Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here are some tricks to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Dwindle down: Can you dwindle up? I don’t think so. e.g. Attendances at football matches have dwindled down since clubs started paying players ludicrous amounts and charging …
Continue reading Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 40.
How many times should you start a writing project? Odd question? Well, I normally have my books ready in my mind, that is, I know where I want to end up even if I don’t know the route, long before I place a single word on paper (for which, read ‘screen’, since I compose at …
Continue reading False Starts and a Solution?
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 …
Continue reading Name a Character in my New Novel.
Perhaps, Amazon can be persuaded to do something positive for authors who provide it with a living? The company currently has a policy preventing honest reviews from writers giving opinions on the books of other writers they may know. The whole policy is a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. It’s intended to prevent dishonest reviews …
Continue reading Amazon: a Solution to the Review Problem?
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 …
Continue reading Another 5* Review for The Methuselah Strain!
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 …
Continue reading Scent of the Boggel-Mann, by Linda Acaster, Reviewed.
I Just had to post the link to this review of The Methuselah Strain, especially as the reviewer clearly understands exactly what the book is about. via Review of The Methuselah Strain (Stuart Aken ), reviewed by John Scotcher on Dec 2, 2015.
This fantasy, featuring meta-humans, and told from the point of view of the female protagonist, is full of tension and action. But it is also a fascinating character study of a unique individual. The reader is given information through the unreliable narrator, who appears to be confused by what is going on about her. As …
Continue reading Alone (The Girl in the Box, Book 1), by Robert J. Crane, Reviewed.
Novelist, playwright, journalist, writer of fact, or simply a 'writer'? I'll bet, whatever your specialism, you’ve at least been tempted to try your hand at that gem of creativity, the short story. I’m not going to go into definitions, since theories suggest the short story is anything from 6 to 20,000 words. For me, a …
Continue reading Short on Success?
And what a weekend it was! I first mentioned it in an earlier post, find it here. This was the second fantasy/science fiction convention I've attended. Both events were organised by my amazing publisher, Dan Grubb of Fantastic Books Publishing. The first was in Hull, last year. This year's event took place in the Country …
Continue reading A Weekend at #FantastiCon 2015.
My publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing has published my science fiction novella, The Methuselah Strain in a limited edition hardback version alongside the digital version. The book, all copies of which will be signed by yours truly, is due for launch tomorrow, 24th October at Fantasticon 2015. See the previous blog post, here, for full details …
Continue reading Launch of The Methuselah Strain in Hardback
So, how went the event? In case you didn't know, I completed the course in 2 hours, 47 minutes and 50 seconds. That simple fact is for those without the time to read a longer account, but I'd encourage you to drop to the foot of this post for some other information. For everyone else, …
Continue reading Running for ME/CFS no. 56: The End
Here it is: the hardback print version of my science fiction novella, The Methuselah Strain. All copies will be signed. Dan Grubb, owner of Fantastic Books Publishing, suggested we launch this at the great fantasy/scifi event, Fantasticon 2015, in the region where I was born. It takes place over the weekend of 24/25 October in …
Continue reading The Methuselah Strain in Hardback.
It's getting close to the event. In fact, 2 weeks today I'll be pounding the tarmac for 13.1 miles. Progress this week? Wednesday I was due to run for 4 minutes followed by 1 minute of walking, repeated 7 times. That's 35 minutes of exercise. I chose to do this along my 3.3 mile loop …
Continue reading Running for ME/CFS no. 51
Raising money for  Action for M.E. Charity Registration No. 1036419 Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) is a disabling and chronic illness, devastating the lives of 250,000 people in the UK. Action for M.E. provides support and information for those touched by M.E., and campaigns for better services and invests in research to ultimately find a cure. I'm …
Continue reading Running for ME/CFS no. 50 and #Free Books
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Stuart Aken 