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 …
Continue reading Is There Progress In The Work In Progress?
What is ‘Outline’? Is it a novel, a collection of essays, a piece of philosophy, an account of the physical, mental and emotional wanderings of the gifted author? It is all these things, and more.Whilst I discovered it was possible to put the book down, it was not feasible to do so without finishing that …
Continue reading Outline, by Rachel Cusk: #BookReview
I'm going to attempt to place a short story here every week. Some will have been published, others, like this one, will never have been seen. I'm doing this to give readers an idea of the scope of my writing and as a way to stimulate my writing discipline. I intend to illustrate each with …
Continue reading Side By Side – A Short Story
For a few years now, my wife and I have accepted a challenge set by Country Walking Magazine to walk 1,000 miles in a year. The weekly milage required to achieve this is actually only 19.23, which is hardly a marathon. We both love walking, getting into the countryside and enjoying the freedom and serenity …
Continue reading Walk 1,000 Miles In A Year
Sure, we all know sometimes tech needs to be updated to flow in synchronicity with other tech, and that’s an accepted necessary evil. But why, oh why, these constant changes in style, appearance, and especially, connections to bloody AI? We are the customers, the consumers of your products. We BUY them. Don’t we deserve a …
Continue reading Technology: Why, Oh Why Those Constant Updates?
Subtitled ‘A new author’s guide to publishing and marketing for success’ this book was recommended to me by another writer, who thought it might be of use to me. It is! First, I’m a published writer, both self-published and published with a small indie publisher, so, on the face of it, this book could seem …
This slim volume of the, at the time, relatively revolutionary poetry of the Liverpudlian poet, Roger McGough, I discovered on the bookshelves at my brother’s home when visiting recently. This edition was published by Jonothan Cape in 1972, though the title poem was first published in 1969. I picked it up to read while waiting …
Continue reading Watchwords, by Roger McGough: #BookReview.
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 …
Continue reading How Goes the WIP?
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 …
Continue reading More Progress on the #WIP.
My books feature on another author's website that examines the emotional aspect of writing fiction. You'll find this very interesting post here.
This 500-page encyclopaedic tome is one of a set of art books I was given by a kind and generous stranger, a woman neighbour from a nearby village. I’m conducting research for a novel, and the visual arts feature significantly in the story. Whilst I have some knowledge of the art world, working as a …
Continue reading What Great Paintings Say, by Rose-Marie & Rainer Hagen: #BookReview.
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 …
Continue reading Further Progress on the #WIP.
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 …
Continue reading Further Progress on the #WIP
Sebastian Barry has written one of those rare books that portray emotion without sentiment, diametrically opposed views with neutrality, and complex events in a manner easy to follow. Nevertheless, I was moved to tears on more than one occasion, and therefore rather pleased I was reading in private.The hypocrisy of religion is described without rancour, …
Continue reading The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry: #BookReview.
Writers Need Good Luck Sometimes. There you are, busily editing the first draft of your amazing, soon-to-be best seller WIP, hoping to move on toward that goal of publication when, from some inexplicable, unrecognised source, two new and unrelated ideas pop into your head. The question then is whether to give these intruders room to …
Continue reading A Spot of Serendipity
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Antidote to the Novel
Stuart Aken 