dla1950

[dla1950]

Chilly

 Where has all the heat gone?  Short time passing.  Where has all the heat gone – short time ago.  The central heating was 0.3 degrees from clicking on this morning less than a week from a heat wave!!!  Chilly By heck its chilly, and the wind is blowing willy nilly, chilling the parts it shouldn’t reach, I wish I was lying on the beach. My goodness it really is cold, the temperature is…

[dla1950]

Messages

 I’ve written about messages in writings in the past. Dickens highlighted social problems in the nineteenth century, and George Orwell wrote about totalitarianism and democratic socialism. I was inspired to write about a possible future energy crisis.  BlurbThe story is a speculative journey into a possible future that may lie ahead of us all. There is evidence that such a future may not be…

[dla1950]

SOE

Not the Special Operations Executive, but rather Save Our Earth.  SOE Surely we now know that it’s true, year after year the evidence mounts, not single events or one issue, but the conflated event counts. Lip service is paid and change threatened, but the road to hell are good intentions, yet the clear threat has beckoned, no change implemented because of deflections. Yet some nations…

[dla1950]

Enjoy It

 To all those would-be authors who are feeling depressed, frustrated or jaded in some other way about not getting published or the lack of an audience. You are doing something that most folk only dream of and never actually attempt.  I recall many rejection slips, which were compounded by the publication of autobiographies by footballers that were frankly awful. The reason for their success was…

[dla1950]

Time Lies

 Time is a construct created to enable interactions between people on a large scale. If in doubt, remember we haven’t always had our current calendar. We used a Roman calendar, which was then changed to the Gregorian an accepted international standard. Other calendars still exist – Chinese and Jewish (Hebrew).  Time is important when examining the past. The past, history, is a collection of…

[dla1950]

Variations

 Writing over a period of time, in an imaginative way, requires backup notes, stamina and acceptance that writing is a dynamic process. Over the period I wrote the Steele novels, the characters aged, changes occurred in the setup, and one or two characters disappeared.  Maurice Flitcroft The changes that arise in your writing are entirely under your control, but it is plain that if your writing…

[dla1950]

Patting a Pachyderm

 The richness of human life is often embellished by interactions with other species. It is a set of experiences, interacting with animals, which seems necessary to the majority of us.  Patting a Pachyderm I didn’t have its permission, the keeper gave us that, she could have made lots on commission, lived like an aristocrat. We visitors were fully enthralled, she was as placid as a…

[dla1950]

Identity

 When characters are being prepared for a story, a writer needs to establish when the character appears on the planet. In defining the identity of your characters, their depth will be determined to a degree by their longevity. When I created Patrick A Steele, he had an almost whole life story. The explanation of his personality was defined from his late teenage years and is an integral part of…

[dla1950]

Anonymity

 Anonymity is defined as: lack of outstanding, individual, or unusual features; impersonality. A mysterious word suggesting mysteriousness that can be useful in creating plots and twists in plots. An author’s meat and drink. When we write, the enigma is how to tell your readers as little as possible about a character and still maintain their importance.  The figure in the sketch is anonymous.…

[dla1950]

Silverback

More from the wonderful natural world. All creatures great and small. Silverback Massive in both ego and size, being aggressive is no surprise. It falls short of following through an attack – just as well for you. A gentle, giant, family beast, caring for each member large to least. An animal with power to be a thriller, the dominant silverback mountain gorilla. © David L Atkinson…

[dla1950]

Silence

 Silence is golden and speech is silver. The phrase originated in Arabic culture and became popular in English through translations in the 19th century.  It emphasises that while speaking can be valuable, there are times when remaining silent is even more advantageous. So it is true in story writing.  It may seem obvious to say that there should be periods of silence in your story writing, the…

[dla1950]

Natural World

 As time flies by my interest seems to be drawn to the wonders of the natural world. Night Lepidoptera No heavily beating wings at night, subtle shades that diffuse the ambient light. A whispered, feathery brush against cheek, resulting in a piercing, nervy shriek. Automatically drawn towards the light cooking themselves in suicidal flight. No reason to worry yourself to a froth, It is…

[dla1950]

Conspiracies

 Conspiracy theories are explanations for events or situations that assert the existence of a secret plot by powerful, sinister groups, often with negative or malevolent intentions. CTs can spice up a story and provide motive, but if you read the mainstream media, they are the stuff of the confused and malcontents. Many examples are created on All Fool’s Day and at the advent of a significant…

[dla1950]

Chilly

 The heatwave, the second in recent weeks, is beginning to dissipate and this poem is a reminder of what it is like to be cool. Read it and enjoy the chill. Chilly By heck its chilly, and the wind is blowing willy nilly, chilling the parts it shouldn’t reach, I wish I was lying on the beach. My goodness it really is cold, the temperature is making me feel so old, you know age causes your…

[dla1950]

Developing Stories

 You have the idea for your story and even a strong beginning, but how will your tale progress? The chances are that you have a solid plan, but then, while you’re writing one of your characters does something unexpected!  I have read of several authors who state that the characters take over their stories, and that may seem fanciful, but I know that it’s true. Patrick Steele was my creation, but…

[dla1950]

VE Day (not that one)

 The media, perhaps influenced by the dark state, have already suggested using AD for assisted dying. It is anathema to me that the process has been developed. A better title would be state-sponsored suicide. The government has a duty to care for its population, but this process can divert attention away from care in a person’s final years. No one should suffer because the health service should…

[dla1950]

Reflecting politics

 Unless you are writing futuristic or period pieces, the current political situation can be an addition that adds ‘flavour’ to your work. Writers are renowned for being keen to hold governments of the day to account and have been imprisoned and worse in some regimes. Using politics is meat and drink to writers.  Some notable examples include Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, whose works like One Day in…