A short progress report. The week has gone well, with some new research done (there’s a lot happening regarding Mars at the moment!). I’ve added 13,345 words to last week’s start, making the total word count 18,145 to date. The story continues to flow and the characters are developing. I wake up at night sometimes …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
Today marks 2 years in our new home in the Forest of Dean. The move away from East Yorkshire, family and friends, was planned and chosen, but none the easier for that. But it was the right time and, we hoped, the right place. Somewhere to settle for our retirement. A place where we could …
Continue reading A Day for Celebration
Considering the date, perhaps I should look at usage for triskaidekaphobia? But I suspect everyone now knows it simply means a morbid fear of the number 13. This series offers writers help to make their work more accessible, interesting, varied, accurate and effective by exploring similar and dissimilar words. It also gives language learners some …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #21
You really should have had this update yesterday, as I do them on Wednesdays. But I was actually writing (and, tell the truth, the heavy cold that had me in its clutches throughout Xmas and the New Year celebrations had returned to turn my brain to mush for most of the waking hours). Today, I …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
This fantasy short introduces readers to a new series, The Majat Code, which, on the basis of the writing here, I may very well explore further. For a short piece, this book develops the characters well and presents an imagined world in surprising detail, without boring the reader with unnecessarily lengthy descriptions. The story involves …
Continue reading The Majat Testing, by Anna Kashina Reviewed.
April Taylor has her soprano sleuth, Georgia Pattison embroiled in another murder mystery. A shorter work, this one, it packs in all the emotion, action and mystery of her longer works. Great light detective fiction that concentrates on character as a means of solving the crime. We have a new police detective here to deal …
Continue reading The Midnight Clear, by April Taylor, Reviewed.
A series offering writers help to make their work more accessible, interesting, varied, accurate and effective by exploring similar and dissimilar words. Also giving language learners some insights into the peculiarities of English. A good thesaurus provides substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #20
This little eBook is worth its modest price for the links alone. It’s a basic journal setting out the process, pitfalls, opportunities and rewards relating to writing for literary journals. With chapters on Why You Should Submit…, How To Know When Your Work is Ready…, Basics of Submitting, and many others, it provides useful information …
Continue reading Submit, Publish, Repeat, by Emily Harstone, Reviewed.
A series offering help for writers to make their work more accessible, interesting, varied, accurate and effective by exploring similar and dissimilar words. Also for language learners. A good thesaurus gives substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #19
A fun story, this. The writer’s dilemma: freedom of expression and the associated poverty of writing what you want, or fame and the shackles the publisher will attach to your imagination? Required to write a formulaic tale to a strict deadline, the hapless author finds life gets in the way of creativity as family vies …
Continue reading Silent Plight, by Jill Province, Reviewed.
This series offers help for writers to make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective by exploring similar and dissimilar words. It also helps language learners understand some of the finer points of English usage. A good thesaurus gives substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #18
Today, I’m delighted to be interviewed on the unplag.com/blog, and given a chance to share information, motivation and writing advice. The piece is titled, 'Stuart Aken reveals a secret of his writing craft in his interview to unplag'. I consider this a real honour and I’m pleased to share it with you. Here’s the link …
Continue reading Author Interview on Unplag.com.
Young adult fantasy, with the emphasis on the ‘young’. This is a sort of fairy tale told at length. Action-packed, fast moving and sometimes mysterious, this story is also convoluted and occasionally poetic. It is also surprisingly engaging. Surprising because there are structural, grammatical and even vocabulary errors that some serious editing would have corrected. …
Continue reading Chronicles of Drenyon: The Golden Sword, by NLJ, Reviewed.
Today’s Google search for ‘Writers Help’ brought up 58,000,000 results. One post from this series was 4th in the list and a second was 6th! So, you’re in good company if you read this post. The series offers help for writers to make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective by exploring similar …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #17
What's this? A children's book reviewed here? Not what you'd expect, I know, but it's the season that's mostly about children, and this book was recommended to me, so I thought, 'Why not?'. As an author, it's good to step outside your usual zone of activity from time to to time and experience a different …
Continue reading Felicity – A Sparrow’s Tale, by Loralee Evans, Reviewed.
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Antidote to the Novel
Stuart Aken 