Month April 2017
Well, it’s the last day of April, but I still have 8 letters to go in my blogging challenge. The challenge was to blog for 26 out of 30 days in April, one post per letter of the alphabet, and… Continue Reading →
Sometimes you need to take a break from creating. If you’ve been outputting your imagination intensively, you’ll need to rest and refuel. Treat your mind to some inputs from these sources. Sight I am often inspired by the visual so… Continue Reading →
This blog is about my biggest pants yet. That should have been the blog’s title, but pants is funnier in British than American, so I didn’t. What’s the point when half your readers won’t find it as snortingly humorous as… Continue Reading →
If you plan to blog regularly, you will need a regular supply of material to blog about. If you’ve been blogging for a while, you may have already plucked the low-hanging fruit – the ideas which first prompted you to… Continue Reading →
A short post today just to share that last week I found out that I am the overall winner in The Write Practice’s Spring Writing Contest! I’m so thrilled, especially as the standard of stories submitted was, as always, very high…. Continue Reading →
What makes a main character, or protagonist, successful in a story? What tendencies should the writer avoid? This is a huge topic, so I will just suggest some elements I look for in a great protagonist, by highlighting some of… Continue Reading →
If you write romance, or have a romantic subplot in your story, you have to come up with the mushy stuff, or the hot stuff, whether you feel it or not. And that’s hard, excuse the pun. So what tricks… Continue Reading →
K – Klingons on the starboard bow: my most successful fanfic ever and what to include in a hit story
I never expected to write a Star Trek fanfic. I always liked the TV show as a kid, but was in the ‘OK but no great fan’ level of interest. I like SF, but I couldn’t name any specific episode… Continue Reading →
I found a list today that I didn’t know I needed but now cannot live without. It’s a description of every subgenre of cyberpunk. I’ve given some examples, below, but it’s got me thinking about how detailed our fiction categories have become,… Continue Reading →
I love happy endings. I don’t mind hopeful endings, but I really want a happy ending. I want love found, treasure won, bad guys totally defeated, maybe just a hint of a problem to come back in Book Two. But… Continue Reading →