun.  The scent surrounded me in the same way his arms were. It was intoxicating the way it gripped my senses and spun my world like the little silver ball. From that day forward, it became the smell that I associated with summer, replacing the uplifting fresh salty sea breeze and lashings of sun lotion. I no longer hungered for the tantalising sweetness of a ninety-nine vanilla ice-cream and chocolate flake; I just wanted to taste Dean. That was the start of the holiday romance that broke my heart and changed my life eternally.

Looking at the photo, I was surprised to discover how similar Dean looked to Jace. I shouldn’t have been surprised, after all Dean was his dad. The last time he had come to mind had been when I met Dave, my fiancé. The first thing that caught my attention was the heart capturing scent of Hugo.

Now Jace was wearing it thanks to Dave trying to bond with him “Wear this, the women love it.” I never told Dave why this woman loved it.

“Wings” by Birdy

   https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/WJTXDCh2YiA?rel=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=1

This song has beautiful imagary that I feel captures the intoxicating feeling of first love and the magic of the whirlwind, followed by the crushing destruction when all is not as it was and all you have left is sweet memories that are painful to carry.  I think it captures the emotions of the scene above well.

If you enjoyed this chapter, you may also like:

What theme is heavily portrayed in your story?

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Does your story have an antagonist/bad guy?

I did #FebWritersChallenge

 

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Ally Aldridge Blogging, Goal setting, Goals, Novel, Personal, Tips, Writing

Goals: Progress since Jan 2019

Here is an infographic of the goals set for this year and whether I’ve achieved them or not:

07

Social Media

  • Blog: Keep up with two posts a week. Start including links to my previous posts within new posts. Rework old posts to give new life & build an advice collection.

Posting twice a week has proven more challenging than I expected but I have discovered the IFTTT app. This app is able to convert Instagram posts into draft blog posts. When I have struggled for time this has been a game changer. I highly recommend it.

I have also revamped old posts and started referring readers with links to previous content they may like.

  • Instagram: Try to post three photos/videos a week

I have been posting two to three times a day! I have over exceeded this goal. I’m so pleased with myself and connected with lots of cool new writer friends as a result.

  • New:  Discord (new) & Facebook Group (new)

This wasn’t in my plans but a lot of IG writing groups have invited me to their Facebook group and discord channel so we can chat more easily as IG limits chat groups to 30 people.  I have also created a Facebook Page of my own which I hope to utilise in the near future.

Online events:

  • Twitter: Take part in Twitter events like #PitMad or #AskAnna

As I’ve ripped Jewel of the Sea apart I have nothing to query. #WriteMentor did a pitch event to earn a place on their rolling course with a mentor. I didn’t win but I gave it a go as I’ve worked hard on improving my pitch.

“Mariah has a magic-meddling mum, and about to discover she’s a storm summoning mermaid that needs to gain control of her emotion-connected powers ready for the impending battle with the powerful, unstoppable death crows!”

I’ve also taken part in IG events like monthly photo prompts and joined #FellowCreativeMinds and #HustlingWritersCommunity. If Aria wasn’t unwell I would have also got more involved in #STCExperiment – there is still time.

  • YouTube: Try making a video once each quarter, working towards once a month

I still haven’t braved the camera. But, I took baby steps and made two Instagram story videos which has helped me feel more confident. It is still something I am keen to do and I’ve started following more writers on YouTube. I really enjoy their content and they help inspire me to create my own.

YouTube writers I’m enjoying are:

April Grace Reads

About:  “24. Writer. Reader. Full-time final year Creative Writing graduate. Full Time Ride Operator in a children’s play centre. Books are my passion, especially YA fantasy fiction. Email me at aprilgracereads@gmail.com. I’d love to chat with any of you guys! “

Fellow Creative Minds

About:  “A channel to give help, support and encouragement to creative minds everywhere! I post twice a week. Once on Wednesday, usually a reading your writing, and then I post another video each week at a random time. To join the growing creative minds community, join our Discord and follow lizthewritingwiz on Instagram. Happy Creating! ?”

Bethany Atazadeh

About:  “I’m an author of science fiction and fantasy novels, as well as a writing coach over on Patreon, and obviously, a youtuber! (AKA authortuber :) This channel also used to be dedicated to music, so if you look back far enough you’ll find some fun songs.”

Author Brittany Wang

About:  “Hello friends! My name is Brittany Wang and I’m an aspiring author currently working on my YA Fantasy Novel. If you’re looking for writerly insights as well as writing community, you’re in the right place and I hope you’ll subscribe so you don’t miss a thing! If you’d like to interact more with me and my writer’s community, join our Plotter Life Writer’s Facebook Group and come hang out with me on Instagram where I’m active daily!”

Happily Ever Author

I feel I should mention Pagan as although she’s not on YouTube she does post videos to Facebook and helped me with advice on how to get started.  Click here to read about my review of her Facebook Group.

Writing

Jewel of the sea (formerly Drift)

  • First Quarter: Another edit

I have been fortunate enough to get some feedback on my novel that has helped me see what I need to do.

I’ve also been following the principles in Save the Cat Writes a Novel. It has really helped with pacing. If you have not read it, you are missing out. Once I’ve finished the book I will write a review.

Diamond in the sky (formerly Glide)

  • First Quarter: Finish novel
  • It started out well but once I realised the extensive edit needed to finish Jewel of the Sea, I decided I needed to focus completely on one project.
  • Diamond in the Sky has been put on hold for now.

Scarlet House

  • First Quarter: Start novel #NewYearNewNovel

This did not even happen even a little bit. I was struggling with time for my other projects so something had to go and this is what got the chop.

My plan is for this to be my Camp NaNo project next month. I shall use Save the Cat Writes a Novel to have an outline ready for April.

Article Writing

  • All year: Submit to Little Mum Mag & to Ginger Parrot

I have been so tied up with my own projects I have not had time to write for others.

Personal

  • First Quarter: Get my bodacious body back (diet & exercise programme to achieve a more healthy me)

This has gone so well. Eating paleo has been a life style choice and I hope to write blog post to share more. I feel more healthy and my figure is looking great.

  • All year: Scrapbooking (my son is now 5y old and I still haven’t started his. I need to do this).

I haven’t had time to do this. At the moment I can’t see when I will have time which is sad as those memories are precocious. I showed my son my baby album and he loved it. Maybe if I print his pictures at the very least I can put them in an album.

  • All year: Crochet – I learnt to crochet in 2018 and if I don’t want to lose the skill I need to keep practising.

Well… I still haven’t finished the blanket. How embarrassing is that! I hope I finish it before Aria turns one.

  • All year: Journal – I’ve always wanted to get into it as I love the creative way of expressing yourself and being organised.

I have tried a few times but over think it. I’m going to a meet up at the end of the month with some local planner girls.  I am hoping these women will share their wisdom with me and help me get started.  I want to use it to help me organise my writing.

  • Read a book every two months

I’ve read Rebel of the Sands (review coming soon) but I am a little behind target. I’ve started Red Queen but doubt I will finish it by the end of April.

 

Development

  • Working together course (be able to effectively support my sons school)

I have now started this course. I feel nervous about volunteering at the school (first volunteer session is on 27 March).  It is so silly but I am scared of the little kids (lol).  I feel supported by my peers and the staff at the school and I am sure that once I have done it, I will feel better about it.

I feel this course and the experience will boost my career.  I would like to work in a school as the hours would be good for my children and there is also the aspect that once I am published, I would love to visit schools in Suffolk and inspire the next generation of writers.

  • New: #WriteMentor

This wasn’t in my plans but when the opportunity to try it out for free came up, I went for it.  For February, I was fortunate enough to be part of the exclusive private Slack group for writer #WriteMentor.   I need to write a blog post for you to truly appreciate how amazing this opportunity is and why when I return to work I plan to subscribe as a paid member.

 

What’s next

I’m going to evaluate how I am doing and set some new goals for the next quarter.  

Let me know how you are progressing towards your goals and whether you check in on yourself too?

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like:

Goals for the year ahead – 2019

My best kept writing secret of last year (Happily Ever Author)

I did #FebWritersChallenge

I did #JanWritersChallenge

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Ally Aldridge Tips, Writing

A Group For Writers with a Side Hustle

Writers starting out often are juggling other responsibilities. They may be a student with assignments gobbling up their time, or full time employed to pay their bills, or a parent with young children that demand their time. Whatever their hustle, they still want to write.

Every time life gets in the way of their dream, they feel like a failure. Plust writing can be quite lonely experience with nobody to talk to when things aren’t working out. Often, you will feel like you are the only one struggling to find time to write unless you find yourself a writing group.  

That’s why I am so pleased to have connected with Sabrina Sheldron @midnightstarlightwrites on Instagram. She invited me to join her Facebook group The Hustling Writers Community.

Why I think this group is so awesome:

This group encourages everyone to support each others achievements no matter how small. Sabrina sets weekly goals that are easy to achieve but help people to keep writing and moving onwards. Currently, there is an Instagram daily photo challenge #hustlingwriterscommunity.

Why did Sabrina start the group?

I asked her and she said:

“I wanted to start the group because I was sure there were people out there, like me, who hadn’t quite met their writing goals yet. People that dream of being full time authors but are still needing to work other jobs or study before they reach those goals.

And, I wanted to create a space where we could sympathise and encourage each other, as we all have similar struggles and similar goals. Social media tends to make everything a bit of a rat race, so I wanted to create a nurturing space, where it’s ok to not be perfect and productive 100% of the time.

I often beat myself up when life gets in the way. There’s comfort in knowing people are going through the same things, and I hope that other people in the group feel the same comfort and encouragement”

Well, I certainly feel that Sabrina met her goal here. With the support of her group, and her passion to write, I hope she achieves her dream one day soon to be a published author.

Sabrina Sheldon likes to write YA Fantasy Romance and loves all things Fairy Tale. The best place to find her is @midnightstarlightwrites on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like:

My best kept writing secret of last year (Happily Ever Author)

I did #FebWritersChallenge

Handwrite to boost creativity

Apps for Writers — Ally Aldridge

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Tips, Writing

Do you use Pinterest?

This is a screen capture of my board ‘Story Inspiration’. It’s where I save stuff I’ve found on Pinterest that sparks story ideas.

I have loads of boards. I have boards for character development, cover designs, mood boards, etc. I save useful articles for tips on writing, blogging, vlogs, etc. I’ve got boards with useful crafts, recipes and hair tutorials. I have used it for my sons homework, party planning and decorating rooms.

It is quite clear that I love Pinterest and find it incredibly useful. I haven’t used it much for socialising although I hope to get better at that.

Click here to view my Pintrest board.

If you enjoyed this post, you will enjoy:

Click on my link tree to discover more ways to connect with me.

@Redfae
Ally Aldridge Books, Festival, Tips, Writing

Spotlight on Spring Literary Dates calendar

Spring Spotlight

Spring is when the calendar starts to get busier.  As we get closer to the summer there are more festivals.  Now is a good time to enter competitions.

In April #WriteMentor will open for potential mentees to apply for mentors.  In May, there is The Bath Festival.  If you prefer online events, be ready for #PitMad on 6 June.

I’m going to take this opportunity to remind you about the calendar I have been updating with literary dates and made accessible to all.

Google calendar

I created a public Google calendar so you can see everything I have added. If you want to copy an event then you too will need a google calendar (it is free with a free Google email account).

If you like this, you may enjoy:

Literary dates calendar

Who runs the world?

Making Books

NaNo Progress Diary (the end)

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Ally Aldridge Goals, Novel, Tips, Writing

I did #FebWritersChallenge

The challenge was on Instagram and set by @marielipscombwriting.

I enjoyed the first challenge so much that I decided to give it another go. Here are the highlights from February:

My top three photos from the challenge

These pictures are the ones that recieved the highest engagement on Instagram.

Day 1 #CurrentlyReading

This video clip was viewed over 200 times. It was one of the rare occasions when Aria wasn’t asleep on me so I was able to relax and read my book.


Day 13 #MCsHair

I created this layout using images from my Pintrest board on my main character Mariah.

Day 25 #WhoDoesYourMCAdmire

For this image, I used Unsplash to find an image of someone that looks like Kya. Mariah doesn’t really look up to anyone but she gets envious. Kya is someone she compares heself to and wishes she was more like.

My favourites

I really love how these challenges encourage me to share my writing with my instagram followers and on day 18 I got to post my favourite scene. Initially, I was going to share the underwater kiss as it is the scene that sparked the whole story. As I was looking for it, I decided to go with the moment before when Mariah’s life is changed forever.

Day 18 #FavouriteScene

March Challenge #WomenWritingFiction #WWFChallenge2019

This month I have decided to go with another Instagramers prompts. @Courtnimax has created the following Women Writing Fiction Daily Challenge for March 2019.

I hope you find these examples of the images I posted for February’s prompts interesting and inspiring. If you are a writer on Instagram please connect with me as I would love to see how you share your writing on the platform too.

If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy:

Instagram For Writers — Ally Aldridge

I did #JanWritersChallenge

How to work with your social media platforms

Day 5 – Photograph

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Ally Aldridge Tips, Writing

Handwrite to boost creativity

I recently enjoyed a blog post on the pros and cons of writing by hand. It got me thinking about how I like to write.

Many people find it beneficial to write by hand. They feel the connection between the pen and paper and their words flow more clearly.

As a teen, I always wrote my stories in a notebook. I liked to write my ideas in the back and then fill it from the front, chapter by chapter. I liked to write in bed and my sheets were covered in ink stains

It wasn’t until I decided to take writing seriously that I began creating at a PC. I have never quite found a digital way to develop ideas that works like the back of a notebook but I do prefer writing on a computer. It’s easier to read than my handwriting, and editing is neater. Once finished I can easily prepare it for submissions.

Since switching to write electronic I haven’t used my notebooks for writing until recently.

Recently, I had an Instagram challenge to write somewhere different. It was a challenge to also boost creativity and it worked.

In fact, I enjoyed writing in my notebook so much I have since used it again. It makes developing my story and exploring ideas so much easier. Moving forward, I think I will continue to use it this way. Perhaps, treat myself to some new stationery…

Who was the inspirational blogger?

It was Rachel F Walton from the blog Wordlander. Click here to read her blog post ”Can writing by hand boost creativity?”

Rachel enjoys writes fantasy, horror and sci-fi. She currently had two ebooks published and is working on a trilogy that sounds like my cup of tea.