Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

The Story Snippets Challenge

I love the photo prompt challenges on Instagram, especially those that inspire and encourage me to share my writing.

The #StorySnippetsChallenge was hosted by the following authors on Instagram: @amandalyncreek , @bridieblake , @jjotisauthor , @sireyourstory and @son_dae_writes .

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Tomorrow is the start of #StrorySnippetChallenge. I'm going to join in. To find details of the writers hosting the event and how to take part, see below: Repost from @amandalyncreek using @RepostRegramApp – So excited to co-host the #storysnippetschallenge with @bridieblake, @jjotisauthor, @sireyourstory, and @son_dae_writes! ⁣⠀And a big thanks to @authorbrittanywang for bringing us together in her Patreon group. ⁣⠀ The challenge will happen during the week of May 20th- 26th if you want to join us. This will also be the first time I reveal anything about my work in progress. I'm what I like to call nervcited to share, although I've received good feedback so far from my teacher and my classmates. ?⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ Each day of the challenge has a prompt and a corresponding hashtag. Here they are:⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ Day 1: #MeettheMainCharacter (tell us anything you want about your protagonist!)⁣⠀ Day 2: #TeaserTuesday (Share something that will make your audience want to read your work in progress!)⁣⠀ Day⁣ 3: #SettingSetup (Describe your world/setting to show the mood/tone of your WIP)⁣⠀ Day 4: #FirstLines (She a snippet of the beginning.)⁣⠀ Day 5: #ThemeStated (What's your overall theme in your WIP?)⁣⠀ Day 6: #ExcitingMoment (This can be your inciting incident or midpoint. No spoilers, though.)⁣⠀ Day 7: FunDialogue (Show off one of your favorite conversations in your WIP)⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ If you're an author and want to join, be sure to share this image and use the hashtag #storysnippetschallenge!⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ Let's do this! :)⁣⠀

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My story snippets

Here, in this blog post I am going to collate and share all my snippets in one place that I posted during Monday, 20 May 2019 to Sunday, 26 May 2019. These are snippets from a work in progress so may change by the final edited version:

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

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Today’s prompt for the #storysnippetschallenge is #themestated I only recently learnt about this concept of novel writing from #savethecatwritesanovel , so I hope I have got this right. In chapter one an unexpected thunder storm strikes the removal van and cuts the engine. This postpones her best friend (& neighbour) Jace from moving away. The storm is a hint at Marian’s powers awakening early. Only Gwyn is aware of her being a #mermaid. She gives Mariah this advice/warning but Mariah shrugs it off angrily as she thinks her mum doesn’t get how upset she is about the situation. She heads off to enjoy the extra time she now has with Jace. Later in Act 3, Mariah will need to learn to control her emotions to master her powers. #contemporaryfantasy #paranormalromance #jewelofthesea

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Saturday

Sunday

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Today is the last day of the #storysnippetschallenge . Today’s prompt was #FunDialogue : He laughed and leapt off his swing at the highest point, flying into the air and then landing on his feet a few yards in front. I followed suit. My dress floated up around my waist, before falling back to my knees. "I saw your knickers," Jace smirked. I blushed, "How old are you?" "Thought you were a lady now?" He teased, "Flashing isn't very lady like." "At least I act my age and not my shoe size!" Childishly, Jace stuck out his tongue. Laughing, he grabbed my hand and all the anger washed away in a second, replaced by a fast running bubbling brook that was turning a whirlpool inside me, "I want to show you the duck pond." #jewelofthesea #yafiction #paranormalromance #contemporaryfantasy

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Reflecting on the challenge

I really enjoyed this challenge. It made me think about different parts of my story. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have edited my manuscript but I was still checking over and fine tuning the snippets before posting.

Most of all, I love sharing my writing and this was a great opportunity to give my followers snippets and tease them into wanting to read more. I think using snippets like this would be a great way to promote a published book too as it gives people a taste of your writing and the story, like a little appetiser.

It was great fun seeing what others writers were working on too. Writing a novel can be lonely but taking part gave a sense of being part of something bigger – I was not alone in my writing journey. It gave something to connect with other writers over.

I was flattered when someone commented on how much they liked the way I presented my snippets. This was a huge compliment as I am no professional. They are all created for free in Canva. On Thursday, I created my image in Canva and then used the Video Typer app to animate my text – again this was free.

Have you ever shared snippets of your novel?

If you enjoyed this, you may enjoy:

Create with Canva Beginners Course Review

Instagram For Writers — Ally Aldridge

April, I featured poets – what’s next?

Camp NaNoWriMo Diary (midpoint April 2019)

Camp NaNoWriMo Diary (middle to end)

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 21

I rushed editing this chapter so I have made a note on my spreadsheet to come back and look at it again before I finish.

I’m right in the middle of the novel and I feel like I have come so far but still have a long way to go.  It’s like the midweek hump.  I just have to get through it to see the end.

The second half of the novel is very distinctive as it has a very different feel to it.  Mariah thinks she has got what she wants but is suffering memory loss.  She knows something isn’t quite right but doesn’t know why.  

Is you midpoint distinctive?  

Click here to read chapter 21

If you enjoyed this chapter, you may like:

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 19 & 20

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 18

Tips on naming your character

Handwrite to boost creativity

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 19 & 20

Earlier this week I published the new improved chapter 19 and 20 but I didn’t have time to write about it on my blog.

Chapter 19 is told from Gwyn’s perspective in third person which is different from the rest of the novel.  I wondered whether to cut this chapter out completely but I decided to keep it as the foreshadowing is important for the readers tension.  

How do you feel about changing the point of view within a novel?

Click here to read chapter 19

Chapter 20 took a little longer to edit as the original chapter was a whopping 5k words.  Often my chapters are quite short and I have to merge them together to make a better length.  This is because I’m naturally a fan of short chapters, so I have no idea how this happened.  And, I need to add in more content between the scenes so this word count is going to get bigger.  I decided to cut it into two chapters but it may even become three chapters.

Do you prefer long or short chapters?

Click here to read chapter 20.

If you like this post, you may enjoy:

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 18

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 17

How to Write a Synopsis

How to handle rejection

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 18

Yay!  I hit my goal of editing three chapters a week.

I really enjoyed working on this chapter as well. I forgot how intense the emotions are and her powers coming to life and the promise of a beatiful romance.

But… is this the midpoint?  The false win?  You’ll have to read it and see.  

If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.

If you like this post, you may enjoy:

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 17

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 16

A Group For Writers with a Side Hustle

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 17

Yay!  I hit my goal of editing three chapters a week.

I really enjoyed working on this chapter as well. I forgot how intense the emotions are and her powers coming to life and the promise of a beautiful romance.

But… is this the midpoint?  The false win?  You’ll have to read it and see.  

If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.

If you like this post, you may enjoy:

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 16

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 15

My new Carpe Diem planner

How much development do you give you Secondary characters?

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 16

Have you ever heard of hump day?  It’s the term given to the midweek blues.  Like when people get to Wednesday in their 5 day work week and they just need to get through the day to see the promise of the weekend.

I have that feeling with Jewel of the Sea at the moment.  I am currently about midway through editing it.  I feel like I’m loosing steam.    I feel like I’ve been working on it for so long and yet there is still so far to go.  I’m trying really hard to focus on the positives to keep myself motivated.  

If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.

If you like this post, you may enjoy:

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 15

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 14

A little post on how I am doing…

Creating a Catchy Novel Title

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 15

Last night, I watched Game of Thrones so no writing happened.  I was disappointed by the episode, I won’t spoil for anyone watching but I feel that writers make promises to their fans and they have to deliver on those promises. 

When, you read a murder mystery you expect a dead body and clues that lead to discovering the murderer.  When you read a romance novel you expect the love interest to get together.  In last nights, GOT, I felt we have been following certain characters development and these were all undone.  I felt a little like arcs were unravelling in the last episode.  It feels like they are rushing to finish the series and aren’t caring about what is true to the character anymore.

Tonight, I started out editing the wrong chapter.  I kept getting a de-ja-vu feeling I had noted which chapter to edit next.  The familiarity kept coming back so I checked and turns out I hadn’t updated my note with where I was up to.  Luckily, there was still enough time to get this chapter edited.    

If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.

If you like this post, you may enjoy:

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 14

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 13

Goals: Progress since Jan 2019

What to watch if you love mermaids!

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 14

I’m really impressed with myself for getting another chapter edited and posted on Wattpad tonight and it was another 3.5k chapter!  My word count is soaring today.  

I have added a note to check it again at a later date as I changed a lot of tenses and I want to make sure my grammar is correct.

 

If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.

If you like this post, you may enjoy:

Jewel of the sea – Chapter 12

YA Author Spotlight

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Comma ‘gain!

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 13

The new chapter has taken a few days to edit. Here are the challenges I faced whilst editing this chapter.

The main delay was due to changing the role of Ana in the story.

In the original version, she goes away to see a specialist doctor in America to get help with her sleep disorder. This resulted in her being away for most of the story.

In my current rewrite I have decided Ana will have a bigger part to play. She doesn’t go away, Mariah confides in her and together they experiment with magic. I’m enjoying writing the new content but it is slowing me down.

In addition, chapter 13 is 3.5k words long. This is long for me as my chapters generally tend to be half that.

The last delay on this chapter is that Aria is going through a nocturnal stage so I’m spending more of my evening settling her than working on my novel.

If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.

If you like this post, you may enjoy:

Jewel of the sea – Chapter 12

YA Author Spotlight

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Comma ‘gain!

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 12

I’m really impressed that I managed to get a chapter edited today. Aria has refused to nap all day so I am shattered but I really wanted to get another one done.

I think the next chapter will be tricky because I have changed the role of Ana in the new outline. This will impact the next chapter as I will need to add in some new content to make it work.

I find editing really hard but I will write a post soon covering the methods I use that make it a little easier. But, I would love to hear the methods you use?

If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.

If you like this post, you may enjoy:

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 11

A Group For Writers with a Side Hustle

What theme is heavily portrayed in your story?

Do you keep notebooks of story ideas?

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