Writing - and Reading

 When writing, we need to keep reading. A statement of the obvious, perhaps, but in my opinion, worth repeating. Even if you are writing technical documents, reading 'other' stuff is important. The importance comes from the variety. Language is continually evolving, and even dry technical stuff can be presented in a more user-friendly way; after all, technical articles are written for humans to read. 

Reading is and always will be a source of knowledge and entertainment. It is also something that needs practice. On occasion, I have had the opportunity to read from the bible in school and in church, and I always ensure that I have practised the piece to be presented. This came as a result of advice from a vicar and from a lecture where it was demonstrated by one of the listeners who was asked to read a piece from a physics text without the benefit of practice. Inevitably, he stumbled over certain factual words, which brings me to the fact that reading aloud is important also. 

Obviously, I have re-read my own work, but it is not my favourite task. I hate editing my own work, being of the 'once it has been done, never to be revisited' school. However, when writing poetry, it is incredibly important to read aloud from the point of view of rhythm and balance. I still relax last thing at night by reading fiction. 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 167 - Tick Tock

 A eulogy to those who have attempted to buy online and come unstuck. 

Tick tock

 

 Click goes the mouse tock goes the clock,

times passing it feels right to take stock,

to call a halt and yell stop.

ponder what we get when we shop.

 

Click goes the mouse tock goes the clock,

a lifetime since hickory dickory dock,

and what have we learned in all of those clicks,

that we need to beware of retailers’ tricks.

 

Tock goes the clock and click goes the mouse,

whether we buy for ourselves or the house,

what arrived  may not work, or fit,

you’ll get a refund so what of it.

 

Click goes the mouse and tock goes the clock,

what of manufacture quality shock, 

no control over shoddy goods,

oh yes refunds causing delivery floods.

 

Click goes the mouse and tock goes the clock,

customer service at the bottom of the rock,

like a refund means it doesn’t matter, 

avoiding negative feedback chatter.

©David L Atkinson October 2026 

God Bless 

Writing - Unknowns

 In the blogs that I have written so far, I have stuck very closely to what I am familiar with both in my own writing and the types of books that I have read.  That isn’t to say that I’ve never read anything other than adventure books, spy novels, and mysteries. In fact, I remember quite an early age, reading many westerns; also during my teen years I read Isaac Asimov and other well-known sci-fi authors. Having said that, it hasn't given me the confidence to tackle those genre at a personal level.

 This adds more fuel to the statement that we should write from what we know, although I’m sure whoever wrote the first sci-fi novel, or the 1^st western, or the 1st historical novel  had to take a leap in the dark in the beginning to a degree. 

Having said that, it follows that I am limited in the type of advice that I can offer. Analysing my thoughts on fantasy, SciFi, historical genres, it seems to me that when writing in an unfamiliar style, the need for consistency is paramount. I would certainly need to keep re-reading such a work to ensure that I am staying on task. 

A second thought is that the quantity of preparation would be greater than in a story created in normal times. In some of these different genres, the writer creates a different world with its own rules and limits. Think of Terry Pratchett's Discworld or the magical world in Harry Potter that runs in parallel with the 'muggle' world. In both cases, the writers have maintained the new realities they created. 

Really, that last sentence sums up what is required in writing about new worlds. You need to know your created world in all aspects. 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 166 - Robin Hoods

 The legend is about six hundred years old, but when you consider the state of this modern world, it seems we could do with his return. 

Robin Hoods

 

Robin Hood and his gang riding in their ubers,

cruising the streets of London looking for their prey,

targeting entitled oligarchs and Sloan Rangers,

as they’re the targeted dish of the day.

 

Robin Hood and Little John Royal Berkshire cruising,

casing joints for opportunities to do law-breaking,

changing sterling silver for loaves of bread,

making sure the beleaguered poor are fed.

 

Robin Hood and his men running through the forest,

laughing back and forth at the stories they’d tell,

of fooling the sheriff and leaving him embarrassed,

over personal enrichment plans and power grabbing as well.

©David L Atkinson October 2026 

God Bless 

Writing - Alternatives

 Sources of inspiration can be the source of blocks. There is a well of possible scenarios that are quite easily accessible and open to interpretation. Disney. There are many parts of stories beautifully produced by the Disney Corporation that could give you food for your story-writing journey. 

Robin Hood 1973 

The 1973 version of Robin Hood with animals as the stars may provide snippets that you can utilise. Then there are straight stories like Oliver Twist, from which you could extract and embellish sections. 

Oliver Twist 

There are a number of options; 

1. The Rise of Bill Sykes and Nancy, 

2. The nefarious deeds of Mr and Mrs Bumble. 

3. The demise of Oliver's mother and how he came to be in the workhouse. 

Just a few accessible opportunities. Of course, you don't have to stick to films to derive sources. Almost anything you have read can be of use. I would even go so far as to say that could be true of a technical article; it may stretch the imagination, but nothing wrong in that.

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 165 - Verbal Diarrhoea

 Words - a simple song, a minstrel sings. Perhaps a poet speaks.  This week's poem is a set of couplets that can be presented in a couple of ways and still largely make sense. The alternative is presented.

Verbal Diarrhoea

 

I’m feeling quite suspicious,

the outcome might be ominous,

 

Right from the very start,

with this piece of verbal art,

 

It may not make the grade,

to be put upon parade,

 

If the message lacks clarity,

requires the reader’s charity,

 

To be ultimately received,

if I am to be believed,

 

That the aim is to entertain,

and tickle the curious brain,

 

Into perceiving some emotion,

from seconds of studied devotion,

 

And if it fulfils its goal,

then that will gladden my soul.

©David L Atkinson October 2026 

The alternative version. 

Verbal Diarrhoea

 

I’m feeling quite suspicious,

right from the very start,

the outcome might be ominous,

with this piece of verbal art. 

It may not make the grade, 

if the message lacks clarity, 

to be put upon parade, 

requires the reader’s charity. 

To be ultimately received, 

that the aim is to entertain, 

if I am to be believed, 

and tickle the curious brain. 

Into perceiving some emotion, 

and if it fulfils its goal, 

from seconds of studied devotion, 

then that will gladden my soul.

©David L Atkinson October 2026 

God Bless 

Writing -- Art of Brevity

 The subject of the short story has been selected, the initial incident described, and now you have to decide what to actually include, what level of description of the characters you need to include, and what you need to leave out. 

You’re not going to write a short story in the style of Charles Dickens. You are looking to get your message across in 1000 to 5000 words, probably no more than that. So, pictorially rich descriptions of places and people are going to slow the pace. However, you’d still need to include enough information to keep the reader interested and for the story to make sense, and as I’ve said many times before, that is the dilemma for the writer. 

Writing is very much about decision-making, and in this case of short stories, continual decision-making. Putting in essential information to maintain a strong atmosphere is something you’ve to keep up with throughout the length of the tale itself, so probably more than in a full-length novel you’re going to be re-reading section by section as you actually proceed. My own experience is to be rather too succinct; I’ve written many tiny little stories of between 750 and 1000 words, which may seem too little but actually still works. I’m currently reading a book whose chapters are about that length, and the actual story itself feels a little jerky as a result. When you're writing a short story, that is all you have: you've just got that little space, that little collection of words through which to transmit your message. To allow yourself to fall into the trap of wordy descriptions is to change the pace of what you're writing. The important thing is to be interesting and keep the structure tight.

One way of ensuring a tight structure is to limit the scope of the story; for example, I wrote a story about a teddy bear in the night and stuck very much to a few short hours of darkness and some rather creepy action, but it was limited to the teddy bear that developed a life of its own and the little boy who was the teddy bear's owner. A second example would be a slightly longer short story which is about an assassin, and it was very much about him and limited to his immediate experiences; very few significant others were introduced into that story again to keep the actual structure as tight as I possibly could within the time available. 

 Keep the balance. 

God Bless