Flash Fiction | Writing Journey
Bus Stop Daydreaming
How my Reading Habits have Shaped the Fiction I Like Writing the Most
He was there again today, Tilde craned to stare at her crush from her seat on the top deck of the bus. His height made him stand out amongst the people waiting to for the library to open. Students like him, rucksacks and laptop bags broadcasting their intention to knuckle down to work on their assignments.
She longed for clues about the young man; what he was studying, was he from a big family, did he listen to the music she liked? Tilde made up stories in her head, shaping him to her ideals and her dreams. She knew it was silly but where was the harm? They would never meet. She stared after him as the bus headed into town.
Tilde stood up to ring the bell, smoothing down the uniform which identified her as a student nurse, and pulling a bag onto her shoulder. She descended the steps, jostled between the standing passengers, then off the bus. As she strode towards the hospital, her imagination wove a fabulous meet cute. The bus might break down outside the college; as she and the other passengers stood around, waiting for the repair truck, mister tall, dark and handsome would approach her with a cup of chai latte, then introduced himself.
I am a big reader. I have several books on the go simultaneously, in different mediums: A novel on Audible, fiction in a different genre on my Kindle, or maybe an actual book, plus the short stories I enjoy on Medium. My jam is fiction, I can count on the fingers of one hand the autobiographies I’ve been tempted to read. Non-fiction books have little appeal.
I enjoy reading a variety of genres, but I don’t pick up as many chick-lit books as I did ten or twenty years ago, although I still love a romance. Nowadays, rather than seeking the frothy plots that I’d previously pack as holiday reading, I choose a longer running series. I also love mysteries, thrillers, sometimes quite dark and graphic. Perhaps it’s just me, but I can read about gory or distressing scenarios better than I can withstand watching them on a screen.
Recently a passion which began with vampire horror, has quickly spilled over into an interest in werewolves and many other supernatural creatures. It followed that I was drawn to read about witches and tales of enchantment; with a legend or folktale behind the plot, I am fascinated. But up until last year, I only read these topics, never daring to write them.
Along came 2022- new year, new pen name. As Jacinta, I’m writing in the genres I love to read.
Medium is often hailed for its support of non-fiction articles: listicles, posts on how to be successful, buy cryptocurrency, go viral, lure the opposite sex. But I’m not interested in those. Instead I seek the fiction writers: A little harder to find, but worth the extra effort.
I’ve joined several great fiction sites, some of them share serialized stories and others encourage us to write short, dark or funny. Write to a prompt, without a prompt, link up with other writers or post your links on the site bulletin board.
On Medium — We have a smorgasbord of choices.
It’s important to write and publish regularly, yes, but equally necessary to be a reader who comments, otherwise we’re all doing our own thing, but it’s lonely. Regularly bumping into like-minded readers and writers, a sense of community builds and the validity of feedback grows. If I like somebody’s creativity, I’ll see who they follow that I haven’t discovered yet, because I’m quite likely to become a fan of the same people. (Exactly what happened with Jonathon Sawyer and CleverandWtf.)
To the question posed by Fiction Friends’ what’s my favourite genre(s) for writing? I’d have to answer fantasy, mystery and romance (so you’ll have to put up with me practising). I used to be terrified of writing dialogue, but it scares me less since I learned to imagine a person I know talking, or someone I’ve watched in a TV series, so as I write, I can question, “how would they say it?” For example, Celia McKinley is a big fan of Supernatural, as am I, so a hint of Dean and Sam’s sibling banter and fierce loyalty may have rubbed off when she created David and Barbara for Ghost Country.
Being halfway through my life, I now enjoy looking back, imbuing my past with an interesting, retro haze! Children in my fiction are often based on myself. ‘Lulu’ the little sister in The One You Let In, who proved very popular, was inspired by someone in my family. I poured elements of my brother into ‘Timothy’, my Young Explorer. I’ve learned that shaping my characters around someone I know well, makes them more rounded. Check out the fabulously devoted and brave Cricket in The Housesitting Gig (1) & (2) . joan rowell tells me she’s never owned a dog, but having done her research, she portrays him in such a way that he feels like a dog I already know.
It’s as easy as falling off a log to lose myself writing about people living ordinary lives that are made more exciting by magic, time travel, the runes they weave, or their ability to shift into another creature. In describing places from my dreams, creatures from legends I used to hope were real or dangers that involve spells, charms, drinking blood and banishment, I hope to take my reader along for a rollercoaster ride.
If I’ve whet your appetite, try my series Courtly Love — It begins with a couple from the kingdom of the fae folk who fall in love, only to be torn apart by duty, imprisonment, jealousy and enchantment. What follows is a quest for one party to redeem themself, while the other struggles to survive without much hope of seeing their loved one again.
Or if you want something shorter, I wrote Mixed Emotions to a dystopian prompt by Kraken Lore. Not Always Out of Order is a little more romantic, following a prompt on Tantalizing Tales (I copied their curator May More who starts information posts with a story)
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