Welcome to the #TuesdayTip. This week, I am celebrating when a minor character unexpectedly takes over the reins.
We writers love a good cliché. Not in our prose, obviously - we and our editors strive to cut them wherever we see them - but when asked to describe the process of writing, hell yeah, bring them on! One of those clichés is that sometimes a 'character takes over' the writing. For the logically-minded non-writer, this is patently nonsense. You are the writer, everything comes from your mind. The character is a fictional construct from your mind. Ergo, you are still in control. Well, duh, obviously.
Yet sometimes it feels as if you aren't in control of the process.
A related phenomenon is when a relatively minor character suddenly becomes more important. Like a character actor stealing all the attention from the A list celebrities.
I LOVE this!
When writing my third DCI Warren Jones novel, Silent As The Grave, I happened to be taking a creative writing class. Our homework was to write a short scene with two characters. Deciding to kill two birds with one stone, I chose to introduce the main antagonist's henchman, Bixby. A minor character that was little more than hired muscle (he didn't even have a first name). Over the course of those 300 words, the book was turned upside down. Bixby became one of the most intriguing characters I've ever met. By the end of the book, he was the most important and complex person in the story, other than my hero, DCI Jones.
More recently, in my current work in process, I introduced a female character who, whilst integral to the story, was little more than 'utility character' - a person that exists solely to help move everything along. Well, she wasn't having any of that! Within a couple of paragraphs of me first meeting her, the entire focus of the book changed. It is now her story. Everything takes place because of her actions and it is her we are rooting for. And I am loving every second of writing her. And the amazing thing? The underlying premise hasn't changed! My original two line idea is still there, in its entirety.
So, my advice? Take a leaf from my years of teaching. If a pupil is elbowing their way to the front of the class, don't slap them down and make them return to their seat. Don't stick to the original plan. Let them take over for a bit. If it doesn't work, never mind, you can always return to the original idea. You can even cut them out and use them in a different book (the character, not the pupil!). Because, sometimes the end result is far better than it would have been originally.
What are your thoughts on this? Should characters stay in their lane? Would you rather stick with the original plan, or are you willing to take a risk and give them a bigger voice to see what happens?
As always, feel free to comment here or on social media.
Until next time, all the best,
Paul.
If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.

Welcome all! This week's #TuesdayTip is a brief companion piece to last week's discussion about rhythm and pace TuesdayTip176.

A couple of years ago, I was sitting in the audience at a literary festival, listening to the authors on the panel discussing their writing. One of the authors was Steve Cavanagh, the highly talented author of the Eddie Flynn legal thriller series(*). Something he said really stuck with me.
Like a lot of writers, especially those in the thriller genre,  when editing his prose, he keeps an eye out for pace. The Eddie Flynn thrillers area mixture of high-tension legal action, lower tension (but still exciting) legal skullduggery and heart-stopping action sequences. The pacing is always excellent and very well judged, with the reader in turns bowled along by the excitement of a fiery exchange or violent altercation, or allowed a well-earned breather as Eddie plots his next move.

He said something very simple, but absolutely on-the-nose:

You can judge the pace of a scene by the amount of white space on the page.


Try it. Take a book off the shelf and compare different scenes.
Fast dialogue and exchanges between characters tend to involve short sentences, with rapid switching between speakers. Common convention is to start a new line each time a different character speaks. Furthermore, that first line is typically indented on the left-hand side. That means white space at both the beginning and the end of a line.

Now look at a slower sequence. For example a person delivering an impassioned monologue to the jury. Typically, the paragraphs are longer, and with only one person speaking, there are fewer line breaks. The text is usually justified (the spacing between letters is subtly manipulated so that each line takes up the same width on the page). There is a lot less white space on the page.

The same goes for faster-paced action sequences, compared to slower-paced descriptive scenes. Shorter sentences. More line breaks. More and shorter paragraphs. All of these mean that the pace of a scene impacts the amount of white space.

Of course, a cynic might say that publishers are already clamping down on word count to counteract rising paper costs. How long until they start demanding that books are faster-paced so they use less ink? Unlikely, but never say never …

What are your thoughts on this? Is this an over-simplification? Could one write an algorithm to give a book a 'pace score'? Is this a useful observation for writers or largely meaningless?
As always, feel free to comment here or on social media.
Until next time, all the best,
Paul.
If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.

(*) You can buy Steve's books here or check out my reviews of Thirteen and Fifty Fifty here.

Welcome to this week's Today's #TuesdayTip. Since it's still January and you might not be back into the swing of things yet, here is another Block Buster - a short exercise to either bust your writer's block, or just a fun writing challenge to practise your skills.
Listings or classified ads have a long history. Originally found in the back of newspapers, they have now largely migrated online to sites such as Craigslist or Ebay or even Facebook Marketplace. They are a treasure trove of new and second-hand items for sale or even paid for services, such as gardening or decorating.
For today's exercise, we are going to use one as a prompt.
First of all, choose a listings site. When you are satisfied, find three items for sale.
Now incorporate those three items into a short story.
For a bit of variety or extra challenge, why not include a paid-for service?
The exercise is replete with possibilities.

• Your characters could simply use those three objects.
• Or they could find themselves in need of those objects. Why?
• Alternately, you could turn it on its head and compose a piece about why those objects or services are being offered.
• What happens if the object they buy isn't quite what they are expecting, or has a hidden past?

PS this exercise gives me the excuse to repeat one of my favourite writing stories.
It is claimed that Ernest Hemmingway once bet $10 he could write a story in no more than six words.
The result is a masterpiece, told in the form of a classified ad. His fellow writers paid up without argument.
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Whether or not it really was penned by Hemmingway is unknown. Either way, the author is an absolute genius.
Have fun!
Remember the rules:

• Set yourself a time limit.
• Write without stopping, editing or overthinking.
• Write whatever comes to mind and don't worry if it doesn't make sense.
• It doesn't matter if it has nothing to do with the scene that you are stuck on.

If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.
All the best, Paul.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I finally started binge-watching the classic 90s sitcom, Frasier (currently available on All4 - the Channel 4 streaming service). We're half-way through season five and we are loving it!
One of the big strengths of the show is the writing. As with many US sitcoms of that era, it is the product of a writing room, with each 22 minute episode jam-packed with clever dialogue.
And it got me thinking.
Frasier is chock-full of examples of clever triumvirates. For those unfamiliar with the term, it is derived from Latin and originally referred to political systems centred on three individuals. In recent years its scope has been broadened somewhat to refer to any groups of three people working together. I am stretching the definition even further to encompass three characters interacting (for doubters, I'd like to point out that I haven't invented this, it has been used this way by others).
For those unfamiliar with the premise of Frasier, the series centres primarily on five characters, with a host of supporting characters.
Dr Frasier Crane - the pompous psychiatrist first introduced in the sitcom Cheers. He has just moved back to his hometown of Seattle and now hosts a radio phone-in show.
Dr Niles Crane - Frasier's younger brother is also a psychiatrist and is even more pompous.
The two brothers are close friends, but bicker regularly and are unabashed snobs.
Martin (Marty) Crane - Frasier and Niles' father. A former Seattle police officer forced into early retirement by a bullet wound to his hip. Unlike his two sons, he is a straightforward, down-to-earth, stereotypical, American everyman. Despite his sons' academic and professional success, he'd much rather the two brothers were keen on sports and drank beer, rather than expensive wines. At the beginning of the series, Marty is forced to move into Frasier's luxurious apartment (along with his dog, Eddie), since he can't look after himself.
Daphne Moon - she is Marty's live-in healthcare provider and physiotherapist. Allegedly from England (the least said about Essex actress Jane Leaves' Manchester accent the better), she is blissfully unaware of Niles' infatuation with her.
Roz Doyle - Frasier's radio producer. A voracious maneater, she has far more in common with Marty than the two brothers, but nevertheless becomes close friends with Frasier.
The series has multiple triumvirates, thus demonstrating that the concept is fluid. A character can be part of more than one triumvirate, sometimes switching groups within a scene.
Triumvirates lend themselves especially well to sitcoms. They allow three way conversations that can double-down on a punchline.
A good example is Frasier, Niles and Marty. A typical set up might be one of the brothers giving a feedline, to which the other replies with a punchline. In the context of Frasier, this might involve the two brothers snobbery becoming more and more outlandish, until Marty interjects and makes both of them appear foolish. Often he gets the biggest laugh. This set-up also works well with Daphne bringing the two brothers back down to Earth, rather than Marty.
Another set-up that works well is when two of the triumvirate are pitched against the third. Daphne and Marty showing Frasier to be a fool, after he has somehow got himself into a pickle is a common example.
A regular source of comic relief takes place between Frasier, Roz and Niles. Often taking place in the coffee shop they frequent, a typical setup involves Roz sharing her woes with Frasier (typically to do with her love life). Niles will then throw in a single snide remark about Roz's promiscuity.
Triumvirates work because they often bring balance and outside perspective. And for this reason, they are equally effective in drama. Another great example from TV is the original Star Trek. Despite its ensemble cast, the centrepiece of the show typically centres around the triumvirate of Captain Kirk, First Officer Spock and Dr Leonard 'Bones' McCoy.
Here, we see examples of two against one - Spock and McCoy trying to persuade Kirk to take a particular course of action. We also see many examples of McCoyand Spock giving Kirk conflicting advice, which he then has to weigh up to make his decision. And finally, we see Kirk acting as mediator as Spock and McCoy bicker and insult each other.
The fifth film in the franchise, The Final Frontier, is often criticised as one of the weakest entries. But if there is one aspect of the film that fans universally love, it is the triumvirate, especially in the first part of the film. Here we see Spock and McCoy aghast at Kirk's reckless behaviour as he scales the mountain El Capitan without a safety harness. Later we see the three friends seated around a camp fire. Kirk and McCoy conspire against Spock by fooling him into thinking marshmallows are called 'marshmelons'. Finally, we see them bonding over a rendition of row, row, row your boat.
In summary. Triumvirates are a powerful tool in a writers toolbox. They can allow a writer to balance out a scene, bring forth different aspects of a character's personality, and also allow some exposition through the characters' dialogue.
What good examples of triumvirates can you think of? Is there something special about three characters, rather than two or four? As always, feel free to comment here or on social media.
Until next time,
Paul.
If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.

Today's #TuesdayTip is another Block Buster - a short exercise to either bust your writer's block, or just a fun writing challenge to practise your skills.
For many of us, our new year resolution is to write more. But, January is a funny old month. After the celebrations of the holiday season, followed by the rubbish weather in the northern hemisphere, then the endless stretch to payday, our creative juices can prove elusive.
But sometimes, all we need to get us back on track is a little kick-start. A catalyst to get things going.
Today's activity is designed to do just that.
Make up the backstory of a person you see in the street.
Whether you are out and about doing chores, or perhaps having a well-earned coffee on the high street, the chances are that you've spotted some random strangers recently. People you know nothing about. A brief glance, with no meaningful interaction. A blank canvas, if you will.
So invent their story. The piece can be as long as you like. They might become a fully-fledged character in their own right, that finds themselves in a longer work, or just the subject of a couple of paragraphs speculating on who they are and what their story is.
If you need a little inspiration, here are a few prompts to get you going.

• An older person - did they serve in the war? That elderly woman with a Zimmer frame, who looks like a cuddly great grandmother, might have spent the Second World War labouring under the Official Secrets Act to crack Nazi codes. Perhaps the elderly gentleman queuing in the Post Office did his National Service in a far-flung part of the world?
• That happy looking couple - what happens behind their closed front door?
• The two women chatting in a coffee shop. How do they know each other? Are they new acquaintances or did they meet at school and have all sorts of adventures before settling down?
• That business-looking type juggling a takeout coffee and a mobile phone as they scurry down the street. Where are they  going? What is their job?
• The lone person at the bus stop scrolling on their phone - what do they do for a living? What's the secret they only tell their loved ones?

Everyone has a story to tell.
Important caveat: As tempting as it is, DON'T TAKE THEIR PHOTOGRAPH.  Not only is it creepy, having access to a perfect image to draw inspiration from will be counterproductive. If you just catch a glimpse of this person, then try to recreate them later, your memory will play tricks on you. Your imagination will be forced to fill in the gaps. No good for a police lineup, but perfect for a piece of creative writing.
Have fun!
Remember the rules:

• Set yourself a time limit.
• Write without stopping, editing or overthinking.
• Write whatever comes to mind and don't worry if it doesn't make sense.
• It doesn't matter if it has nothing to do with the scene that you are stuck on.

If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.
All the best, Paul.

Today's #TuesdayTip is another Block Buster - a short exercise to either bust your writer's block, or just a fun writing challenge to practise your skills.
There's no avoiding the festive season, as it barrels its way towards us like a runaway freight train, so today's exercise embraces the inevitable.
What is the story behind a Christmas carol or other festive tune? What made Good King Wenceslas look out his window? What is that poor little donkey thinking as he hauls a heavily pregnant woman from inn to inn? What were the shepherds chatting about as they watched their flocks by night (were they actually washing their socks?). What about songs from other festive traditions?


Remember the rules:

• Set yourself a time limit.
• Write without stopping, editing or overthinking.
• Write whatever comes to mind and don't worry if it doesn't make sense.
• It doesn't matter if it has nothing to do with the scene that you are stuck on.

If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.
As it is the festive season, and those mince pies aren't going to eat themselves, the TuesdayTip will be taking a short break.
However you choose to celebrate (or avoid!) the festive season, I wish you all the best, and look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Paul

Hello and welcome to this week's #TuesdayTip!
Today I am going to be looking at an essential piece of grammar the adverb.
If, like me, you went to school in England in the eighties, you were probably never taught grammar properly. That includes the meaning of words such as 'adverb'. The good news, is that you will have been using, reading and writing them all of your life, you just had no idea that was what they were called!
In a nutshell, adverbs are words that modify and add context to a verb (a 'doing word'). For example 'she said happily.' 'He ran slowly.'
In these examples, the verbs (doing word) are 'said' and 'ran'. The adverbs are the modifiers, underlined (happily and slowly).
As I have been looking at dialogue in previous TuesdayTips [Tip166 and Tip167], I am going to continue with that and focus on adverbs and dialogue tags.
As a rule of thumb, you should try and minimise their usage. Ideally the words chosen and the surrounding prose should tell the reader how the person is feeling, or their tone of voice.
It is drummed into writers that we should 'show not tell'. This also applies to dialogue. By carefully choosing words and phrases, we can avoid the need to explicitly tell our readers how our characters are feeling. By constantly having to signpost our character's feelings with adverbs, the text can become clunky and lose its flow.
But don't ditch them entirely. Sometimes they are essential. For example:
"You went out drinking without saying anything," she said angrily. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
In this example, you need to reinforce that the speaker is angry, because the language is actually quite ambiguous. I can easily change the tone of the statement by changing the adverb.
"You went out drinking without saying anything. Did you think I wouldn't find out?" she said teasingly.
Other times, you can lose the adverb by using a different dialogue tag.
"You went out drinking without saying anything," she shouted. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
Or
"You went out drinking without saying anything. Did you think I wouldn't find out?" she teased.
A bonus here, is that you have also shortened the sentence by one word. Not much, but sometimes every little helps!
Sometimes, you can even cut the dialogue tag and the adverb entirely.
The following says the same thing, but its meaning is so clear that you don't need to tell the reader what the character is feeling. Place it in context, and you can easily leave the reader in no doubt that this is being said at high volume, without ever needing to tell the reader this.
"So, you just decided to go out on the piss? Seriously, did you really think I wouldn't notice?"
Ultimately, the decision whether or not to use adverbs is a personal one. However, I generally think that their overuse should be avoided. Ask yourself if you really need one or if there is an alternate way to write the sentence? On the other hand, they exist for a reason. Sometimes readers need additional help, especially if they speak English as an additional language or are not neurotypical, and require extra clues to judge a character's mood.
What do you think of adverbs? Are there times when they are necessary? What about different audiences?
As always, feel free to comment here or on social media.
Until next time,
Paul.
If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.

For today's #TuesdayTip, I want to look at the topic of sentencing.
Caveat: I am NOT a legal expert, so bear that in mind when reading the following.
For the vast majority of crime novels, the culprit is caught and convicted, and sent to jail. In the UK, if they committed murder, they will have received a mandatory life sentence. Generally speaking, that's about as much detail as the writer will include.
But sometimes you want more. Perhaps you'd like to state how long your antagonist will go to jail for? Perhaps they previously served time in jail and had been released - in which case what were they in for, and how long did they serve? Were they released on licence or is their original sentence spent? A mandatory life sentence comes with a minimum tariff to be served before they can be considered for parole. How is that decided?
Needless to say, determining a sentence is a complex and controversial process. Most writers have limited legal expertise, but want their stories to ring true. So how can you find out what is an appropriate sentence for your character?
The Basics:

• All jurisdictions have their own rules and often their own terminology.

In the UK, England & Wales follow the same guidelines, whilst Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legal systems. So first of all, ensure that you understand the requirements of your jurisdiction (Scotland differs from England & Wales for example by having a fifteen person jury, rather than twelve, and the prosecutor is the Procurator Fiscal, rather than the Crown Prosecution Service).

• If you are writing a book set in the US, the law is a patchwork quilt of Federal (country-wide), State and even county. You will need to figure out whose jurisdiction your offender falls under (a combination of location and type of offence).

​The law and sentencing guidelines change and evolve - make sure you consider the time in which your story is set.
For the purposes of this article, I am going to stick with what I know best, modern-day England & Wales.

• First, check if your crime would be dealt with by a Magistrate Court or a Crown Court.
• As a rule of thumb, Magistrates deal with offences that would ordinarily be dealt with by fines, community service or short custodial sentences. There is no jury. They will also determine if the accused should be committed for a jury trial in the Crown Court. This link to the Sentencing Council lists the sort of offences that a magistrate may deal with.

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/

• Some charges carry potential sentences that are outside the remit of the magistrates court and so should be committed to a jury trial in a crown court. Other offences can be triable either way - in other words the magistrate can either deal with it or send to the crown court. This link to the Sentencing Council lists the sort of offences that a crown court may deal with.

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/crown-court/
Notice that the list of offences is very similar, reflecting how many crimes are triable either way, depending on the circumstances and severity. However, there are some obvious differences: Attempted murder is only dealt with by the crown court, for example.
OK, so what now?
As a writer, you probably want a sentence that is broadly plausible and ideally fits the needs of your story (somebody convicted of murder isn't going to be back on the street in six years unless their conviction is quashed. You need to either change the timelines in your story, or consider having them convicted of manslaughter or wounding with intent).
You basically have three options:
1) contact a solicitor or relevant legal professional and ask them how long they think your character would get (or work backwards - I want my character to go to prison for this long, what aggravating or mitigating circumstances would mean that length of sentence is plausible?). There are some Facebook groups where there may be experts willing to advise writers - just remember to specify where and when it is set and also read the answers carefully. Despite clearly stating your book is set in the UK, a lot of Americans will still chip in and recommend the death penalty, then start waffling on about plea deals and other such nonsense.
2) Search the internet for similar cases (check the dates, in case the law has changed since the real-life offence was committed) and see what sort of sentence was handed down. Assuming that there are no unusual aggravating or mitigating circumstances, you can probably just have your fictional character receive a similar sentence.
3) Look up the range of sentencing options on the Sentencing Council Website.
Despite what the tabloids would have you believe, judges actually follow a strict set of guidelines. Obviously, it requires an experienced judge to evaluate each case on its individual merits, but it will give a set of principles for them to follow.
Basically, each crime would have a 'starting point'.

• From there the judge must consider aggravating factors (things that increase the severity of the crime and thus the sentence) and mitigating circumstances (things that may decrease the severity of the crime and therefore the sentence). You sometimes hear about defence teams giving pleas in mitigation, which is their professional duty (however they or society may feel about the person and/or crime).
• Offenders are also given credit for a guilty plea, on a sliding scale, with a hefty reduction for admitting it at the first opportunity, to a lesser reduction for pleading guilty at the last moment (perhaps after the trial has already started).
• Time spent remanded in custody awaiting their trial (time spent) should also be considered.
• Should multiple sentences be served concurrently (at the same time) or consecutively (one after another)? This is another complex subject, but the principles are here https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/overarching-guides/crown-court/item/totality/

What about release?
First of all, prisoners must serve their whole sentence. However, they don't have to spend it all in prison. Typically, unless the judge has specified a minimum tariff (as in a life sentence), the prisoner is eligible for release halfway through. Then they will be released on licence to serve the remainder of the sentence in the community. The licence comes with rules, and if they breach those rules they will be recalled to prison, to potentially serve the remainder of their original sentence behind bars.
Life Sentences - an exception to the above.
Life sentences are mandatory for those convicted of murder, and can be given in some other extremely serious situations, such as rape or terrorism offences, if the judge feels it is justified.
Life sentences are slightly different to other offences. In these cases, the sentence lasts for the rest of the prisoner's life. However, unlike other offences, where the prisoner is automatically released at the half-way point, the judge will set a minimum tariff that must be served behind bars before the prisoner can be considered for release by the parole board. If they are successful (and many aren't on their first attempt) they will be released under strict licencing conditions, which they have to follow for the rest of their life. They can be recalled to prison to serve more time if they breach those conditions. The sentencing act 2020 lays out the guidelines in legislation here:  
In exceptional circumstances, a judge can specify a whole-life tariff, where the prisoner will never be released. There are only 60 or so prisoners currently serving those sentences. You can probably guess which scumbags they are.
What are your thoughts on accuracy regarding sentencing in fiction? Do you know of any clearer websites that break down the guidelines further?
As always, feel free to comment here or on social media.
Until next time, all the best, Paul.
If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.

Today's #TuesdayTip is a great way to generate word prompts for a creative writing piece.
What3Words.com is a revolutionary way of pinpointing a precise location anywhere on the earth's surface. Rather than trying to rely on the vagaries of describing a place using street names and postcodes (which are subject to change and in some apps, simply wrong!) the makers of the service have divided the planet into 3 metre x 3 metre squares and assigned each a permanent, unique 'address' consisting of three random words.
The beauty of the system is that it allows the precise identification of a location, such as a doorway or entrance, or even the middle of a field!
Emergency services all over the world have adopted it, since you can easily pinpoint the precise position of a casualty, rather than relying on the caller describing their location. It works using GPS (which all smart phones have) and once you've installed the app, no further data connection is required - so as long as you are in a reasonably clear location and your phone can get a GPS satellite signal, it will tell you the unique combination of three words that identify your location.
You can also use their website to find a place and retrieve its 3 words. This is what I suggest you do today. For safety reasons, if you are going to make your story publicly available DO NOT USE YOUR HOME ADDRESS! Instead, why not find the 3 Words associated with your favourite landmark?
For example, one of the locations overlapping The Louvre Museum in Paris is ///seasons.sharper.scan
So there are my three word prompts. Now can I incorporate all three words into a short written piece?
​Remember the rules:

• Set yourself a time limit.
• Write without stopping, editing or overthinking.
• Write whatever comes to mind and don't worry if it doesn't make sense.
• It doesn't matter if it has nothing to do with the scene that you are stuck on.

If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.
Until next time,
Paul