This little book, like all of this author’s output, is direct, straightforward, and full of common sense corralled by her personal research and experience. Gisela Hausmann is thorough in her search for useful advice for the users of social media, especially those who write for a living. This book is no exception. Eager to pass …
Tag: Books
Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
Last week I had a total of 30,829 words. This week, in spite of the two-day celebration, a book review, a lunch at a local pub, a night spent watching a play on a local stage, and several longish walks through the forest, clearing fallen trees and branches to allow other walkers to get through, …
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Bleak: The First Mission, by Ian Martyn: #BookReview.
This short (10,000 words) teaser is an introduction to a new character. However, the story does have a beginning, middle and end, which makes it more satisfying than many such introductory pieces. The future envisaged in this science fiction world is, as the eponymous title suggests; bleak. The character, described as a shape shifter, is …
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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
Last week I had a total of 18,835 words; this week’s total is 30,829, an increase of 12,000. Not bad, considering the other things that have been happening in and around my life. Only today, we had an interruption in our power supply as the local company came along to update some of the equipment …
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The Little Blue Book for Authors, by Gisela Hausmann: #BookReview.
Subtitled ’53 Dos & Don’ts Nobody is Telling You’, this short book, in common with all the author’s work, is direct and to the point. You’ll find no waffle here, no filling or puffing. It’s all simple advice, gleaned from personal experience and a research ethic that would make most of us tired just to …
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Night and Day, by Caron Allan: #BookReview.
https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/card?asin=B01KOSVE3Y&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_VevnAb9AQT40C&tag=stuartaken-21 Sub-titled ‘A Dottie Manderson Mystery’, this is the first in a series, and introduces the eponymous heroin through a fascinating tale set in England in the 1930s. This ‘cosy crime’ novel, with its measure of burgeoning romance, is a good read; something to entertain and satisfy in front of a burning log fire in …
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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/card?asin=B0749NW6W8&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_qMbkAbQM8TNAS&tag=stuartaken-21 Last week I reported I had 11,985 words. As a result of the notes I made, I’ve now added another 3 characters to the cast of players (I need to add another 5 for future chapters, but I already know their names and have an idea of their natures and ambitions, so I only …
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How to be a Fantastic Writer, by Danuta Reah & Penny Grubb: #BookReview.
https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/card?asin=B076QFZY9S&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_YHalAb3WREYPG&tag=stuartaken-21 Subtitled ‘A Handbook for Writers of Commercial Fiction’, this book is precisely what it says it is. As a reader, I’ve tended to shy away from what I saw as ‘commercial’ fiction, but, in practice, I now realise I’ve actually read a good deal of it. As a writer, my fiction veers toward the …
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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
Dare I say it? Have I scaled the final barrier to creating the first draft? Last week I reported I had 11,985 words. I also noted that certain details were missing from my memory and I needed to read the first two books again to aid my failing powers of recall. I’ve now done that …
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Naked Good Reads, by Gisela Hausmann: #BookReview.
https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/card?asin=B075R4VPNB&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_0NalAb4XD8Z81&tag=stuartaken-21 Subtitled ‘How to Find Readers’, this is another of Hausmann’s writing books crammed with common sense and down-to-earth advice. First, I must pose a question: ‘If you’re a writer, do you belong to Goodreads?’ And, if you don’t, a supplementary question: ‘Why not?’ Goodreads may boast a membership of ‘only’ 65 million, but …
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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
I fear I missed this update last week. Put it down to a mixture of advancing years and a rather busy schedule: I have. So, currently I’m at 11,985 words, which, given I had a target of 10,000 for today is a pleasing result. It’s always a bit slow for a pantster at the start …
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Sink: Old Man’s Tale, by Perrin Briar: #BookReview.
This book, listed as science fiction/fantasy, is an odd mix of parable, analogy, political comment and adventure. The style of writing falls mostly under the ‘tell’ rather than ‘show’ label, which makes for a strangely disconnected read for much of the time. There’s a transition from the beginning, set on terra ferma in Australia, and …
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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
So it begins! The first 1100 words are written, at last. The Fates thought they’d stymied me with various barriers placed in the way of creation, but they underestimated my sheer bloody-mindedness. So, medical issues and appointments, computer failures, and unsatisfactory phone lines apart, I’ve actually made a start on the new book. Whilst straining …
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Labor Day, by Joseph Farley: #BookReview.
From the start, this science fiction novel, located on a future Earth, sets the scene for the society in which the action takes place. And it isn’t a society many of us would wish to inhabit. Fortunately, the characters are drawn with such a fine pen that the reader can quickly empathise with the main …
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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making
Sometimes, life throws up incidents and events that cause a touch of disruption to intentions. The last couple of weeks have been full of such things; some tiny irritations, others a little more challenging. I returned from my holiday overseas, which coincided with my annual absence from all things digital, with a painful and slightly …
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Stuart Aken 