Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 16/08/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress, Review

An offer and a request in one: Many of you have followed the progress of War Over Dust over the months it’s been under construction. I’m now looking for readers who’d be willing to post a review of War Over Dust in exchange for a free copy in ebook format (I can provide .mobi, .pdf, …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 09/08/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Blood Red Dust is on the shelves. War Over Dust has just appeared as a Kindle, available from your local Amazon. The launch for that will still officially be 2nd September at Fantasticon in Hull, but you can now obtain your copy as an ebook and get ahead of the pack. Maybe even read/review …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 02/08/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

At the moment, patiently awaiting the first view of the new book. While we wait, I thought I’d make a few comments about why I wrote ‘War Over Dust’. Actually, why I wrote that and its predecessor ‘Blood Red Dust’ and will write the one yet to come in this trilogy. Science fiction attracts writers …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 19/07/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

The time has come. The time is now! Here’s the cover for ‘War Over Dust’, the second in the Generation Mars series. Gabi Grubb’s cover graced book one, and she’s done it again with some fine work for this volume. I love it! To be ready for the launch on 2nd September, make sure you’ve …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 12/07/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

War Over Dust, the second in the Generation Mars series, has a cover! Gabi Grubb’s cover graced book one with some fine work, and she’s done it again with this volume. I’m over the Moon with it. Should I tease you with some clues, or give you the whole picture now? Difficult. I think I’ll …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 28/06/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Well, that’s about it. Today, I finished the line edits and content edits sent by my publisher. It’s been a pretty intense period, with long hours staring at the screen and trying to get the best word(s) in place. I’ve printed the whole book off now (222 pages in Word) and will read it through …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 21/06/201721/06/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

The MS is complete. I even have a title, agreed after consultations with my publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing. Of which, more later in this post. Because, in publishing terms, the book has a short lead in time (we want to launch at Fantasticon in Hull; a fantasy/gaming/scifi convention that takes place on 2nd and 3rd …

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

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 14/06/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

Some weeks are a country walk, others a trek across mountainous desert. This one has been a touch demanding. But, the book itself is now done. It lacks a title, of which I have a brainstorming session’s worth of around 50 at present. And the blurb demands to be done. I usually try for three …

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

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, …

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

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 …

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

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 …

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

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 …

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

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 …

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

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 …

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