Bit of my own writing, and articles about writing craft.
On several occasions recently (lecturing writing groups and chatting online) I was asked about my writing process, about anything from using pen and paper vs typing to ideation. And it hit me that a lot of it is inter-connected. I’ve talked about the tools I use and where I sit on the plotting-vs-pantsing scale, but […]
I’ve recently been invited to talk to a few writing groups, about the experience of transitioning from a reader, to a budding writer, to a published author. This column comes as a result of thinking about that journey, from the advice I gave and the questions I answered, plus a few interesting discoveries on the […]
In a twist that should surprise no one, last week’s post was the 200th post on my blog — and that milestone went past to the sound of crickets. I thought I’d take a moment to speak about milestones (besides putting in a big, actual, stone at the side of the road — for that […]
I’ve mentioned FutureLearn before, as an excellent resource for no-stress, free-time further education. I’ve had the chance to do some more courses over the past few months, and thought I’d share my experience. Classics The first course I’ve done at FutureLearn was about a complete virtual model of ancient Rome (see here). It was an […]
Whenever I’m reading a book, I have this silent conversation with the author in my head. This is particularly true for indie authors I’m reviewing, but most authors are ‘targeted’. Sometimes, there are more people in my head. So if you’re feeling like someone is walking on your grave, it might be me, reading your […]
We’ve all heard the advice to writers to “murder your darlings”. While I’ve been killing characters in entertainingly gruesome ways, the advice relates to prose. I’ve recently went through an extensive exercise of tightening my prose (for a particular submission), and thought I’d share my experience and lessons I’ve learned — both good and bad, […]
I’ve come across this article, and I’d like to call bullshit: The Disastrous Decline in Author Incomes Isn’t Just Amazon’s Fault, which in turn is based on this survey: Authors Guild Survey Shows Drastic 42 Percent Decline in Authors Earnings in Last Decade. Go ahead. Go read it (at least the first link) and come back, […]
Last year, I’ve posted my review of Wizard of Earthsea around the net, and this happened: This was on BookBub. Ms Le Guin (the author of Earthsea) was an accomplished and prolific Sci-Fi & Fantasy author and an outspoken advocate on social issues, whose books deeply influenced my adolescence. So, naturally, this was all very […]
Err, nope. William Wallace was a devout Christian, never actually wore a tartan kilt (they became popular three centuries later), and certainly never sported blue face-paint for battle (associated with the Picts, centuries earlier during Roman Britain). He’d likely wear chain-mail to battle, and use a standard one-handed sword that can be used with a […]
We talk a lot about how to write books, about author’s craft and writers’ tips. This post is instead focused on the act of writing — on the recording of words. There are probably as many methods of writing a novel as there are authors — writing longhand with a Montblanc fountain pen in a […]
FELIX THE FOX MYSTERIES 