This last week or so has been a surprisingly good time for me. As mentioned in my last post I attended the Sheffield Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers’ Group’s ‘Write A Book In A Day’ event, and that led to me remembering just where it was I left my mojo. On top of that, I received my swag from yet another Kickstarter yesterday; this time around it was the second bunch of ‘Heroines in Comfortable Shoes’ from Oathsworn Miniatures. And to top it all off I found out a few days ago that one of my friends has become a daddy, so all in all this little kitty has been in a good place just recently.
Category Archives: Writing
Writing a Book in a Day
So today I spent several hours in a room with a bunch of other writers, talking about the writing process and coming up with various ideas for short stories as part of the Sheffield Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers Group’s ‘Write a Book in a Day’ event, and you know what? It was actually a whole lot of fun.
There Are Changes A-Coming
Hi all.
This is just a brief update to let you all know that I am still here, and that there are going to be some changes made to the site over the next few weeks.
Each Thing In Its Own Time
Contrary to the impression you may have gotten, I’ve not yet abandoned this site, and I am still here in some small way. I just haven’t really had the inclination or the energy to put finger to keyboard recently and as a result these pages have stagnated slightly. The same is true of my book reviews over on GoodReads, so my apologies to all who frequent this little corner of the web.
The Art Of Writing: Talking Dialogue
So far in the Art Of Writing we’ve looked at structure, outlining and characters. In this article we’re going to examine the use of dialogue, and how to make it an effective part of the story. This will include discussing the use of dialogue tags and ways in which not using dialogue can be just as effective as when you do use it. We’ll also take a look at how to frame dialogue in such a way as to make it a part of the action, and not just a way of dumping information on the reader.
If Only It Were That Easy
Last time I left some words here that weren’t related to book reviews I made a bit of noise about how if I wanted to be a proper writer I had to start acting like one. You know, stuff like actually writing words and editing stuff to keep my writing circuits fresh and active. And I bet you’re all wondering how that’s going, right?
Taking It Seriously
On the wall above my writing desk I have two pieces of motivational advice that I printed out a few years ago. They both basically say the same thing: that to be a writer you need to act like one. Up until now they’ve just been bits of paper that I occasionally look at and think, ‘I really should pay more attention to those,’ but as of last Thursday I’ve actually started to take the wisdom they impart to heart.