Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 24.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice2 Comments

Writers share ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us for removing common redundancies and flabby expressions. Cameo appearance: In terms of performance, a cameo is a short appearance, so ‘appearance’ is redundant. e.g. Kaley’s cameo appearance caused a real stir in the theatre. Try: …

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Another 5* Review for The Methuselah Strain!

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Review2 Comments

Had to share this: another reader has added a 5 star review to those slowly accumulating for my science fiction novella. It's really rewarding when a reader shares well-considered thoughts on your work as an author. Many thanks to the reviewer. Longing For Simpler Times, 1 Jan. 2016 By Amazon Customer This review is from: The Methuselah …

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Happy New Year!

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 23.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice

We writers like to share ideas to improve our craft. Here, with a slightly seasonal slant, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us for removing common redundancies and flabby expressions. At the present time: Empty words; avoid them. e.g. At the present time we all want to wish each other …

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2015: The Blog in Review

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Organisation, Progress7 Comments

It's that time of the year when we like to review our activities and see what we've done over the last 365 days. Was it effective? Did it help people? Has that time been spent usefully? Well, the WordPress.com stats helper monkeys have prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog and I'm sharing it …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 22.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice

We writers tend to share ideas to improve our craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. At the end of the day: Along with many of its flabby cousins, this cliché has ceased to have the miniscule emphatic power it started …

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Writing Contest Table Updated.

On By stuartakenIn Uncategorized1 Comment

This is just a note to let you know I've finally got around to updating the writing contest table. At present, the update is fairly short, but I'll enlarge the numbers of listed contests soon. Here's the link. Please note that from today I'll be announcing the updates to the table here on the blog: …

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The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill, Reviewed.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Review

Having seen the Daniel Radcliffe film adapted from this novel, I was eager to read the book. In common with many readers, I generally find books much better than the films made from them, but in this case I was disappointed. The narrative is written in the first person and in the style of a …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 21.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice2 Comments

Writers tend to share ideas to improve their craft. Here, with a seasonal slant, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. Different kinds: A ‘kind’ is a type of something; by definition it’s different from another kind. e.g. At Christmas, children expect different …

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The Amazon Review Policy Elephant in the Room

On By stuartakenIn Creative Writer4 Comments

An excellent summary and some cogent advice here. I’m considering adopting this policy for the future.

jorobinson176's avatarJo Robinson

The whole Amazon review policy debacle that started a while ago is not going to go away, so we should probably make firm decisions as to the way forward as far as how we are each personally going to review books in the future. There’s a great post covering the whole subject very thoroughly on Anne R. Allen’s site right now – definitely a must read for anyone not a hundred percent sure about what is going on with this issue. I’ve posted on this briefly over at Lit World Interviews a while ago but it’s worth revisiting on a personal level. Anyone with published books on Amazon needs to take this seriously.
Firstly, we must accept that Amazon can, and does, remove books for sale on their site if they feel that the author has violated their terms of service. Many of us have over the years reviewed books…

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 20.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice2 Comments

Writers share ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. First of all: Whilst ‘of all’ may act as a qualifier, amplifying the phrase, it’s a wordy addition to your narrative and is probably better left out. E.g. …

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The Ubiquitous Mailing List

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Organisation12 Comments

Authors are told their most precious marketing asset is their mailing list. This advice has become so common it’s now accepted as gospel. I have my doubts. Over the past few weeks, admittedly a little late in my writing career, I’ve been attempting to set up this promotional tool. I’d love to report it as …

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Scent of the Boggel-Mann, by Linda Acaster, Reviewed.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Fiction, Reading, Review

Phew! I picked this up to read with my morning cuppa and couldn’t put it down! I’m glad I didn’t read it last thing at night: nightmares! Linda Acaster is a talented writer with a fertile imagination, which she puts to great use in this horror story. The tension builds from the outset, with small …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 19.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice

Writers share ideas to improve their craft. Here, I look at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. As far as I’m concerned: Obviously, since you’re the one who’s making the statement. E.g. As far as I’m concerned, politicians always lie. Try: Politicians always lie. Surrounded …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 18.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice1 Comment

Writers share ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. As being: Please say you’d never put this on paper. e.g. He is known as being the smartest guy in the office. Try: He is known as the …

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