The Construct of Time

On 22/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Worth your time to read!

Progress on the WIP

On 21/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress10 Comments

Another week has passed and I've been prodding those keys with vigour. The WIP is now up to 45783, with 4865 of those words new to the story. Several developments are emerging following my research, and the story is twisting and turning with a life of its own. This is the first rewrite, so there …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #13

On 20/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

This series aims at helping writers find the right words to express their meaning. Your thoughts and comments are welcome here. Are you hoping to inspire readers with joy, arouse their fear, romance them with love? Or, maybe your story needs the reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #12

On 17/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice4 Comments

Please add your thoughts and comments. Are you hoping to inspire readers with joy, arouse their fear, romance them with love? Or, maybe your story needs the reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for the job. I …

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Naked News for Indie Authors: How NOT to Invest Your Marketing $$$, by Gisela Hausmann, Reviewed.

On 17/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Review

This is not the first book I’ve read by this author, which is why I bought it! She has a knack of stating the relevant facts without offending but without wasting words. If you’re looking to market your book(s), read this short piece of advice before you start to spend cash on the process. It …

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A Sense of Wonder

On 16/05/201617/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, question12 Comments

We live in a place of outstanding beauty, my wife and I. If possible, we walk in the Forest of Dean every day. Today, we took a fairly familiar route but followed the trail the opposite way round from previous walks. That, in itself, is a stimulus to the brain, of course. Different viewpoints bring …

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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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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #11

On 13/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

Hoping to inspire readers with joy, arouse their fear, romance them with love? Or, maybe your story needs the reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for the job.Example: “I held Leigh’s hand and looked at him. He …

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Take a Break and be More Productive

On 11/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Organisation, Procrastination8 Comments

Picture courtesy Pixabay.com People often ask how I manage to get so much done (actually, I don’t achieve as much as I’d like, but that’s another story). One thing that helps is the way I break every hour for just a couple of minutes. It’s long been known that sitting at the keyboard, or bending …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #10

On 10/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice2 Comments

Hoping to inspire readers with joy, arouse their fear, romance them with love? Or, maybe your story needs the reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for the job. Example: “I had wine for the first time. People …

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How Soon Nature Retakes Expropriated Land!

On 10/05/201610/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature11 Comments

Yesterday was my birthday (68, for those who care) and Valerie and I had planned a visit to a local feature I’ve wanted to photograph for a while. The weather, however, had different plans. The morning forecast was pretty dire, with predicted heavy rain and the possibility of thunderstorms. Not ideal weather for the 9-mile …

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Ideas and Inspiration for Fantasy and Science fiction Writers, by James Hutchings, Reviewed.

On 10/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Review

This resource is remarkably extensive and varied. There are articles on strange human behaviours, odd customs and traditions, peculiar animal behaviour, secret societies and events, curses, unusual illnesses, myths, fakes, religious peculiarities, odd individuals and many other topics. This isn’t a book to sit and read, but a research and inspiration tool to use for …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #9

On 06/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice5 Comments

Hoping to inspire readers with joy, arouse their fear, romance them with love? Or, perhaps your story needs the reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for the job. Example: “We went to the second hand bookshop in …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #8

On 03/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Word Choice2 Comments

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Research Done: Re-Writing Begun!

On 02/05/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress2 Comments

Following on from my post on research a couple of days ago, I thought I’d quickly update you with progress so far. I started what is effectively a re-write, rather than an edit, on Saturday. It was late in the day when I began, but I was determined to get something down, something started as …

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