Regular readers will know I’m a little ambivalent about the digital world that enfolds and sometimes threatens to overwhelm us. Social media has a lot going for it, but it also absorbs much of our time and attention. There are times when a simpler, less demanding lifestyle calls. A period of spiritual refreshment is needed. …
Continue reading Denying Digital Demands
At the start of this week, my publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing, sent the edit notes for the MS of the novel set on Mars. A particularly perspicacious editor had spotted a few inconsistencies and had queries on a small number of issues. She was pleased to note the MS was unusually free of typos, …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
The finished MS stands at 82,982 words, which includes the front and back matter. My publisher’s deadline was the end of August. I made it! Fantastic Books Publishing, run by the inimitable Dan and Gabi Grubb, are going to publish this science fiction novel. Yay! Cover design is already under way and the gang …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
Almost there! The end of another intense week. The MS now stands at 86,671 words, which is a reduction of 5,316 on last week’s total. All that has now been edited. I’m awaiting the verdict from the beta read, which I should have in final form in the next couple of days. Then, after …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
The end of the week and the MS stands at 96,327, which is an increase of 3,910 words. That’ll reduce as I get further into the editing, as I’m aware of certain passages I’ve repeated. I’ve already got 33,785 words edited for my beta reader and she’s started her examination. As usual, she’s found …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
The annual SF/Fantasy/Gaming/Cosplay/Music event FantastiCon 2016, will take place on 19th & 20th November at the Guildhall in Hull UK! Why am I telling you this? Because I’ll be there! Signing books, socialising, meeting readers and possibly doing a reading (TBA). I'd love to meet you there. This is the third year of this convention …
Continue reading FantastiCon 2016: A Convention with Added Bite!
The end of another week, and I’ve ended up with 89,444 words for this 2nd rewrite. So, that’s an extra 2,294. I started making sure each individual voice remains consistent through the narrative and, so far, I’ve checked and corrected 11,780 words in that process. Interesting little interruption during the work: Scrivener decided it was …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
From time to time, some topic fires me with enough passion to express a view. However, this website is really about readers and writers, so I've joined a website more appropriate for such outpourings. If you click on this link, it will take you to my first post on that website. It's a longish piece …
Continue reading The Democracy Delusion, UK.
This post is for UK and EU readers, so my apologies to the rest of the world. On 23rd June we’ll make a decision that will affect all our lives for a very long time. Can we leave it to those darling sociopaths that style themselves politicians? No, I agree; we most certainly can’t. But …
Continue reading In, Out; What’s It All About?
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 …
Continue reading Research Done: Re-Writing Begun!
How much research should a novelist undertake before setting out on the creative journey? How much should be done before editing to produce the final work? These are questions that probably occur to most of us at some time during the writing process. I was inspired to visit these questions this week when I finally …
Continue reading Research or Write? That is the Question.
I feel I should share this piece of good news with you all. I hope you'll find it interesting. It's a copy of an email I received today: Hello Stuart, In our community of readers, you stand out in a notable way:Â You're one of the top 1% of reviewers on Goodreads! With every rave and …
Continue reading Seems I’m One of Goodreads’ Top 1% of Reviewers!
Some places inspire. The Forest of Dean is one such place for me. Living within the forest, with access just a hundred yards or so from our front door, we have the opportunity to walk amongst the trees every day, and do our best to do just that. The weather has been very variable this …
Continue reading Easter Walking in the Forest of Dean
We’ve just returned from a visit to another county where we were engaged in family research. Essex is a place I lived for 18 years, when employment took me there. I haven’t been back for 30 years, but we have ancestors in the area. Time to visit the county records office in Chelmsford, to dig …
Continue reading The Influence of Place on Content.
Life in a forest can be so rewarding. Valerie and I moved to the Forest of Dean just over a year ago and began exploring our new home area almost at once. But we’ve kept largely to the laid down paths provided by the Forestry Commission and those that have been made by dog walkers …
Continue reading A Walk on the Slightly Wild Side
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Stuart Aken 