The 93-E Contradiction, by Melodie Trudeaux: #BookReview.

On 09/07/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction

Science Fiction 24 pages This science fiction short story looks at the threat imposed by over-reliance on technical advances without regulation. We live in a world where many things are possible. This book asks the question, ‘Just because we can, does it mean we should?’ I leave it to the reader to decide, after reading …

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Mrs Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf: #BookReview.

On 08/07/2018 By stuartakenIn Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Literature, Reading, Review6 Comments

Classics 208pps This classic of English Literature breaks all the rules of writing a novel; a bold step at the time of its creation. Viewpoints come and go, often without any real introduction, and sometimes within a paragraph. Passages develop and proceed, often without any indication of who we’re listening to in their internal dialogue, …

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The #Write #Word? Post 26

On 06/07/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

Struggle to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? You’re not alone. Maybe, in trying to improve my own work, I can help other writers. Today’s words: Science Fiction, Somewhat, Sceptic/Denier, Set forth in, Solicitor. Synonyms are alternative words that might say exactly what you’re trying to convey. Science Fiction: defined as a genre of …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 04/07/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

‘Tis done! The final version of the MS ran out to 76,749 words in 41 Chapters. Great when you get back an acknowledgement from your publisher’s editor saying, ‘Excellent! Next time you see it, it’ll be a book!’ The next stage will be the cover, which I’ll post here as soon as I’ve seen it. …

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Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated

On 01/07/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Prizes

Time for your monthly reminder that the writing contest table has been updated. It lives on the ‘Resources’ page. As I write this, the table lists 132 different contests, many of them international, for Short Stories, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Biography, Plays, Reviews, Essays, and Novels. Some of these are free to enter and offer prizes …

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The #Write #Word? Post 25

On 29/06/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice1 Comment

Struggling to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? Me, too. Maybe, in trying to improve my own work, I can help other writers. Today’s words: Quash, Refute, Quiet as a dormouse, Rückkehrunruhe, Reporter. Synonyms are alternative words that might say exactly what you’re trying to convey. Quash: Roget lists three sub-headings; suppress, abrogate, and …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 27/06/201825/06/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Well, it’s back with the publisher. The finished MS ran out to 75949 words, though whether that will be the published total depends on how the editor sees my changes. I’m expecting to have the book back for some minor tweaks and the odd typo, etc. But I’m relatively confident the MS I delivered on …

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1000 Yards, by Mark Dawson: #BookReview.

On 24/06/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review

85 pps Thriller/Espionage. This short is written in typical ‘thriller’ style, however, it also gives the reader some meat on the bones of the characters, which is great. The depiction of North Korea is chilling, and reads as though the author has first-hand experience. The protagonist, Milton, shows some concern for those who help him …

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The #Write #Word? Post 24

On 22/06/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

Struggling to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? Me, too. Maybe, in trying to improve my own work, I can help other writers. Today’s words: Pathos, Prescribe/Proscribe, Pair of twins, Pope. Synonyms are alternative words that might say exactly what you’re trying to convey. Pathos: is a quality exciting pity or sadness. Roget lists …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 21/06/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

And the tale continues. This book’s been subject to a number of interruptions during its creation. Not least was the collapse of my iMac, it’s replacement with a Windows 10 PC, and the appallingly drawn-out and unnecessarily complex issue of transferring files from iCloud to MS OneNote. I’ve dealt with corrupted files along the way, …

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The #Write #Word? Post 23

On 15/06/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

Struggling to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? Me, too. Maybe, in trying to improve my own work, I can help other writers. Today’s words: Off of, On the rocks, Offensively, Occhiolism, Obsolescence. Redundancies: words serving no purpose. In speech, they’re spacers, giving the speaker time to think. But in writing they slow …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 13/06/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

As a general rule, authors dislike dealing with the edits sent them by their publishers. It’s often a battleground between competing egos. However, I welcome the chance to correct those things that escaped my attention by being too close to the creation. I’m on the third pass through the MS, having already done the full …

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The #Write #Word? Post 22

On 08/06/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

Apologies. I’m deeply involved in the edit notes for my WIP back from the publisher. This is time sensitive, so I’m missing the post this week to concentrate on the vital job of getting the corrections back in time for publication later this year. Bear with me. I expect to be back to normal next …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 07/06/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Now the serious editing has started: I received the publisher’s editing notes on Monday and I’ve been beavering away at them ever since. Both the creation and my editing of the book were interrupted by several events over which I had no control. And my final editing session was done under pressure of knowing I’d …

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Everybody Shrugged, by Walt Pilcher: #BookReview.

On 05/06/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review

354 pps Genre Fiction/Political/Literary humour. Humour in any book is a gamble. We don’t all see with the same eyes. Whilst this novel rarely made me laugh out loud, I did smile and grin a lot, so it was a positive experience. That it managed this while dealing with such issues as government incompetence (this …

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