2015: The Blog in Review

On 31/12/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Organisation, Progress7 Comments

It's that time of the year when we like to review our activities and see what we've done over the last 365 days. Was it effective? Did it help people? Has that time been spent usefully? Well, the WordPress.com stats helper monkeys have prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog and I'm sharing it …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 22.

On 29/12/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice

We writers tend to share ideas to improve our craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. At the end of the day: Along with many of its flabby cousins, this cliché has ceased to have the miniscule emphatic power it started …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 21.

On 24/12/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice2 Comments

Writers tend to share ideas to improve their craft. Here, with a seasonal slant, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. Different kinds: A ‘kind’ is a type of something; by definition it’s different from another kind. e.g. At Christmas, children expect different …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 20.

On 22/12/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice2 Comments

Writers share ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. First of all: Whilst ‘of all’ may act as a qualifier, amplifying the phrase, it’s a wordy addition to your narrative and is probably better left out. E.g. …

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The Ubiquitous Mailing List

On 21/12/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Organisation12 Comments

Authors are told their most precious marketing asset is their mailing list. This advice has become so common it’s now accepted as gospel. I have my doubts. Over the past few weeks, admittedly a little late in my writing career, I’ve been attempting to set up this promotional tool. I’d love to report it as …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 19.

On 17/12/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice

Writers share ideas to improve their craft. Here, I look at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. As far as I’m concerned: Obviously, since you’re the one who’s making the statement. E.g. As far as I’m concerned, politicians always lie. Try: Politicians always lie. Surrounded …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 18.

On 15/12/201515/12/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice1 Comment

Writers share ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. As being: Please say you’d never put this on paper. e.g. He is known as being the smartest guy in the office. Try: He is known as the …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 17

On 11/12/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice2 Comments

A brief apology for my absence: the house required me to attend to various things. A few more of those to do yet, but I discovered a spare moment lurking under the guise of sleep and decided to use it here. Writers share ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 16.

On 03/12/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice3 Comments

Writers share ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions. As a matter of fact: There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with this as an expression, but in narrative it’s wordy and unnecessary. e.g. As a matter of fact, the …

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What you need to know about Twitter #Hashtags Infographic and LIST…

On 30/11/201530/11/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Use8 Comments

A great guide for those interested in using Twitter in a positive fashion for book matters.

You might also benefit from this great post from Linda Acaster:

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

#amwriting: Designed specifically for writers who are experiencing writers block and just want to relieve the anxiety.
#eBook or #Books: Gives the latest posts.
#Reading: Dominated by GoodReads users who are also on Twitter
#mustread, #read, #reading, #readers, #bestread, #greatread, #greatbooks, #weekendreader, #GoodReads
#Fridayreads: One of the most popular literary hashtags of all time on twitter. It even generated a global trend at one period of a time, it is still one of the best ways to find out about good books.
#Nook: Gives the latest posts according to Nook published books.
#epub, #ePub : Specifically for independently published authors, this hashtag platform promotes eBooks published on Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, Nook, etc.
#Amazon: Considered the mother of all tweets. Here you can find everything Amazon related, most particularly books.
#AmazonKindle: Same as the one above, but more useful for sale of Kindle Devices and eBooks.
#kindlebooks, #Kindle Touch…

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 15

On 27/11/201524/11/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Word Choice

Writers share ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and flabby expressions All things being equal: Avoid this empty phrase. e.g. All things being equal, he would have her in his bed by midnight. Try: If he had his way, …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 14.

On 24/11/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice1 Comment

Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and a few flabby expressions. Bald-headed: Baldness is generally related to the head, so, in most cases, ‘headed’ would be redundant. However, there are times when it may be necessary …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 13

On 20/11/201520/11/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Word Choice2 Comments

Sorry for the break: I’ve been otherwise engaged for reasons that may become clear later! Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here, I'm looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us. I'll examine common redundancies and a few flabby expressions. Temper tantrum: You can only have a tantrum as a …

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There is No Other Way.

On 16/11/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Procrastination, Progress6 Comments

This year has been one of change and adaptation. We moved home at the beginning of 2015 and that meant certain changes were inevitable, of course. It also meant many distractions took my mind off my writing. The house and garden needed, and continue to need, attention to make this our home rather than a …

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Naked Truths About Getting Book Reviews, by Gisela Hausmann, Reviewed.

On 19/09/2015 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Review6 Comments

One of my writing friends blogged about this book, inspiring me to obtain a copy. I'm glad I did. This is a straightforward manual designed to explain all that writers, and reviewers, need to know about Amazon reviews. The author is one of the top Amazon reviewers, so she understands the needs and concerns of …

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