Rochelle Bradley Author

As a child I must have asked a lot of questions and pestered the dickens out of my mother because she always asked me "Are you writing a book?" Looking back, I smile and wonder if this idea was subconsciously planted in my mind. I have said before if I would have been a cat, I'd be dead because curiosity would have killed me. I've always asked questions, especially regarding the etymology of words. Are you writing a book? Why not? Find a starting (once upon a time) and an ending (they lived happily ever after) point. The journey from start to finish shouldn't be a straight line or else it'd be a boring story. The character needs a few bumps along the road to make the story interesting, a downed tree blocking the road is even better. Forcing a character to make challenging decisions- to go around the log to the left and X, Y & Z happens or go to the right or maybe, just maybe, the character will find the strength or a friend he or she needs to hurtle ...

Recently, I met a few women and over an evening of dinner and drinks, we had enough inside jokes to fuel many laughs and spawn a short story. Usually my stories come from dreams but, in this case, I was inspired by companionship, smiles and laughs. One of the women took a quiz on Facebook: what would your name be today? We searched the decades and giggled over our names from the 40s or 1890. Our alter egos: Bella, Gia & Electa were born. These three names have been swirling around in my head with a plot for a week or so. In the story, the characters live by the mantra "good friends don't let you do stupid things alone." I plan to write a 1K word story today. This flash fiction will be a gift for two of the women who volunteer their time to work with children. With any luck it will earn a few giggles.

Writing can be lonely. Let's face it, it's a solitary activity. If you feel isolated, here are some suggestions. This time last year I was truly TheNoviceWriter  but over the course of twelve months I've had many other novice writers ask me questions about writing. I found I could not only answer but offer advice based on my experiences in 2014. #1: Join a writing group. Once a week, once a month or even once a year meet with others who share your passion. You can find these groups on Meetup or other social media sites like Facebook. Enter your location and your interest and voila! You'll have a list to choose from. Your local library might offer writing clinics or clubs. National Novel Writing Month  is a event that happens every November. You have a chance to connect to other writers in your area on the forums but they also host "write-ins" at local coffee shops like Panera. It's a great time to meet other writers, experienced, published or novic...