Fantastic Fantasticon 2015:

On 22/10/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction

What is it? It's a different kind of fantasy/scifi/gaming convention open to anyone and everyone with an interest in these popular topics. A place to take part, rather than simply a market place (though there are things to buy for those who want them, of course). And if you're a Dr Who fan, you'll find …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 11.

On 22/10/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice2 Comments

Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll look at common redundancies and a few flabby expressions. But, reading this post and nodding wisely won't improve your writing. Stay alert to those extraneous words that sneak into text, or they'll slide …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 10.

On 18/10/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Word Choice7 Comments

It's been a while: my apologies. I've been rethinking certain aspects of my writing life and deciding what changes I need to make, and when and where. And domestics have been a little unsettled recently with some slightly changed priorities that have made it temporarily more difficult to get on with my writing. Next Saturday, I'll be at …

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77 Ways to Find New Readers, by Laura Pepper Wu, Reviewed.

On 02/10/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Review5 Comments

I gained this as a free download for reasons I can't now recall, but I would have happily paid the full asking price. Not all the methods propounded in this slim volume are new to me, but many are. And it's good to have the whole collection in one place. One aspect of the book …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 09.

On 29/09/201528/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice

Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve the craft. So, let's chop the fat from our writing. Make it lean and trim. Readers will thank us. In this series, I'll look at some common redundancies. But, reading this post and nodding wisely in agreement won't cut it. We have to stay alert to those extraneous words …

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Question For the Week: Do Cheap and Free Books Devalue Books?

On 28/09/201530/07/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, opinion, question11 Comments

I was inspired to ask this by a short blog post I came across on ANewDomain, via Book2Book, a daily email from BookTrade. It set me to wondering whether we, as writers, are our own worst enemies. And it was reinforced by another short piece I read a little while ago at Digital Book World …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 08.

On 24/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Word Choice3 Comments

We writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve our craft. So, let's chop the fat from our writing. Make it lean and trim. Readers will thank us. In this series, I'll look at some common redundancies. But, reading this post and nodding wisely in agreement won't cut it. We have to stay alert to those extraneous …

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Question for the Week. Democracy: Do We Know What It Is?

On 21/09/201521/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, question12 Comments

In this series of posts, which may go on for ever, I'm posing questions to elicit that most elusive of human activities: thought! Oh no: surely I'm not expecting people to use their most hungry organ and engage in a process unique to the species? I'm afraid so. These posts won't always necessarily represent my …

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Naked Truths About Getting Book Reviews, by Gisela Hausmann, Reviewed.

On 19/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Review6 Comments

One of my writing friends blogged about this book, inspiring me to obtain a copy. I'm glad I did. This is a straightforward manual designed to explain all that writers, and reviewers, need to know about Amazon reviews. The author is one of the top Amazon reviewers, so she understands the needs and concerns of …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 07.

On 18/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Word Choice

Most of us who write seem to enjoy sharing ideas to improve our craft. So, let's chop the fat from our writing. Make it lean and trim. Readers will thank us. In this series, I'll look at some common redundancies. But, reading this post and nodding wisely in agreement won't work. We need to stay …

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Running for ME/CFS no. 56: The End

On 17/09/201511/09/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, charity, Fundraising, ME/CFS, Progress, Running1 Comment

So, how went the event? In case you didn't know, I completed the course in 2 hours, 47 minutes and 50 seconds. That simple fact is for those without the time to read a longer account, but I'd encourage you to drop to the foot of this post for some other information. For everyone else, …

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Running for ME/CFS no. 55

On 15/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, charity, Fundraising, ME/CFS, Progress, Running5 Comments

A very brief update. I did it! I'll fill you in on the details over the next couple of days. For the moment, let me simply tell you that I completed the race in 2 hours, 47 minutes an 50 seconds. I'll provide the gory details in the next post. If you’re so minded, now …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 06.

On 15/09/201511/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice

Most writers seem to enjoy sharing ideas to improve our craft. So, let's chop the fat from our writing. Make it lean and trim. Readers will thank us. In this series, I'll look at some common redundancies. But, reading this post and nodding wisely in agreement won't work. We need to stay alert to those …

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Question for the Week: Have We Literally Gone Too Far?

On 14/09/201511/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice11 Comments

In this new series of posts, which may go on for eternity, I intend to pose questions that might elicit that most unusual of human activities: thought! Oh no: surely I'm not expecting people to employ their most hungry organ and engage in the one process unique to the species? I'm afraid so. These posts …

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