How Flow Can You Go

Well, hello there..here we go again..another day, another post but I hope whatever you’re doing while you’re reading this is going well for you – obviously it would be nice to think you’re hanging on my every word, but if I am providing nothing more than a pleasant distraction from tackling that mountain of ironing, or wading your way through endless emails, then that’s more than good enough for me. Talking of emails, I don’t know about you, but I seem to be receiving quite a few recently which promise me, several million pounds is being held somewhere, ( generally West Africa) and all they need is for me to forward all my bank details and this alleged money will be paid into my account – the sum having been left to me by a ‘dear friend.’

 

You will be unsurprised to learn, I haven’t pursued this, aside from anything else, I don’t know anyone in West Africa – I never have, which is my loss, because I’m sure the good people over there are just lovely. Anyway, out of curiosity, I responded to one such email, asking for the name of this poor deceased friend, the name which came back, was unbelievably long and definitely African in origin. Bearing all that in mind, it seemed odd that I had apparently forgotten this person, especially as they had obviously thought of me while lying on their deathbed. Well, me being me, despite the sheer nonsense of the whole thing, I did double check on the health of my dearest friends and I am happy to report, they are all alive and well, with only one ever having visited Africa and she returned safely some years ago.

 

So anyway, what did I actually come here to write about today ? Actually, it’s the importance of good communication, which thankfully makes my opening paragraph actually relevant – yay me ! Aside from the obvious need to be able to rustle up a coherent sentence if you want to write a story, for me, it’s just as important for those words to flow nicely across the page. After all, there isn’t much point writing a lengthy description of the leaves in Autumn, if at the end of it, your reader is completely confused as to what that has to do with the previous paragraph which was all about the heroine learning of a betrayal. As you read that part of the story, you would be eagerly wanting to learn who betrayed her, what happened ? What’s she going to do now ? Confront Toby or wait to catch him in a compromising position with the sultry Clarice ? So there you are, poised and then, to both your dismay and your astonishment, you’re suddenly wading your way through a plethora of adjectives describing the ‘golden light dappled on the falling leaves which cascade from the towering trees, like a whirling, spiralling, flame-touched haze.’ It’s confusing and could leave you struggling to remember the plot, as it seems so long ago since you were last reading it !

Now, I am not saying abandon all descriptive passages, they are, of course, essential, after all, the reader does need to know, for example, where the action happens and also what that place is like, it’s just not enough to write, ‘it looked like that road my Aunty Helen lived in.’ Let’s face it, unless you know this afore-mentioned relative, that description tells you nothing at all ! Aunty Helen could have lived in a tiny, rural village where the local sheepdog is also the postman, or her home was a glamorous building on Fifth Avenue, N.Y. I suppose what I am saying is, perhaps the success of any story, is communicating your plot in a way so the words flow effortlessly from the writer to the reader. I could be wrong (to be honest, that is a distinct possibility), but I believe if you can achieve a successful balance between writing effective descriptions without interrupting the emotional heartbeat of the story, you re on the right track.

There is one last point I should like to make, the main location in my book ‘Hidden Within’ is central London, only because I was born and raised there so I know, not only where places are in relation to each other but also I am familiar with the transport system, events, shopping areas etc. Hopefully, I have described all of those well enough for anyone to be able to picture it in their mind – even if they’ve never been there. I am only mentioning this as I was recently reading a book set on a somewhat remote island, which, at first, I assumed was imaginary, however, it soon became apparent, this was a real place and from the long, beautifully- eloquent description, something very special. So I put the book down, revved up the laptop and started Googling – several hours later, after being sidetracked by numerous articles, my horoscope and a handful of ‘hilarious’ YouTube video clips, I switched the computer off, feeling both satisfied and slightly anxious as it seems, as a Libra, I’m going to meet a strange, bespectacled man, at a local landmark, who is going to reveal my previously- hidden talent. I have to say, it was a couple of hours before I remembered my reading book at all and I had even less memory of its plot – and this just illustrates how careful you have to be with that whole balancing act I mentioned earlier.

Now before I go, some of you have been kind enough to ask for my book details, so here is the link, which hopefully should take you there...until next time

Take care out there xx

https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Within-WITHIN-Book-1-ebook/dp/B01F4C0MFQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468235669&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+within+by+a.b.+turner