Tips on writing – Della Galton.

My New Newsletter for Writers – Social Media Itis

Written by Della Galton on August 30, 2019. Posted in News, social media, Tips on writing. 3 Comments

It’s been such a long time since I wrote a post and for that I apologise. I seem to have succumbed to social media-itis. This is a technical term for having too many social media sites to update regularly. Oh and I did recently sign a 4 book contract with Boldwood Books, which is hugely exciting and hard work and is keeping me busy!

While I’m not saying I will never blog on here again, if you are still interested in any of the following:

Tips for Writers.
Writing Courses.
News about what I’m getting up to!
Then pleases subscribe to my quarterly newsletter. A subscribe box should come up on this website when you visit. If it doesn’t then please email me.

Alternatively, or as well as! Please follow me on Twitter. @DellaGalton

Or check out my NEW You Tube channel for my 60 second videos on writing. Search Della Galton.

And my next writing courses in case you are interested are:

Write Your Novel Today – Three Part Workshop
Sat 8th March 2020
Gillingham, Dorset
10.00am – 4.00pm

So you want to write a novel but it’s difficult to get uninterrupted time away from family or commitments… Why not treat yourself to this three-part guided workshop with local author and experienced tutor, Della Galton?

Course Content

Workshop One – Write your first page.

Very often starting is the hardest part so in this workshop we will focus on writing your first page – 30 minutes writing followed by feedback from Della and the group.

Workshop Two – Write that tricky scene.

Do you have a tricky scene you’ve been putting off writing? Dive into the middle and start writing. 30 minutes writing followed by feedback from Della and the group.

Workshop Three – write your last page. You may not be a plotter – you may not know how you are going to get there but if your last page is written, you will know where you’re heading. 30 minutes writing followed by feedback from Della and the group.

Cost: £35.00

Venue: Conversion Studio, Woolfields Farm, Milton on Stour, Gillingham, North Dorset.

To book please email Della via this website.

Thank you so much for your support.

All best wishes

Della x

The Elements of a Short Story

Written by Della Galton on July 17, 2018. Posted in plotting, Short stories for magazines, Tips on writing, Writing, Writing problems and solutions. Leave a Comment

I often get asked if there is any sort of checklist for writing a short story. And yes, I think there is. Here is what I think a short story should include:

A character who has a problem/conflict which must be resolved by the end of the piece in an unexpected way.

In fact this definition could, very roughly, be applied to all fiction. If one or more of the elements are missing the story won’t quite work. Don’t take my word for it. If you have a story that doesn’t work, try running this checklist against it. Are the following elements in place?

Character
Conflict
Change
Resolution
Surprise

If a story isn’t working, I very often find that one of the last two is missing. Another common problem (oh the irony) is that there simply isn’t enough conflict, i.e. the character doesn’t have a big enough problem for the length of the piece.

Don’t take my word for it. If you have a story that doesn’t quite work, apply the checklist and see if you can fix the missing element and get the story to work.

Happy Editing!

Della xx

PS if you would like some more help with identifying what’s gone wrong with a short story I’m running two summer workshops in Bournemouth on Saturday 21 July and Sunday 26 August. You can bring along a story of up to 2000 words for detailed feedback.

Venue: Kinson Community Centre
Time 10 till 4.00
Cost £40
Email me via this website to book.

Four Reasons We Don’t Write – and What to Do About Them!

Written by Della Galton on June 18, 2018. Posted in Inspiration, Tips on writing, Writing, Writing problems and solutions, Writing Ramblings. 2 Comments

Motivation – one of my favourite subjects. Motivating yourself to write should be easy, shouldn’t it? After all, we want to write. Don’t we? So why is it so difficult to get started? Recognise any of these excuses – er hem, I mean REASONS?

Time: I’d like to write but I never seem to have the time.

If that’s you, ask yourself a question. Is it really true? Do you really not have time? Or are you just not prioritising writing? Possibly because you don’t feel you deserve the luxury of having time to write when there are so many other things to do, for example, work, friends and family.

Well, if writing is what you really want to do, then don’t you deserve to carve out some time for it? If you were to allocate half an hour three times a week you could probably write a short story in a month (perhaps even two). Little and often really is the key.

Focus: I don’t know what I want to write.

Many people set off with the idea of writing a novel. This is very commendable; don’t let me stop you if that’s your burning passion. But there are many other forms. Here are some less time intensive ones:

A blog
A short story
A poem
Morning pages
A feature for a magazine

Why not experiment until you decide what’s for you. Better still why not pick one of the above and set a deadline to complete it.

Confidence: I’m not good enough to be published.

How do you know until you try? Not many people are good enough to be published until they’ve done some market research and learned what works and what doesn’t. Writing is a little like learning the piano I think – we wouldn’t expect to be concert pianists without a fair bit of practice.

Laziness: It just feels too much like hard work a lot of the time.

Newsflash – it is! Believe me, I know it is. I write a lot and some days (actually there are quite a lot of them) I would much rather be doing something else. Some days it feels as though I’m wading through sludge.

Usually when this happens, I just carry on. (I have to, it’s my day job). Very often it’s because I’ve got to a tricky bit. So my top tip for this is that it’s much better to finish writing when I’m really enjoying myself – then I’ll be all the keener to go back to it again. This really does work. Trust me.

If you’re really stuck I once heard a novelist say she used to handcuff her ankle to the desk to make herself sit still until she’d done her allotted amount of words. I can’t say I’ve tried this one – but I’m not ruling it out!

Happy writing

Della xxx

PS I’m running a course in Bournemouth this Saturday. 23 October. Write a Short Story in a Day (Hopefully the title is self explanatory but if you’d like further details please do leave a comment or email me.)

How much research should I do?

Written by Della Galton on June 9, 2017. Posted in Questions from Dear Della, Tips on writing, Writing, Writing problems and solutions. 2 Comments

I can’t believe how long it is since I’ve blogged. So big apologies. Where has the year gone? I think it’s summer isn’t it, although it doesn’t actually feel like it in deepest Dorset right now! It’s all wind and rain! Anyway, here’s a question that came into my postbag for Dear Della in Writers’ Forum recently so I’ve reproduced it here. It’s an interesting one and I’m sure we’d all have different answers.

Q: How much research should you do before you write a novel? How do you know when enough is enough? One of the writers in my local group says she does hers afterwards, but I don’t see how this can work. How can you write a novel if you don’t know the facts that you are writing about? Please advise.

A: The amount of research you need to do will vary, depending on your subject and how much you know already. I’d say that more is generally better – definitely don’t skimp because it will show. But if you like research it’s easy to get carried away too.

Paradoxical as it may seem, I think that very often you can do your research after you’ve written the novel. How do you know what you need to research until you get to that point? There are pros and cons for both before and after.

Here are some pitfalls for doing it in advance. You might do a whole pile of research that later turns out to be unnecessary for your story and hence a waste of time. Or you might be tempted to put in every bit of research whether you need it or not just because you’ve done it. I’m sure we’ve all read novels where this has been the case. And finally, and most dangerously, you might never start the writing because you are having far too much fun researching.

On the other hand if you leave it all until after you’ve written the story you run the risk of having to rewrite huge chunks in the light of information you didn’t know previously. So my advice would be to research facts and information before the writing if major plot points hang on it.

It probably also depends on how much you plot in advance. If you plot everything out to the nth degree you may well know all the fine points of what you need to research. If you’re more of a panster (as I am) then you won’t. There’s no hard and fast rule. It may just come down to a matter of what works for you.

***

Incidentally the novelist who told me to do the research after the writing was the late Frederick E Smith, author of the 633 Squadron novels. I respected him very much, we had many a long chat at the Riverside Pub, sitting outside in summer overlooking the river and putting the world to rights. So thank you, Fred. Invaluable advice which I still follow.

I’d be interested to hear what others do. Happy writing everyone.

Della xx

I’m running a course on How to Write Your First Novel in Bournemouth on Saturday 24 June 2017. 10 till 4.00. Cost £45.00. Do contact me via this website or on Twitter or Facebook if you’re interested.

Where is your story set?

Written by Della Galton on March 30, 2017. Posted in Settings, The Reading Group, Tips on writing, Writing. 3 Comments

Settings are incredibly important for fiction. They are where our characters live and they are where we are going to take our readers. So for me, it’s important to choose a setting I know well. The setting for my latest series of novellas, The Reading Group, was a seaside town in Devon called Little Sanderton. The nearest big town to Little Sanderton is Exeter which is 21 miles away and is mentioned frequently throughout the Reading Group.

I should confess here that Little Sanderton doesn’t actually exist but if you were to look up Branscombe, which is in Devon, you’ll have an idea of where I had in mind. When Jojo and Kate go walking to talk about the breakdown of Kate’s marriage in the February, novella they are walking on Branscombe Beach.

Serena’s house where the Reading Group meet each month, is set on a clifftop close by. So is Anne Marie’s father’s house.

The beauty of choosing an imaginary setting is that you can’t mistakenly libel anyone or upset anyone, but you can go and look at actual houses and base your fictitious ones upon them. I tend to use the outsides of real houses and make up what’s on the inside. (So far, no one has actually let me in to have a look around their house, but you never know!)

I also tend to set my stories in places I love. I have some very fond memories of holidaying in Branscombe, which is not a million miles away from where I live. I have walked along several sections of the coast path and spent many a happy day in the local seaside towns and villages, not to mention restaurants. (All in the name of research, obviously!)

Setting a series of novellas in this area was a delight. It meant I could go back there in my mind. Skip back to this idyllic place and take my readers with me. Not a bad way to earn a living, is it!

The latest edition of The Reading Group – April – comes out today 🙂

Click here to buy or get further information.

Writing The End First – Do you write chronologically? Or not?

Written by Della Galton on February 13, 2017. Posted in Book Deals, Endings, Inspiration, plotting, The Reading Group, Tips on writing, Writing. 4 Comments

I can’t believe how long it is since I wrote a post! It’s been mad lately. I’ve been writing the last part of my series, The Reading Group. Part Five was the Summer Holiday. Blimey, that was definitely the trickiest. Partly because this novella had more than one viewpoint. Partly because it was the culmination, as well as being a standalone novella, of the series. The deadline is in two days time. I’ve just sent it off to my agent and publisher, simultaneously. I managed to mess up my shoulder with RSI towards the end of the novella. I was so immersed in the work that I didn’t realise I was hurting my shoulder until it had practically seized up. Top Tip, take regular breaks.

Anyway, that’s not what this is about. How do you write your stories? Long or short? I have always written chronologically, but I did something different on this one. I wrote the beginning, then I wrote the ending. I wrote the middle last. This had some advantages that had never occurred to me before.

Because I knew the ending, I knew the relevance of every single scene prior to it. Usually I don’t know this until I’ve finished. Then I go back and revise. I think this made the middle much sharper. It was a bit like doing a jigsaw. I had the framework so the middle was much easier to write.
I think it was probably slightly quicker.
It also gave me a lot more time to reflect on the ending. Because as I built towards it, my subconscious, which I rely on so heavily, was busy enhancing bits of it. So by the time I got there for the second time I knew exactly what needed editing.

Will I do it again? Yes, I think I might. Do I recommend it? Yes.

Reading Group - Bookends 2

The Reading Group January, February and March are all out now. I would love to know what you think of them if you’ve read them.

I’d also love to know how you write. Chronologically, or not? Please do comment.

WRITING GOALS and the Rule of Three!

Written by Della Galton on December 30, 2016. Posted in Flash Fiction, ideas, Inspiration, Short stories for magazines, The Reading Group, Tips on writing, Woman's Weekly, Writing. 6 Comments

Do you, by any chance, have a New Year Resolution that involves writing? This idea might help you to keep it.

The Rule of Three is one of the most powerful principles I have ever learned. With thanks to Jack Canfield who is a motivational speaker in the US. All you’ll need is a notepad and pen, did you get one for Christmas? If you didn’t, a reporter’s notepad from the newsagents will do. Or just flip up a new document on your word processor.

Take a blank page and write your goal at the top of it – which can be anything. Make sure it’s specific though. For example, write a piece of Flash Fiction and send it to a competition. Or, get a feature published in a magazine. Or perhaps you’re thinking big and your goal is to write a 90,000 word psychological thriller. It doesn’t matter: Just commit your goal to paper.
Underneath your goal write the next three steps you will take towards it. For example if you want to write Flash Fiction. 1: find a flash fiction competition. 2: Read previous winners. 3: Make a list of possible subjects to write. Or, in the case of the feature. 1: Buy a copy of publication you are aiming for. 2: Establish which features are written by freelancers. 3: Work on a proposal for your feature and send it to the editor.
Next, split your piece of paper into days of the week. Under each day, write the next three things you will do to move your goal forward. As it’s a writing goal many of them will be doing the actual writing. So you may find your later goals look like this. 1. Write the opening paragraph, 2. make a list of possible titles. 3. Edit previous day’s work. Etc.
Commit to doing the 3 tasks you’ve set for yourself for at least ONE WEEK. This can take you a considerable way on small goals. Probably past completion. On bigger goals you may be motivated enough to carry on.

Top Tip to help you make this work

Don’t overstretch yourself. Don’t commit to writing 1000 words of your novel every day for a week if you know you don’t have time. Your rule of three can be tiny things. On a busy day your three things may be to write three paragraphs that day. Or three sentences if you like! The point is that you MUST do the three thing you’ve written in your notepad daily. A continual, concerted daily effort is incredibly powerful. The most magnificent castle begins with the laying of a single brick! OK, this picture isn’t a castle, it’s the Fishguard BayHotel in Pembrokeshire! But it’s certainly a castle for writers twice a year. See The Writer’s Holiday. which I highly recommend by the way!

Where was I? fishguard

Ah yes, I use the rule of three on a regular basis in all of my work. It’s brilliant for writing projects. Small and large. It’s also brilliant for promotional work if you’re trying to promote a book, for example.

My January goal in case you’re interested, is to write the next novella in the series of The Reading Group, which is my current project. I will write 2000 words a day, weekdays, 1000 words at weekends, until I have a first draft. My commitment is to start at 8.00 a.m. and do nothing else until the 2000 words are done. This is how I wrote the rest of the series.

December, January & February are out now. March is out on 1 January 2017. Yikes, I’d better crack on and write the next one! Do let me know how you get on with your goal too.

Creating Characters – How well do you know your imaginary people?

Written by Della Galton on September 26, 2016. Posted in ideas, Inspiration, Tips on writing, Writing, Writing exercises. 7 Comments

Sometimes a character comes into my head fully formed. Sometimes they are shadowy. Sometimes they are shy like real people and I have to get to know them slowly. Interviewing them is good.

These 21 questions are one of my favourite ways of interviewing them. I may not know the answers, but the character often will. Does that sound mad? Probably, but I’ve never claimed to be completely sane. I’ve used these questions, or variations of them, with dozens of students. So I thought I’d reproduce them here. Hope it’s helpful.

Name, age & sex.
Brief physical appearance. List 3 things.
Job.
What is your character’s current problem?
Personality type – extrovert, introvert bossy etc.
Where does your character live? Flat, house, rural, city etc.
What, if anything, would make your character laugh or cry?
What is your character’s soft spot/weakness?
What is your character really good at?
What is your character afraid of?
What would make your character furious?
If your character had one wish, what would it be?
How does your character view money?
Does your character have any prejudices? If so, what?
What are your character’s main qualities?
What are your character’s main faults?
Does your character get on with their parents? Siblings? Friends? Neighbours?
What is your character’s biggest secret?
What is the most defining experience your character has ever had?
Who is the last person your character argued with and why?
Summarise your character in a sentence. Pick 3 significant things. E.g. Dora is 82, wears mismatching clothes on purpose and likes to shock her rather pompous son.

One of my favourite things about this particular character sheet is that it doubles up as a plot creation tool. For example Q4 is the basis of a short story or longer piece of fiction.

Q18 is quite good too, when it comes to plotting. Q19 is one of my favourites when it comes to novels and getting the psychology right.

If you can do Q21 you will probably know your character pretty well.

Happy Writing.

***

My next course, How to Write and Sell Short Stories is at a new venue. Shaftesbury, Dorset. The course will be small – a maximum of 10. (The venue is small.) It will run on Saturday 12 November between 10.00 and 4.00 and costs £45. This course is suitable for beginners as well as experienced writers and I hope students will go away with the beginning of a short story, the ending of a short story, (hopefully the same one!) and a good idea of how to develop the middle. Please email me via this website (or leave a comment) if you would like to book a place.

If you would like to know more about writing short stories, please check out my book, The Short Story Writer’s Toolshed. £2.49 for Kindle. £4.99 in paperback.

Writing Courses – are they worth it?

Written by Della Galton on July 31, 2016. Posted in Short stories for magazines, Tips on writing, Woman's Weekly, Writing, Writing conferences & schools. 11 Comments

teaching at fishguard — Teaching at Fishguard Writers’ Holiday

There are so many writing courses around these days. Universities run them, publishers run them, magazines run them. In fact every Tom, Dick and Harry (if you’ll excuse the cliche) runs writing courses. Even the smallest town has a literary festival. But are they worth spending your hard earned cash on?

In my opinion, that depends on what you hope to gain. So before you begin, establish what you want and choose the right course for you.

I started my writing career by joining an Adult Education Class called Writing for Profit and Pleasure back in 1987. My tutor knew about getting published. Jean Dynes,who currently writes a column for Writers’ Forum as Barbara Dynes, was already well published.

Top Tip Number One: Choose Credibility
If you want to get published, get someone to teach you who is well published themselves. It helps if their students are too. I was inspired by another student in the class who had got published since joining (she’d just sold her 27th short story that year).
Top Tip Number Two: Choose Expertise
If you’re aiming to get published in a magazine and they run a course about getting published in their magazine, then go. They are the best people to teach you. I teach for Woman’s Weekly Magazine in London, Manchester and Glasgow, alongside their fiction editor, Gaynor Davies.
At Woman’s Weekly with Fiction Editor, Gaynor Davies.
Top Tip Number: Three Choose longevity.
I’ve just come back from the Writers’ Holiday at Fishguard, which is run by the lovely Anne and Gerry Hobbs. This year’s Writers’ Holiday was their 30th! They have a huge repeat rate of students, who can’t resist their courses because they are well organised, the food is fabulous, the locations (Fishguard, Pembrokeshire) is wonderful and the tutors are all working and well published writers. Top marks Anne and Gerry.
Anne and Gerry also run a weekend course at Fishguard in February. I’d advise booking as soon as possible if you fancy it because places are limited. I’m teaching the short story course in February 2017 by the way.
More information about Anne and Gerry’s courses can be found at Writers’ Holiday.
More information about Woman’s Weekly Courses can be found at. Woman’s Weekly Courses. (incidentally that photograph is not of me, but a much fatter imposter, tee tee).
More information about my courses is usually on my website, or you can email me. Next week I am running a day course (Saturday 6 August 2016.) Write a short story in a day. (£29 summer special offer, they’re usually £45). Venue Kinson Community Centre. Please email me if you’d like to book. Or leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

Happy Writing!

Tips on Writing Flash Fiction

Written by Della Galton on June 12, 2016. Posted in Flash Fiction, Tips on writing, Writing. 7 Comments

Flash Fiction is a term that can be applied to anything under 1000 words but more usually it’s shorter. For the purposes of this blog let’s say between 300 and 500 words.

It shouldn’t be anecdotal, i.e. it should still have the elements of a short story (see definition) but I often see Flash that is quite anecdotal so clearly this will depend on the judge. If possible check the previous winners for hints.

My definition of a short story is: a character with a problem, which is resolved by the end in an unexpected way. The character should change in some way by the end of the story.

Flash Fiction must be strong. The following all work well in flash:

Twist endings.
Very strong characters, especially in a slice of life story.
Powerful emotion.
Humour if it’s established swiftly and from the outset.
Tales with a moral, for example, criminal gets come-uppance.
Strong structures that help to carry the story, for example, the story may be headed up in sections such as a diary format or winter, summer, autumn, spring.
Strong themes – such as revenge, hope, loss, love.

What doesn’t work?

Anything that’s too complicated. Plots should be simple with one main thread.
Too many characters dilute the story. One central character is good.
Very long time spans are hard to pull off.
A lot of dialogue is hard to fit in. Snippets are good.
Likewise too much scene setting won’t work. There isn’t room.
Multi viewpoint is hard to pull off. Stick to one character or use a narrative viewpoint.

Flash must have a good hook and it must have a strong end. It’s usually better to write over your target word length and then cut back. It is very good practice for building both your short story skills and editing skills.

Not to mention great fun.

By the way The Morning After the Life Before is 99p today and tomorrow. That’s the sequel to Ice and a Slice, it doesn’t go on promo very often so grab it if you want it.

Thanks for reading.