I was obsessed with Halloween stories during the run-up to Halloween.
I fell asleep thinking about the return of the dead and I woke up thinking about restless souls.
You see with Halloween in the air I set myself a deadline for getting two stories ready in time for Halloween and it was a bit of a struggle.
Happily, both stories were finished in time.
The first of these was ‘The Real Halloween.’
This was originally broadcast on RTE Radio One under the title ‘Dancer’s Well.’
Writing radio stories is quite different to writing for readers. I knew I had some work to do to adapt this story for the written format but I underestimated how much.
SCARILY CLOSE
Adapting the story for Kindle doesn’t mean that I hacked away at the dialogue or reduced the description but it allowed me to introduce some new developments.
Since the story was no longer limited by the strict time frame imposed by radio I found some room for expansion.
Maybe a bit too much room given that Halloween was getting scarily close.
THE WRITING DEMON
You see I forgot that when you return to a story after a long time you find yourself noticing the potential for more than just adaptation.
You also see lots of opportunities to explore some new twists and turns.
I wish I could say I resisted these but I just couldn’t. It’s was getting closer and closer to Halloween and the writing demon had me firmly in its grip.
The other story is completely new and is called ‘The Witch of Ballyyahoo.’
It is now finished – phew!
But I have to admit that when I left it to ‘brew’ the process threw up some more ideas for development.
In the last few weeks before publication, I added another character, another location, another twist, more potential for related stories and an extra three thousand words that all need to go through the editing and proofing process – before the fast-approaching deadline for Halloween stories.
The good news is I got it done!
The bad news is I let a lot of other things slip!
Anyway, who needs clean dishes, clothes and hair when you can just as easily write in pyjamas, eat from paper plates and let your hair clean itself?
So to hell with the demons, my Halloween stories are on the way…
You can find The Witch of Ballyyahoo on Amazon here.
And to celebrate Halloween The Real Halloween is free now.
DOWNLOAD THE REAL HALLOWEEN FROM AMAZON.COM
DOWNLOAD THE REAL HALLOWEEN FROM AMAZON.CO.UK
All sounds scary to me …. Looking forward to reading them first before I pass them over to Izzy Joe lils and Betsy. Come on hurry along now
Hi June, thanks for coming over. I am now finished both stories and have one back from the editor and one to come. The images are done too, just finalising the covers – nearly, nearly there! I can’t wait to hear what you and Izzy, Joe, Lils and Betsy think!
Hi Wendy, thanks for dropping over. The main thing for me is that it doesn’t feel like hard work when I am writing, as I am enjoying it so much. Time pressure is not so much fun though.
My favourite tips are here, but I think the most important thing is to always write regularly – make an appointment with yourself and keep it – honour yourself!
https://www.practicalcreativewriting.com/?s=CREATIVE+WRITING+TIPS