Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 07/06/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Reading each chapter, making amendments, additions, deletions, corrections, and then feeding them through grammar checker, Prowritingaid.com. It removes unintended repetitions, weak verbs, and many other small errors you can miss when reading from the screen. It’s pretty intense. But I’m up to page 329 of 411. Twelve chapters to go; mostly in the denouement now, …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 31/05/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

I’m currently reading each chapter and then feeding them through grammar checker, Prowritingaid.com. This removes unintended repetitions, weak verbs, and many of other small errors the eye misses when reading from the screen. It’s a fairly intense process. So far, I'm at page 165 of 412 in a Word doc that's double spaced. After that …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 24/05/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

The work continues. All characters have now been subjected to scrutiny for consistency in their various appearances through the book. Some selected words have been substituted, and certain terms have been introduced. One or two special features are now included to make the story more in keeping with the future in which it’s set. I’m …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 17/05/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

The first rewrite is complete! Whoopee! But that’s by no means the end of the process. Having made the changes to the story elements, I’m now checking for consistency on all 36 named characters over the 54 chapters. So far, I’ve done two of the major players and two minor ones. It’s a check to …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 10/05/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Mars, Progress5 Comments

It’s been a funny old week. A few unrelated events have disturbed the intended plain sailing of the rewrite. And, yesterday was my birthday. A fun day spent at the local hospital in the morning, where two lovely ladies in their uniforms probed various orifices and inserted implements of torture in an attempt to resolve …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 03/05/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Halfway through the major re-write, and a good many story elements yet to change. That’s the result of working as a pantster: plot develops as the story is created, and that impacts on parts already written. It’s particularly influential on the denouement on this occasion, since I had a ‘light bulb’ moment during an interrupted …

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Forces of Nature, by Professor Brian Cox, Reviewed.

On 02/05/201730/07/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Nature, Reading, Review

This surprising book exudes the author’s enduring sense of wonder and delight at the natural world. Such qualities, when demonstrated by a leading academic, who is also a well-loved and respected TV presenter, can motivate and inspire. I hope many non-scientists read this book. Not an ‘easy’ read, it demands attention and concentration. But it …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 26/04/201726/04/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Editing has started! So far, I’m halfway through chapter 3 with the major re-write. But, prior to that, I’d reduced the ‘story’ element of the editing notes from 20 to 12 items, and dealt with 15 of the other notes I’d made whilst writing/re-reading the first draft. I’ve also made progress on the drawing I’m …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 19/04/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Mars, Progress

Easter, and my wife, Valerie’s, birthday occurred in the last seven days, so progress has been interrupted. Valerie reached a ‘significant’ age, so I took her away for the day and night and we didn’t return home until this evening, after a smashing short break. Of course, I did absolutely nothing on the book during …

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Homo Deus, by Yuval Noah Harari, Reviewed.

On 13/04/201713/04/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, politics, Reading, Review

What a tremendous book this is. Subtitled, ‘A Brief History of Tomorrow’, this follow-up to ‘Sapiens’ confirms the author’s mastery of deep research combined with an intelligence that permits him to see the world as a whole. I selected this book to read now as I’m at the initial editing stage of a science fiction …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 12/04/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress3 Comments

A busy few days. But I’m now approaching the point where I can actually begin the editing process. So, what have I been doing this past week? Well, I visited 81 different website posts to consult them on various relevant topics. Some of those were just a few paragraphs, others a few pages, with much …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 05/04/201707/04/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Mars, Progress3 Comments

Writers know you never completely let go of a project at the first draft stage, but it’s sensible to take some sort of break from the work. Last week, I did a few odds and ends but nothing substantial. This week, I’ve been domestically quite busy. The garden called for some labour. I attended a …

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Creating Stories, by Hank Quense, Reviewed.

On 03/04/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Reading, Review2 Comments

This writing manual is about making stories; the creative process and the practical work involved in getting the story from mind to page. As a fairly ancient and experienced writer, I’ve come across quite a few books about writing, so it’s difficult for an author to present something new for me. In this volume, Hank …

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A Sunday Walk in the Forest

On 02/04/2017 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Nature4 Comments

A few days ago, Valerie and I took a ‘quick’ walk following a tough stint in the garden. No surprise that, as we walked one of the tracks we favour, we impulsively decided it was time to explore a faint track we’d noticed a few times previously. Track? It was more like a scramble up …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 29/03/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Now that the first draft is finished, I’ve had a rest from it this week. Though, as other writers will appreciate, you never completely let go at this stage. I’ve been tinkering with the character sketches of the new players, adding some new research links, watching a bit of TV related to the subject, and …

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