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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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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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 …

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

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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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 05.

On 12/09/201511/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Word Choice

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 04.

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

Many writers enjoy sharing ideas that might 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 and nodding wisely in agreement won't do. We need to stay alert to those extraneous words …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 03.

On 07/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Word Choice5 Comments

Many writers welcome the sharing of ideas that might 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 and other questionable writing devices. But, reading this and nodding wisely in agreement won't do. We need …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 02.

On 02/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Word Choice, Word Use

Many writers welcome the sharing of ideas that might 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. (I had hoped someone perspicacious might point out that the first post title in this series used …

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Cut Out Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 01.

On 29/08/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Use3 Comments

Life's finally a little more settled, so I can return to posting about the mechanics of writing, as I used to on my old blog. I've found many writers welcome the sharing of ideas that might improve our craft. So, let's chop the fat from our writing. Make it lean and trim. Readers will thank …

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Wellbeing for Writers, by Jennifer Barraclough, Reviewed.

On 17/08/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Organisation, Review8 Comments

This is a handy little ebook that sets out to suggest strategies for writers that will help them get the most from their time and effort. I've been around for a long time, and been writing for many of those years, so there isn't actually a great deal here that's new to me. However, it's …

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The Demon King, by Cinda Williams Chima, Reviewed.

On 29/07/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Review

This story sits well within the sub-genre of magical fantasy. There are the wizards and amulets, thieves, hill-folk, princesses and queens associated with the genre. The tale is well told, with plenty of action and a good deal of well-handled romance in the various relationships. For me, however, it is a little formulaic and reminded …

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A Renewed Regime.

On 26/07/201526/07/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, charity, Creative Writer, Fiction, ME/CFS, Organisation, Progress5 Comments

Way back in 2014, that's last year in case you're not sure, I was writing fairly regularly and working on a couple of projects. But, in the middle of that year, we made a momentous decision: we would move house from our domain of 14 years and settle in an area of the country where …

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