Looking for the Best Word? Tip #07

On 07/10/201620/09/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

For a short introduction to this series, please click this link. These posts examine similar, and sometimes dissimilar, words in an effort to suggest ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true …

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Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated

On 01/10/201620/09/2016 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer

Here’s the monthly reminder to let you know I’ve updated the writing contest table. Make sure you get your entries submitted in plenty of time, there are some really spectacular prizes to be had. And think of the kudos! The table updates each time I save it, which is frequently, so whenever you visit the …

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Looking for the Best Word? Tip #04

On 16/09/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

For a short introduction to this series, please click this link. These posts examine some similar, and dissimilar, words in an effort to suggest ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate or effective. A good thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word, but not all those suggestions are …

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Looking for the Best Word? Tip #03

On 09/09/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

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Looking for the Best Word? Tip #02

On 02/09/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Grammar, Word Choice2 Comments

For a short introduction to this series, please click this link. In these posts, I’m looking at some similar, and dissimilar, words in an effort to suggest ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate or effective. A good thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word, but not all …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #40

On 23/08/201623/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

This is the final post in the series aimed at helping authors express the full meaning and emotional content of their fiction. However, I intend to start a new series, again about word choice. I’ll begin that on Thursday with the next post. Keep an eye out for it. It’ll be titled, ‘Looking for …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #39

On 19/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Romance, Word Choice

This is the penultimate post in the series that aims to help authors express the full meaning and emotional content of their fiction. However, I intend to start a new series, again to do with word choice, and will begin that after the last post in this series. Keep an eye out for it. …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #38

On 16/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

This series, now reaching its natural close, aims to help authors express the full meaning and emotional content of their fiction. As writers, we seek to inspire readers with joy, stoke their terrors, romance them with love, overwhelm them with horror, inflame their passions. This set of posts examines how we can influence mood, …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #37

On 12/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

This series aims to help authors express the full meaning and emotional content of their fiction. As writers, we seek to inspire readers with joy, stoke their terrors, romance them with love, overwhelm them with horror, inflame their passions. This set of posts examines how we might influence mood, illustrating how word choice and …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #36

On 09/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice2 Comments

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #34

On 02/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

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Visiting Fellow, by Dave Williamson, Reviewed.

On 24/07/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Review

Gentle comedy, interspersed with charmingly naughty sexual encounters and academic forays characterise this novel. Before I go any further, let me stress that this is not erotica; the sex comes with a naivety that arouses smiles rather than passion in the reader. Set in Canada and Tasmania, the novel follows the adventures, trials and triumphs …

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Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

On 03/07/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

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 …

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Future Gone, by Alexandar Tomov Jnr, Reviewed.

On 30/06/201630/06/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Literature, Review

Translated from Bulgarian by Margarita Dogramadzyan. This collection of short stories is bizarre, dreamlike, surreal. The stories themselves hold both intelligent insight and moral lessons. Unfortunately, either the translation or the original writing lack proper editing. They read like first drafts. The thoughts are put down but there’s no sign of revision and they therefore …

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Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

On 26/06/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

This week I’ve moved up to 65,572 words in the second rewrite, so another 32,290 words forced through the processor. With luck, and application, I should start on the next phase at the end of the coming week. That’s the part where I make sure exactly the right words are in place and check that …

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