Tag: WIP

Is There Progress In The Work In Progress?

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Procrastination, Progress6 Comments

I last wrote about the WIP on the 8th of August. How is it possible I’ve allowed all those days to pass without a single catch-up piece?At that time, the MS stood at 122,237 words over 282 pages. As I write this, it stands at 120,705 words over 280 pages, having been through a number …

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How Goes the WIP?

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress, Reading9 Comments

This is my seventh post on the progress of my WIP. I suspect it won’t be the last. But I feel I’ve made real progress.The last post was on 19th July, when I was about to start work on Chapter 24 of 40, and the MS stood at 121,716 words over 280 pages. Today, it …

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More Progress on the #WIP.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress, question9 Comments

Author Stuart Aken with his published work. So, how’s the WIP progressing? I think the best description is ‘not as quickly as I would wish’. But I do have an excuse. A few weeks ago, I was diagnosed with a small hernia. Having been advised the waiting list for the necessary op was currently at …

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Further Progress on the #WIP.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress, Reading14 Comments

Jacques Louis David “Love of Paris and Helen”, from the Louvre Museum in Paris. 22nd June 2025 When I last reported on progress, in May, the book in its developing form, stood as follows: 270 pages, a word count of 116,291, and 40 chapters. As I pen this update after my writing has been much …

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Further Progress on the #WIP

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress4 Comments

The pile of diaries and journals used for some of the background to the novel. Writing is an odd business. In fact, for me, ‘business’ is a misnomer, since I'm told I do far too little to promote my work. I much prefer to spend my time and energy creating stories for others to enjoy.The …

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Further Progress on the #WIP.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, opinion, Procrastination, Progress7 Comments

Wordcloud selectively based on part of the WIP as it is at present. Writing a book. What does it mean? What does it entail?Fiction, in particular, engages or should engage all the senses. Otherwise, it’s a part story, an incomplete account, a limping, meandering path of words strung together without true feeling. But what does …

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Further Progress on the #WIP.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress, Reading2 Comments

I last updated progress on 28th of October, so a little late with this one. Sorry. At that time, the first draft was up to 80,840 words and I’d started editing to include a new character and had got as far as chapter 14. The old word count was 33,454 and the new to that …

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More Progress on the #WIP.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress, Reading12 Comments

I last updated progress on 8th of this month, when I reported that I’d experienced a strange epiphany not uncommon for pantsters. It meant I needed a new character, and that new person had to appear right at the beginning of the story. He also has an intimate connection to the original main protagonist, replacing …

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How Goes the WIP, 14th May?

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress6 Comments

To update you, I last posted about the WIP on 29th April. The word count was then 77,854. Subsequently, the Lawn Bowls season began. I don’t play, but my darling wife’s a keen team member of her local club and, as she doesn’t drive, I’m her taxi for the games. It can be a little …

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The Words Have Escaped!

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Literature, Progress8 Comments

I decided last year to spend time away from creating fiction. Why? Like all human faculties, although the creative function benefits from use, it also sometimes needs rest to be refreshed.So, what did I do? I wrote a few posts for a platform called Medium. You can find those here, if you’re curious. I also …

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Edit Notes: How Do You Deal With Them?

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Progress4 Comments

Word cloud created through wordart.com Environment, Capitalism, and Religious Hypocrisy are major themes running through my WIP, a work my publisher’s team of editors recently returned with ‘edit notes’. This wasn’t the usual ‘line edit’ I’ve had in the past and, on reading the notes, I was initially taken aback. My first response was that …

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