304 pages Literary/Action & Adventure. How to describe a book that is unique? This is an absurdist fantasy, delightfully written and so enjoyable to read. The author cleverly engages us with his empathetic description of Beatrix’s life (the Bee of the title) in the circus, and her pragmatic acceptance of a life so unjust and …
Continue reading The Colonel and the Bee, by Patrick Canning: #BookReview.
Struggle to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? Occasionally, so do I. Perhaps, in trying to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Enlightenment, Entomb, Eek, Esprit d’escalier, Engineer. Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Enlightenment: Roget lists the following sub-headings; …
Continue reading The #Write #Word? Post 38
Okay, I shouldn’t have done it. I know. But, sometimes, my passion for an issue overcomes my internal common-sense policeman and I get involved. A short while ago, I posted a Tweet relating to Climate Change, an issue dear to my heart long before I joined Greenpeace in the 1980s. It reached some deniers on …
Continue reading Perils of Social Media Engagement
Struggle to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? Occasionally, so do I. Perhaps, in trying to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Dabble, Disappear from sight, Due to the fact that, Dadirri, Doctor. Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Dabble: …
Continue reading The #Write #Word? Post 37
Character driven fiction is always deeper and more satisfying than that driven by plot. That’s a personal opinion, and many writers will disagree. But it’s how I write. I devise my characters first, get to know them, and then set them down in the location I’ve chosen/invented and place barriers on their route to their …
Continue reading Writing Characters: My Method.
Struggle to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? Occasionally, so do I. Perhaps, in trying to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Cant, Continual/Continuous, Calm before the storm, Chrysalism, Church. Synonyms are alternative words that might convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Cant: Not to be confused with ‘can’t’, …
Continue reading The #Write #Word? Post 36
A break from the relentless imperative of the internet is calling. It refreshes the spirit and reclaims sanity. I’ve produced posts to fill the gaps while I’m away: scheduling is such a useful device! So, before I go I’m indulging in some unapologetic promotion of my books. The best people to comment on books are …
Continue reading Progress, or a Pause?
Struggle to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? Occasionally, so do I. Perhaps, in trying to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Bacchanalia, Blend together, By means of, Barking up the wrong tree, Bastard. Synonyms are alternative words that might say exactly what you’re trying to convey. Bacchanalia: is a …
Continue reading The #Write #Word? Post 35
Time to remind you the writing contest table has been updated. It lives on the ‘Resources’ page. You’ll notice there remain some details for 31st August. That’s because this post had to be scheduled, as I’m away from home (and therefore offline) until 4th September, when I’ll delete the older lines. I’m at the launch …
Continue reading Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated
Struggle to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? Sometimes, so do I. Maybe, in trying to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Ardent/Apathetic, Afford an opportunity, Ahem, Adronitis, Author Antonyms: words that express the opposite of other words can be hard to find, because thesauruses usually give no examples. When …
Continue reading The #Write #Word? Post 34
It’s an odd situation for me, though I know many writers visit this apparent desert frequently and often for prolonged periods. But I appear to have hit that dreaded void known as ‘writer’s block’. But is it real? And, if it is, what causes it? I’ve spent the past few weeks catching up on all …
Struggle to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? So do I, sometimes. Maybe, in trying to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Zenith, Zestfully, Zap, Zealot Synonyms are alternative words that might say exactly what you’re trying to convey. Zenith: Roget lists the following alternatives as headings: superiority, serial place, …
Continue reading The #Write #Word? Post 33
Best laid plans… I woke last Thursday intent on starting a new short story. My usual method is to gather two or three characters, get to know them, select a theme or two, and begin writing, allowing the story to unfold. It’s worked in the past, so, although I haven’t done it for a couple …
Struggle to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? So do I, sometimes. Maybe, in trying to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Yawning, Yell loudly, You only live once, Youth Synonyms are alternative words that might say exactly what you’re trying to convey. Yawning: Roget’s lists these sub-headings; deep, opening, sleepy. …
Continue reading The #Write #Word? Post 32
I’ve spent the better part of three years on a project, writing a novel each year, and found the void at the end of that process strangely debilitating. So, what do I do know? Fantastic Books Publishing launched Blood Red Dust, book 1 of the Generation Mars series, on 18th October 2016. War Over Dust, …
Continue reading The #Writing’s Done. What Now?
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