Blogs

The Story Mint now has a number of writers who are enjoying success as professional writers. Others are on the verge of achieving their dreams of becoming successful authors. Those who have been with The Story Mint for the last four years are discovering how exciting it can be to know within themselves that they write well. It is also very exciting to know what to look for as they write and to correct some writing habits that have held them back. Readers are keen to follow their work.

I can often tell a new writer by the silence in their writing. I find it is something early stage writers forget about. I did.

Now a days, I pause as I’m writing and ask myself when did I last mention sound because it is a sense I am least conscious of.

However, I had a sharp reminder when one of my tutors, many years ago, wrote on a piece of my writing, “This reads like a silent movie.”

He was right but even in a silent movie the sound of the machine is clattering in the background or there is music, rarely absolute silence, as if the viewer was in a vacuum.

During the first year of serials we had our first serious debate between writers about the phrase ‘suspended disbelief.’ I also answered a critic who slammed one of my books regarding the same subject a few months later.

From ‘Love the Critic’ – an article I posted in the Edit Lounge at www.raystoneauthor.co.uk

Fiction contains a certain amount of SD. I wonder how this reviewer would get on with all the totally unbelievable plots in James Bond.

Dialogue is the glue that holds a book together. When I sit and write, I become each of my characters in turn. I’m an actor in my head and my tone of voice and feelings change as each character takes the stage to perform. How do we make the dialogue come alive? It isn’t hard but it takes practice and patience and, before you know it, you are riding a bike and changing dialogue gears without giving your mind and itching fingers a second thought. So how do we write unforgettable dialogue that holds the reader’s attention?

Does your pen write with a boring black ink or have you got an ink mixture of many different colours that bring your story alive? That’s what agents will be asking themselves as they open your manuscript.

We were budget travellers. The team was most important and their accommodation was priority. Supporters had three choices of package – gold, silver and bronze. They paid all their expenses and many chose the more expensive gold and silver packages. Staff, volunteers, and some supporters took the bronze package.

This might sound like boring detail but I have a reason for telling you this.

Whichever package you chose determined what your impression of Sao Paulo was.

World Skills New Zealand

Competitor wisdom

The opening ceremony was an ordeal for a number of the competitors. They had a long day with a start at 5.30am, the school visit, and preparation for the opening ceremony, which meant a late night.

The competition is now the full focus of the competitors. There is no distracting them. As I wander around, observing them, I can see the fixed concentration on their faces. Many of them are so focused they do not see us, or if they do they shoot us a quick smile, then get back to thinking about the task ahead.

Home is a tremendously long way away but there is no time to think about that. However, some of them have brought home with them and set up their stations accordingly.

Last night, over 20,000 supporters of competitors from around the world gathered at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium to see their teams march in the opening ceremony of the 43^rd Worldskills International competitions.

There was a block of over 20 kiwis in one part of the stadium surrounded by at least 200 Chinese beside and behind us and over 200 Russians in front of us.

As each team marched in, I found myself getting quite emotional. These young people represented the best of the best in the world and NZ was among them.

World Skills New Zealand

The environment