Fictive

Fictive means creating or created by imagination. It can also mean not genuine.

Are works of fiction, such as my lovely romance Leave Nothing But Footprints fictive? I don't think they are – at least not entirely. Although partly produced fictively there's far more to creating a novel than fictiveness.

Authors often need to research facts – I learned a huge amount about photography to write this book, drew on my memory for  details such as campervanning disasters and toasting marshmallows, and took some of the walks through gorgeous Welsh scenery along with my characters.





I'd argue that even elements of a story which come directly from the author's imagination may still be genuine. For example Jess values the support of friends and learns to take pride in doing something well – those things are genuine, aren't they?



Then we come on to the actual typing out of the words, the editing, proofreading, cover creation, marketing etc etc. Some of these tasks may well require imagination, but the work doesn't stop there.

What do you think – are novels fictive?

If you've written something, fictive or otherwise, you may like to try this free entry writing competition. There's $4,000 on offer for 'the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, one-act play, graphic story, or work of literary nonfiction published by a new or emerging writer in Narrative.

There's still just time to enter the draw for a free book in last week's Friday Freebie.

Secrete

Secrete is an interesting word in that it can mean almost the opposite of itself. 

In some cases secrete  means to put away, hide or conceal. I'm sometimes the secretor of seeds when visiting gardens (please keep my secretory secret!)

Secrete can also mean to produce something – a secretion. Our eyes may secrete tears (I'm not absolutely sure it is our eyes that do this, in fact I'm fairly sure it's a separate gland or duct or something, but the only alternative I could come up with was a festering wound secreting pus and frankly that's way too icky.)

If you've written a first novel, don't secrete it away in a draw – enter it in this competition and you could win a £20,000 advance, the services of a literary agent and guaranteed publication.

Lichen

Lichen is the variously coloured mossy type stuff you often see on trees and rocks. It's composed of a fungus and alga in a symbiotic relationship. There are a LOT of different types.

Lichen is also the name of a skin disease, but let's not go there.

Lichenology is the study of lichens and things which have been lichened.

Personally I pronounce the word litch-in (as in litch-gate which I feel is appropriate because churchyards are a good place to see lichen). The alternative is to say it as though it were written liken. 

Lichen forms when something just stands about doing nothing. You can't afford to do that if you want to enter this free crimewriting competition, as it ends at the end of the month. The prize is a two book contract with Avon (an imprint of Harper Collins). 

Cat

I'm sure you're already aware that a cat is a grown up kitten, or any other member of the Felis family, such as a lion or tiger (often referred to as big cats). The term cat can also be applied to members of other species which have a catlike appearance.



If a person is described as a cat they'll almost certainly be female and definitely malicious or spiteful. To be catty is to behave as this kind of cat, not the furry four-legged version.

At one time I had a day job in which I used a cat. A cat-o'-nine-tails that is. This was a rope whip, used historically to punish sailors. It got its name from the nine knotted tails and the belief that cats have nine lives. I was gentle when I demonstrated. Well gentle-ish! (These cats were carried in bags – you didn't want to be around when the cat was let out of the bag.)

If you're a cat's paw then you're someone who is used by another, a cat burglar enters a building by climbing up to a window, balcony or roof and a cat and dog relationship is an argumentative one.

A person or thing described as the cat's whiskers or cat's pyjamas will be excellent in some way.

Here's a free to enter competition to win a three book deal with Choc Lit Publishing. The entry must feature a cat in some way. The snag is you only have until the end of next month to enter – now that's put the cat among the pigeons!

There are other phrases containing the word cat – can you think of any?

Distraction

It's summer – and there are plenty of distractions from writing. I mean the definitions of 'something that distracts; an interuption' and a relaxation from work, amusement. Those are good forms of distraction and for me involve being out in the garden, or away in the camper van.

 Being distracted is often associated with a loss of concentration on the job in hand. Another, far less pleasant, meaning of distraction is confusion, perplexity – even a frenzy of madness. For example, trying to promote my latest book of short stories drives me to distraction. 

If I was suffering in either of those ways, I'd definitely be needing the help of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, who'd no doubt reassure me that I'm not alone in often being distracted and probably offer advice on overcoming the issue. They're good like that!

For a writer, being considered distracting is an excellent thing. We want to make the reader forget the reality around them and immerse themselves in the worlds our words create. I've had readers tell me they've been so distracted by my novels that they've missed their stop on a train, let the dinner burn or continued reading long after they'd planned to stop.

I'm sorry about the spoiled food and hope they weren't late for anything fun, but otherwise very pleased by such comments.

If you've written a really distracting unpublished novel, and live in the UK then you might like to enter it in this competition and be in with the chance of winning £30,000. Gosh, just planning what to spend that cash on could keep me distracted for hours!

Destination

A destination is a place to which a person, or thing, is going.













You already knew that, didn't you? I expect you also realised, as soon as you spotted it, that I'd only picked the word in order to provide an excuse to post more of my travel pictures.










Is the destination of your novel somewhere on the bestseller list? If you think it has that potential, you've already got a lot of it done and it happens to have a theme of new beginnings, you might like to enter it into this competition.


Do you recognise any of these destinations?