Contemplating NaNoWriMo
Call me crazy, but I’m contemplating NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month originated in the US as a challenge event to get writers to attempt a fifty-thousand word manuscript through November. …
World Mental Health Day 2023
World Mental Health Day 2023 returns on Tuesday 10 October, 2023 to improve knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s mental health as a universal human right. …
Fully Immersive Description
Nothing adds to a sense of place like fully immersive description. Be it fiction or non-fiction, a richly detailed description can transport the reader to a location as real as the one they are reading from. …
Foundations of a Dirty Draft
Working hard to complete Book Three, I’m building on the foundations of a Dirty Draft. But what exactly do I have to work with? And how do I get from ‘dirty’ to ‘clean?’
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The Difficult Second Book
If the first book was a whirlwind of inspiration, then the difficult Second book is like a rock band’s “difficult second album.” Reaching a consistent standard over three books isn’t easy. Especially if it’s a trilogy.
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Want versus Need
In trying to write better characters, it’s taken me a while to define want versus need. Writing coaches bang on about these all the time, but what do they mean and why are they important?
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Launching Scildan Press
Some real publishing news: we’re launching Scildan Press. This will be the imprint for the series of fantasy novels coming out this October. …
Science Fiction Writers’ Week 2023
Science Fiction Writers’ Week 2023 begins September 11th. This returning online event from ProWritingAid is free and runs September 11–14. Featuring bestselling authors like Lauren Beukes (The Shining Girls) and Jordan Ifueko (Raybearer). …
Amazon’s Policy on AI-Assistance
Returned home tonight to find a post from Mark Dawson on Amazon’s Policy on AI-Assistance. The Amazon Terms of Service now contain statements on the use of AI to generate content in books. …
The Rules of Good Covers
You need to know The Rules of Good Covers. ‘Never judge a book by its cover,’ the saying goes. Truth is, everyone judges a book by its cover. And I have a whole series to design…
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