Paula R.C. Readman's Blog, page 13
February 11, 2024
Mr Bing and Me.
A picture is worth a thousand words
― Napoleon Bonaparte
Mr. Bing and I don’t have the same idea about how my characters should look. Like all writers, we have an idea in our heads of how our characters look to us. In the past, I have collected images from glossy magazines, Sunday supplements, and anywhere I’ve come across an image that would serve as a visual aid in creating characters, settings, or writing prompts. I have scrapbooks of pictures that I collected as a child when I first started learning how to draw.
Martha WenlockSo when I stumbled across Mr Bing I thought I would play around and create a scene from my new Granny Wenlock novel. My image of Martha Wenlock isn’t one of a young sexy witch, nor is she an old hag with a hooked nose and a pointy hat. Martha Wenlock is Martha Wenlock, aged between forty-five and fifty. She’s a quiet spoken, wise, caring woman of her time.
This is as close as Ai could get to what I wanted. Martha’s small dwelling, which she inherited from her grandmother, is in a clearing in the woods. Here Martha tends to a herb garden and is surrounded by the peace of nature. It is here where the locals visit her when they fall ill or are in need of care for their children. After about twenty-odd images of witches and old wrinkled faced women, I finally got the result I wanted for Martha. The men dragging her from her cottage look too modern, but still I’m happy with the main subject.
The cottage behind Martha in this picture is more of a house, but when I added the word Hovel (meaning a small, very humble dwelling house), Mr. Bing refused to create a picture. I deleted the word hovel and tried English cottage, but that didn’t help. So my advice is to choose your words carefully.
I’m planning to create a second book this year. For this one, there are five main characters, so I thought I would ask Mr A.I. Bing to create an image of the characters for me. I typed in five characters each with their own personalities. You have to be very careful what you say when writing in your description. As you can see by the some of the selection Mr Bing produce the women looked like fashion models.
The next day, Mr. Bing and I played guessing games. I started adding words like “Stout” and “Ordinary” to the descriptions of the characters. Mr. Bing got annoyed and started adding moustaches to the women, and turned some into bearded hippies. Since many of the pictures depicted the women looking sad or upset by my dissatisfaction with them, I asked Mr. Bing to add smiles to my characters.
Yes, I did want a red-haired character to own a certain type of dog, but as you can see, Mr. Bing started to add his preferred breed of dogs, too. I only wanted my red-haired character to have a dog leash, but Mr. Bing added leashes whenever he wanted. Mr. Bing caused all sorts of weird things to happen, too. In one picture, a character seemed to be pulling the head off a small dog.
You have to be very careful in your wording when you tell Mr Bing what you want. As you can see in my selection is here. If anything it makes you really think about the power of words and how you describe things.
If Mr Bing is having problems then think about your readers. Do they have problems understanding you, too?
Yes, a picture paints a thousand words, but as a writer, you need to write tight, so think carefully about what it is you’re trying to say,
especially if you use Mr. Bing or any other type of AI to create images of your characters. Have fun with Mr. Bing and see whether he creates the image you wanted, and if you do, please do let me know how you get on.
Have a wonderful week
Chat with you again soon.
February 8, 2024
Time to Write.
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
― Anton Chekhov
My latest published short story: now published on CafeLitAs you know, I plan to have ten short stories published this year. The Sea Witch is the first of my ten. It’s published on CafeLit today.
Since I first started writing, I fell in love with the art of writing short stories. It is a skill, and many great authors have written short tales. Telling a tale to a word count quickly teaches you to select your words carefully. Every word in your story has to earn its place. You’ll learn how changing one word can create a different image in your reader’s mind.
Just think about the simple word Walk. We all understand the word. It tells us the action. The man is walking down the street. Does it tell us anything else? No, not really. Yet if I was to change the word from Walk to Staggered your mind would suddenly start asking questions. Is the man drunk? Has he just come back from a party? Maybe, if the scene were in a crime novel, you would be wondering if the man has been stabbed or shot.
Now let’s try changing the word to sauntered or minced. Now we are learning more about the man. If we say, he sauntered along the road, we know the man isn’t in a hurry. He’s relaxed as he ambles along slowly. Now let’s see what happens if we say that he minces along the road, pausing to look in shop windows. On catching his reflection, he brushes his hair back. Suddenly, we have created a picture of our character. The word minces means to walk in an affected manner, with short, quick steps and swinging hips.
Writing short stories is more about what you leave the words to say for themselves rather than describing everything in fine detail. Remember the saying, Reading between the lines. Well, that’s exactly what you must trust your reader to do. Don’t tell your readers, as Anton Chekhov tells us, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
Please check out my latest published short story The Sea Witch and let me know what you think.
Thank you for following my blog.
Happy Writing.
February 7, 2024
Time to Breathe.
View all responsesFlash Fiction:“Trust is the thread that binds us… and the rope that hangs us.”
― M.A. Carrick, The Mask of Mirrors
Carrick is a pseudonym for authors Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms, who wrote the novel jointly..
Phone Calls:
Hello, Hello are you there? Please, pick up I don’t have time for this. It’s not as if we were in a relationship, Jason. I just need to talk, to get this sorted once and for all. This is the third time I’ve called you this week. Please speak to me. I don’t know what has made you so angry. You are married. I told you, I’m not interested in you as a boyfriend, lover or even as a husband. Not that I would’ve allowed this stupid idea of yours, to get so out of control.
For God’s sake, give me a break from your stupid obsession. If I have to talk to a bloody machine, I will. This is the second time… Hang on, no the fourth time, I have tried to speak to you, in person. Don’t send me, flowers, chocolate or stupid cards. I’m not interested. If I have to bloody move to get away from you, and your stupid obsession, I will. No is fucking No! I thought you were an intelligent man. So why are you behaving like a five-year-old who won’t take no for an answer?
[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp..." data-large-file="https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp..." src="https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp..." alt="" class="wp-image-1158" style="width:248px;height:auto" />Photo by Katerina Holmes on Pexels.comFifth time, I’ve called you. This is getting ridiculous turning up at my place of work. I thought you would be sensible about this, Jason. We were never lovers, just friends. Yes, we went out for a meal. In connection with work. My job brought us together. Is that how you found out where I was staying?
Here I am asking you again! Do I have to spell it out to you? LEAVE ME ALONE! One meal doesn’t mean we are engaged. Yes, we did get on well. Yes, we do have a lot in common, but you are a married man, with a family. I’m a twenty-two-year-old woman who is the same age as your daughter. From now on, I will address you formally, maybe that will bring you to your senses, Mr Yarwood.
Right, this is the last message, Mr. Yarwood! I shall be going to the police. You’ve gone a step too far, telling my employees a pack of lies about me. You’ve made a big mistake. You should know that stalking is against the law. I tried so hard to reason with you, but now I know I’m wasting my time. I’ve tried so hard not to involve anyone else in your stupid fantasy.
“Play it back one more time, Emma. You said, you found this recording in among your father’s things.”
“Yes, my mother always believed that my father had killed the girl, but she never had the proof. when we found the old phone in the garage along with some newspaper cutting, we had the evidence. I know it comes too late to make a difference, but at least, my mother can go to her grave knowing she was right. My father was a monster. Patsy wasn’t the first, was she?”
“No, he confessed to eleven others. I understand you knew Patsy.”
“Yes, she was in my class at school. I wouldn’t have said we were friends. She focused on doing well at school because she wanted to be a property surveyor. My mother said my father was a hunter who like to chase his prey down. He would have lost interest if Patsy had come on to him. What he didn’t know was Patsy had a girlfriend.”
“Why didn’t she just tell him?”
“Why should women have to explain themselves, Detective Inspector Brooks. When I’m working, I don’t go around telling people I’m single. I’m a police officer, with a job to do. Do you have to explain that you’re married with children in your line of work?”
“No, you’re right. Patsy didn’t have to explain anything, just to save her life. I know there’s going to be a lot of explaining to do by others to why they didn’t listen to your mother at the time. She put her life on the line in an effort to save others. Eleven other young women lost their lives because the police didn’t listen to her.”
February 5, 2024
Exciting News
“Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.”
– Ray Bradbury
What a lovely surprise after feeling a little down. Today, I received an email to say three of my stories have made it into The Best Of CafeLit 13 published by Chapel Town Books. The book will be ready for release by 30th June 2024.
Every day, the online magazine, CafeLit publishes a short story. They look for thought-provoking and entertaining stories, but ones that are a tad different from what you’ll find in women’s magazines. The stories are the sort of length that would make easy reading during a lunch break, or at the end of a busy day. Each story is assigned the name of a drink. For something light and frothy, it might be a hot chocolate. A dark piece of flash fiction could be an espresso. Something good for the soul it could be a mint tea.
If you are interested in submitting yourself, here’s the Link
Gill James is a wonderful publisher (and, a author too) of short stories and is always on the lookout for new writers.
In December, Gill always arranges a book launch in London so all the authors can meet up once a year. It’s a wonderful time to meet up with the other authors who you find yourself between the covers with in an anthology.
Have a wonderful week and I will catch up with you again soon.
February 3, 2024
Time to Write another Book.
View all responsesMen talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.
Dion Boucicault : Playwright, actor
(Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot bn: 26 December 1820 Dublin, Ireland dd: 18th September 1890
When you are young, you wish your life away. “I wish I was grown up so no one can tell me what to do.” Suddenly, when you are grown up, you realize that adult life is dominated by time. You might be free to make choices for yourself and have the freedom to choose to listen to others or not, but all you will hear is time ticking down.
For me, the passing of my grandmother was when the ticking clock began to wind down. After she died, I felt at least my parents were a buffer between me and death, but that didn’t last for long. When you reach a certain age, slowly close family members and friends you have known for a lifetime begin to pass away. This is when you realize that your time is also short and shouldn’t be wasted. Material things become less important too. You spend less time worrying about your appearance and more time about keeping healthy.
My time now is all about keeping busy and not wasting a second. I don’t worry about things I can’t change. I’m focused on writing my next book, or painting the picture next while enjoying my time with my husband and friends.
Life is short and it can be over in a blink of an eye.
Enjoy every moment of living.
Well, sorry.
What started out as a piece of flash fiction has now turned into a 1,518 words.
I was going to post it on here today, but I can’t. I need to sort out the ending 
February 2, 2024
Wash Day Blues.
I’m grateful to be part of the generation that knows how to hand wash. 
My washing machine gave up this morning, but thankfully I changed the bedding earlier this week, so that’s one less worry for now. Just finished hand-washing three pairs of jeans 
, a couple of tops, and some underwear. I couldn’t bear the thought of the laundry piling up, so I started hand washing immediately. I wish I had a spinner to get the water out, but at least it’s windy. I’ve hung everything under the covered patio to drip dry.
In the scheme of things, a dead washing machine isn’t important; it’s just an inconvenience.
My washing is done, and I’m happy. Though, I’m missing my bathtub 
. I used to wash the sheets in it when my washing machine died.
At least doing it in the kitchen sink was better than taking the washing to the river
Now I’m back focusing on my Granny Wenlock novel. Oh, and I’m pleased to say I’ve had a short story accepted yesterday. I shall tell you more about it later.
Have a great weekend,
Chat again soon.
February 1, 2024
Seeking the Dark
After posting about my novel being similar storyline to the new BBC series called Domino Day. My novel has take a big leap up the Amazon chart.
I’m really pleased. Thank you
Please do check it out: here’s a link https://mybook.to/SeekingDark
Thank you so much 
Immortality
https://mybook.to/SeekingDarkIf you love the BBC new series Domino Day about a young Mancunian witch, Domino ( played by Siena Kelly) who must feed off the energy of others to stay alive. The sources of her energy come from men she’s selected from a dating app. She is on the lookout for unsavoury men. Rarely does one of her hook-ups prove himself unworthy of being drained.
If you enjoy dark novels in the same vein, then check out my novel https://mybook.to/SeekingDark
Who is the white-haired beauty picking up men in the local wine bar?
January 31, 2024
Death Comes Silently.
View all responsesDo not go gentle into that good night,Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Poem by Dylan Thomas
There’s no reason to fear death. From the moment we are born our clock is ticking down. As we make our way through the obstacles of life we are shadowed by death. At any give moment, life can be snatched from us.
For most of us, we can focus solely on living and enjoying what life has to offer us. From one day to the next, death is the further thing from our mind. As our body clock begins to wind down so the shadow of death looms further into the forefront of our minds.
What do I fear most? Not death 
itself, but dying alone. What can I do about it? Keep my family close and my friends too.
Enjoy your life, and spread kindness and happiness to all.
Most of all be gentle on yourself
