reading – Page 13

Light at The End, as I’ve said before, was an experiment. If it had been ridiculed by my beta readers I’d have shelved or abandoned writing a post-apocalyptic story. It’s also important to me that I enjoy telling the story because in my opinion, an author can generate enthusiasm in the telling.

I wrote a post some time ago regarding my first attempt at a trilogy and I’ll quote a snippet:

‘Originality is relatively easy when an author is working on a single title. When the title/premise goes to a second, third or more, the idea must be examined closely to see how far it can be taken without repetition.

Certain sub-genres can run for several books and if the author is careful and inventive the fictional world will remain exciting to the reader. This must be paramount in the mindset of the creator of the work. Reader satisfaction is everything.’

Now, here I am on that same road once again. I am close to completion of Light to Dark which will be the sequel to Light at The End. A few days ago while out walking in local woodland I was struck by inspiration, and no, it didn’t hurt. When I got home I made notes for the final chapter if the story were a trilogy.

No, you didn’t read that wrong. I was thinking about how to end Book 2 and I imagined how things could go after that point … and so was born the early ideas for Dark to Light … Book 3 in the Light at The End trilogy.

I aim to have Book 2 ready for beta readers in August.

For me, from the outset, the tale has been a departure from most other stories I’ve written but the genre offers so many possibilities. I’ve been finding that however things might be going for the characters there must be a sense of hope … that things can’t just end because of the ill-considered actions of a few.

After all, don’t we all need to believe that there is to be a tomorrow?

When a writing idea comes to you is it best to shelve it in your memory, note it in your diary, or get it down where you can play around with it and see if it has any merit?

I’m a great believer in the writing it down method. Although I enjoy writing novels I am unashamedly addicted to the discipline of short story writing.

While working on a story for inclusion on Around the Bend: and other stories, my next anthology, I considered a tale which involved the passage of time, and it struck me that ‘Time’ would be a superb theme for a multi-author anthology. I could write my standard twelve tales to build a collection, but then I thought how great it would be for the reader to have different voices and styles.

Short story collections may not be at the top of readers’ shopping lists, but when there is the opportunity to read a selection of authors and obtain quality with quantity … it works for everybody concerned. I don’t go through the mill of trying to make my author compilations free on Amazon, and I don’t use Smashwords. I do, however, make the price the lowest possible and like all of my titles, I list the combined-effort anthologies on Kindle Unlimited.

Rather than detail everything twice, I have added the idea to my Work in Progress (WIP) list on the main menu. If you feel you could produce a short story based on the theme ‘Time’ and you’d like to donate a tale or two to the collection, please click Time after Time or the book cover graphic, and leave a suitable comment on the appropriate page.

If you’d like to just read the criteria and make a suggestion or comment, please do so.

As you’ll see from my WIP I have a lot on my schedule but I will be taking a keen interest in any stories which are offered for the multi-author collection. There are certain criteria as noted on the book’s page, but above all, I am aiming for quality stories.

I’ve already produced ‘My Writing Year – 2019’ back in November, so no doubt this post will be my final one for 2019.

Thank you to all who take the time to visit and special thanks to you lovely people who make the effort to leave a comment. I wish you all a great festive season and look forward with you to another great reading and writing year.