Progress on the WIP: Sci-Fi in the Making.

On 19/06/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

This week’s progress report reveals I’m now 33282 words into the second rewrite, so only 13,483 words pushed through the mincer this week. It’s been a bit busy on other fronts, but I’m getting there. Some interesting twists and turns occurring in the story, making it tighter and more tense. Looking forward to finishing this …

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Progress on the WIP

On 14/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress6 Comments

12 days since I last gave you an update on the scifi novel I’m currently writing. I’ve been quite busy on a number of things, both domestic and in the writing arena since. Suffice it to say that progress hasn’t been as rapid as I’d hoped. But I’m not beating myself up over that: life …

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Research or Write? That is the Question.

On 30/04/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress11 Comments

How much research should a novelist undertake before setting out on the creative journey? How much should be done before editing to produce the final work? These are questions that probably occur to most of us at some time during the writing process. I was inspired to visit these questions this week when I finally …

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How We’ll Live on Mars, by Stephen Petranek, Reviewed.

On 09/04/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Mars, Review2 Comments

There are times when a book comes into our lives at an appropriate moment. This was one such for me. I’d just spent a few days reviewing the research I’d been doing for a science fiction novel set on Mars. Amongst the websites I’d downloaded to consult on technical issues, I found references to this …

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The Ubiquity of Sacred Curses.

On 26/03/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, question, Word Choice10 Comments

Are you ever stuck for a suitable expletive to place in the mouths of your characters? I’m currently writing a science fiction novel set in the near future on Mars. I’ve imagined a new world where, amongst other things, the society is effectively agnostic. In devising dialogue, I suddenly became aware of just how pervasive …

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First Draft of the Mars Book Finished.

On 09/03/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress10 Comments

Much to my surprise, I finished the first draft of the current WIP, yesterday. This science fiction novel set on Mars currently has no title, other than ‘the Mars book’, which, let’s face it, isn’t exactly inspiring! Why was I surprised? I write as a pantster, so I don’t work to a plot, merely a …

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Name a Character in my New Novel.

On 29/01/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars19 Comments

Characters are fundamental to my stories, as readers will know. I’m in the initial stages of writing a new science fiction novel, set on Mars. For a while, I’ve been beset by a mysterious barrier to getting on with the story. Lots of preparation, research, and reading round essential topics of interest. And I have …

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