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 …
Category: Progress
Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
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 …
Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
Many readers followed my progress on Blood Red Dust, so I've decided to run a similar series of short blogs for the second book in the series. The new book is underway. I have a small core of characters, some of whom readers met in Blood Red Dust, and others new to the series. The …
Today’s Definitely The Day!
What better place to launch a new science fiction novel than a convention devoted to scifi and fantasy? Well, today (19th November) I’m here at Fantasticon 2016, in Hull, signing copies of my latest book, Blood Red Dust. Set on Mars before the end of this century, it follows the lives of a set of …
Denying Digital Demands
Regular readers will know I’m a little ambivalent about the digital world that enfolds and sometimes threatens to overwhelm us. Social media has a lot going for it, but it also absorbs much of our time and attention. There are times when a simpler, less demanding lifestyle calls. A period of spiritual refreshment is needed. …
Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
At the start of this week, my publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing, sent the edit notes for the MS of the novel set on Mars. A particularly perspicacious editor had spotted a few inconsistencies and had queries on a small number of issues. She was pleased to note the MS was unusually free of typos, …
Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
The finished MS stands at 82,982 words, which includes the front and back matter. My publisher’s deadline was the end of August. I made it! Fantastic Books Publishing, run by the inimitable Dan and Gabi Grubb, are going to publish this science fiction novel. Yay! Cover design is already under way and the gang …
Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
Close to the end! I spent a little over two days on the read aloud edit. That’s a demanding task both physically and mentally, but it’s the only way to detect certain mistakes and find those passages that fail to read well. Correcting the errors I found has taken another couple of days. The …
Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
Almost there! The end of another intense week. The MS now stands at 86,671 words, which is a reduction of 5,316 on last week’s total. All that has now been edited. I’m awaiting the verdict from the beta read, which I should have in final form in the next couple of days. Then, after …
Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
Another week gone, and the MS stands at 91,987 words, which is a cut of 4340 from last week’s total. It’ll reduce a little further as the rest of the piece is edited. I’ve now edited 64,687 words, which is an increase of 30,902 on last week. And my beta reader’s dealt with 45,469 …
Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
The end of the week and the MS stands at 96,327, which is an increase of 3,910 words. That’ll reduce as I get further into the editing, as I’m aware of certain passages I’ve repeated. I’ve already got 33,785 words edited for my beta reader and she’s started her examination. As usual, she’s found …
Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
The end of one more week, and I’ve ended up with 91,258 words for the 2nd rewrite. That’s an extra 1,814, mostly in the form of news reports to set the scene. I’m now making sure each narrator remains consistent through his or her contribution. A couple more ‘sources’ of information have been added to …
Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
The end of another week, and I’ve ended up with 89,444 words for this 2nd rewrite. So, that’s an extra 2,294. I started making sure each individual voice remains consistent through the narrative and, so far, I’ve checked and corrected 11,780 words in that process. Interesting little interruption during the work: Scrivener decided it was …
Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
The end of the week, and I’ve ended up with 87,150 words at the end of this 2nd rewrite. I’ve spent a fair amount of the time available in moulding passages originally created for the pov’s of 4 antagonists so that each is consistent. It’s difficult to get into the mind-set of evil people, so …
Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
This week I’ve reached 83,803 words in the second rewrite, so another 18,231 words processed this week, and 12,049 new words added to the original story. I was hoping to start on the next phase at the end of this week, but I felt the story needed some additional povs, so I’ve included some passages …

