Tag: Sci-Fi

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Last week I reached a total of 18,835 words; this week’s total is 25082. I’ve added 3 new chapters and completed all the character sketches. I have two of the original chapters to modify to take account of changes I made last week. Otherwise, the story is going well and I’m enjoying its creation. The …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

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 …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

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 …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

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 …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Mars, Progress

It hasn’t been the most productive week. But I’ve made some progress. Still having issues with my Mac following the corruption of the OS and installation of Lightroom 6 by Adobe. I have a lot of photographs; the current count is 17,661. Some of these, for Picfair, are close to 30MB each. Lightroom has a …

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

Labor Day, by Joseph Farley: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review

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 …

Continue reading Labor Day, by Joseph Farley: #BookReview.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars

Ah, progress! What a fine thing that would be, were it possible. But, fear not, it will eventually be reality. At present, I’m suffering a strange eye defect that makes reading/writing and staring at a screen for any length of time something of a problem. It’s under investigation and will doubtlessly be resolved shortly. Until …

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

Shadeward: Exoneration, by Drew Wagar: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review

Shadeward: Exoneration, by imaginative science fiction writer, Drew Wagar, is a continuation of the story begun in ‘Shadeward: Emanation’. If you haven’t read that book, I advise you to do so first, as it sets the scene and introduces the characters and the location whilst telling an engaging and compelling story. Continuing the saga, set …

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Sons of the Crystal Mind, by Andrew Wallace: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review

Set on an almost unrecognisable Earth in a distant future, this novel deals with the perils of unregulated capitalism as it is allowed run rampant through a society in which consumers are entirely secondary to profit (ring any bells?). Peopled by charismatic, strong, female characters and complex antagonists, the tale quickly engages the reader. Written …

Continue reading Sons of the Crystal Mind, by Andrew Wallace: #BookReview.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

This is a robot reporting (metallic synthetic voice mode). The post was scheduled before I started my annual break from all things digital: the only way to protect sanity in a world driven round the bend by constant calls on our attention. So, no movement in the files for the work in progress, only within …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

A small number of new characters have been created to go with the new locations and period. Most of the others appear in the first two volumes, as the new book continues the story, moving only a few years forward initially. Location requires more research, and some informed speculation, but that’s going well at present. …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

As work on this is mostly confined to the void that occupies most of my skull, I don’t have a lot to report today. Preparation, they say, is all. My method of moving toward the writing of a piece is to gather together my characters, something I’ve mostly achieved, though some are proving elusive for …

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Emanation: Shadeward Saga #1, by Drew Wagar: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review2 Comments

    Genre can be the bane of the author’s life: most publishers insist on slotting fiction into predefined pigeonholes. But some books defy this process, either merging genres or crossing boundaries. Emanation is such a book. It is, essentially a science fiction book, but reads, certainly in the beginning, like a fantasy novel. It’s …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fundraising, Progress5 Comments

    War Over Dust launched at Fantasticon 2017 in Hull, England, over the weekend of 2nd and 3rd September. Fortunately, I was there to sign the paperback copies and answer readers’ questions about the book and progress on the follow-up. More on that in a later post.     Fantasticon, an annual event that’s …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress

So, some small progress made: I’ve added a few notes from further research and ideas that occurred during the week, usually when in bed! At this early stage, while I wait for the story to mature, I restrict my activity to research and those daydreaming sessions that allow the imagination free reign. I won’t start …

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