Kevin A. Reynolds's Blog
January 1, 2024
Earthquake in Japan
For everyone outside Japan: Just a quick note about the big earthquake that happened yesterday at 16:10 local time. It was on the Sea of Japan coastal area, Shindo 7 on the Japan scale, as big as the 2011 quake on the Pacific side. We felt some shaking here in Tokyo, but very minor compared to the events in the Kanazawa, Toyama, Niigata areas. Tsunami of up to 5m hit the coast (2011 waves were twice as big), some buildings collapsed, some burnt, but overall casualties are thankfully far fewer than 2011.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is on the coast, but currently not operating (I believe). Ironically, that power station is the basis for one I described in my Mamoribito novel, hence my additional interest in the events of yesterday.
Ongoing aftershocks are still hitting the area, so are Tsunami as the waves reflect back off the Korea/ Russia coastlines.
The emergency evacuation warnings are still in place, and the rescue services are now searching for those trapped. If anything further happens I'll let you know, but I expect you are all already following events in the news as it is.
Kevin
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is on the coast, but currently not operating (I believe). Ironically, that power station is the basis for one I described in my Mamoribito novel, hence my additional interest in the events of yesterday.
Ongoing aftershocks are still hitting the area, so are Tsunami as the waves reflect back off the Korea/ Russia coastlines.
The emergency evacuation warnings are still in place, and the rescue services are now searching for those trapped. If anything further happens I'll let you know, but I expect you are all already following events in the news as it is.
Kevin
March 21, 2021
60 years young
To celebrate (is that the right word?) my 60th birthday, I temporarily set both my novels at 0.99 (US & UK) for a few days.
https://www.kevinareynolds.com/
Perhaps that's a kind of birthday present to myself, but when you're getting a bit long in the tooth you're allowed the occasional senior moment...
https://www.kevinareynolds.com/
Perhaps that's a kind of birthday present to myself, but when you're getting a bit long in the tooth you're allowed the occasional senior moment...
March 7, 2021
You know you're a writer when....
- Your mum says "Why are you using American spelling, when you're British!?" - but you no longer worry about that, you just keep on writing anyway.
- You re-read what you wrote last week: it's pretty bad, but you fix it and just keep on writing anyway.
- You wonder if anyone will ever read what you've written, but you just keep on writing anyway.
- You know you're supposed to know who your audience are, but you don't, and you just keep on writing anyway.
- Someone gives you a 'low-score' review, and you want to ask them 'why?' but you don't know who they are, so you just keep on writing anyway (and maybe you don't really want to ask...).
- Someone gives you a 'high-score' review, and you want to personally thank that person, but you don't know who they are - so you just keep on writing anyway.
- You just keep on writing, anyway.
- You re-read what you wrote last week: it's pretty bad, but you fix it and just keep on writing anyway.
- You wonder if anyone will ever read what you've written, but you just keep on writing anyway.
- You know you're supposed to know who your audience are, but you don't, and you just keep on writing anyway.
- Someone gives you a 'low-score' review, and you want to ask them 'why?' but you don't know who they are, so you just keep on writing anyway (and maybe you don't really want to ask...).
- Someone gives you a 'high-score' review, and you want to personally thank that person, but you don't know who they are - so you just keep on writing anyway.
- You just keep on writing, anyway.
February 17, 2021
A few thoughts on Writing
In 2020, I turned a screenplay into a novel: “Mamoribito - The One Who Protects."
Here’s what I learned – most of which will be obvious to more experienced writers, but for first-timers there might be something useful to discover.
1) Screenplays are easier to write than novels. For example, you can say “Epic sword fight” in an Action scene, but in a novel you have to come with a couple of pages to describe that. That said, you get a whole lot more story ideas when writing a novel: scenes get better, dialogue improves, plot holes get filled in (hopefully).
Lesson - writing a novel makes you a better writer.
2) I wrote the novel in the 1st person, having gone backwards and forwards from the 3rd person. That was fine until page 197, when I realized I needed to describe an event that was beyond sight of the protagonist. So, I created “The Void” for him to be able to do that, as if remote viewing the scene - otherwise he wouldn’t be able to describe what was happening. This was in keeping with his character, a modern-day Ninja, but at first it felt like I was cheating my way out of that little conundrum. It’s now going to be a thing for him in follow-up novels. In a screenplay, of course, you won’t have that kind of issue.
Lesson - 1st person novels from screenplays may require work-arounds, but these can become happy accidents, or even significant character traits.
3) Rewriting: my goodness that’s a thing. No matter how many times you print, read, re-read, change, re-print, re-read, you will always find something that needs changing. In fact, you won’t believe how bad your writing and subsequent re-writing can be until you’ve completed that cycle numerous times.
One useful trick was to output from Word to PDF, then upload the PDF to my Kindle Reader. That way I could sit on the train and mark areas for editing using the Kindle.
Lesson - you’re never truly finished, but at some stage you have to hit the ‘publish’ key.
Finally - I have other screenplays, but I wanted to do Mamoribito first, and am now on my third novel. Note: The Girl Who Fell Through Time also started as a screenplay.
Anyway - I hope this was at least somewhat helpful for other writers!
MAMORIBITO: The One Who Protects
Here’s what I learned – most of which will be obvious to more experienced writers, but for first-timers there might be something useful to discover.
1) Screenplays are easier to write than novels. For example, you can say “Epic sword fight” in an Action scene, but in a novel you have to come with a couple of pages to describe that. That said, you get a whole lot more story ideas when writing a novel: scenes get better, dialogue improves, plot holes get filled in (hopefully).
Lesson - writing a novel makes you a better writer.
2) I wrote the novel in the 1st person, having gone backwards and forwards from the 3rd person. That was fine until page 197, when I realized I needed to describe an event that was beyond sight of the protagonist. So, I created “The Void” for him to be able to do that, as if remote viewing the scene - otherwise he wouldn’t be able to describe what was happening. This was in keeping with his character, a modern-day Ninja, but at first it felt like I was cheating my way out of that little conundrum. It’s now going to be a thing for him in follow-up novels. In a screenplay, of course, you won’t have that kind of issue.
Lesson - 1st person novels from screenplays may require work-arounds, but these can become happy accidents, or even significant character traits.
3) Rewriting: my goodness that’s a thing. No matter how many times you print, read, re-read, change, re-print, re-read, you will always find something that needs changing. In fact, you won’t believe how bad your writing and subsequent re-writing can be until you’ve completed that cycle numerous times.
One useful trick was to output from Word to PDF, then upload the PDF to my Kindle Reader. That way I could sit on the train and mark areas for editing using the Kindle.
Lesson - you’re never truly finished, but at some stage you have to hit the ‘publish’ key.
Finally - I have other screenplays, but I wanted to do Mamoribito first, and am now on my third novel. Note: The Girl Who Fell Through Time also started as a screenplay.
Anyway - I hope this was at least somewhat helpful for other writers!
MAMORIBITO: The One Who Protects
February 15, 2021
Sometimes a few small words can be a big encouragement
It's not easy being a self-published writer. In fact, writing is the easy part - it's getting the word out about your books that is hard.
So, when an old school friend whom I haven't seen for over 40 years sent me a message saying he had read both my books and thought they were great - well, that was encouraging!
Thanks Tim!
So, when an old school friend whom I haven't seen for over 40 years sent me a message saying he had read both my books and thought they were great - well, that was encouraging!
Thanks Tim!
February 11, 2021
My dad, on the other hand....
My Dad also read Mamoribito - The One Who Protects and 'liked it, a lot' and thought it 'would make a great movie'
Thanks Dad!
Actually, Mamoribito started as a movie script - and now I'm developing the sequel.
There's also an origin story in the works - the tale of the original Mamoribito - due in 2022.
kevin
Thanks Dad!
Actually, Mamoribito started as a movie script - and now I'm developing the sequel.
There's also an origin story in the works - the tale of the original Mamoribito - due in 2022.
kevin
February 8, 2021
Mums will always be mums
My mum finally read Mamoribito - The One Who Protects. I was a little worried she might baulk at all the naughty words - Peter, the main character, swears a hell of a lot (most of it much worse than that). But she had no complaints about that. Instead, she admonished me for using 'gotten' instead of 'got.' I suppose Brits are supposed to use 'got' - but I've lived in Japan so long I think I've gotten used to using it the American way.
On the other hand, 'gotten' is becoming more widespread in the UK. In fact, both got and gotten existed as far back as Middle English, and pre-dates US usage.
Not that I want to argue with me mum.....
https://grammarist.com/usage/got-gotten/
MAMORIBITO: The One Who Protects
On the other hand, 'gotten' is becoming more widespread in the UK. In fact, both got and gotten existed as far back as Middle English, and pre-dates US usage.
Not that I want to argue with me mum.....
https://grammarist.com/usage/got-gotten/
MAMORIBITO: The One Who Protects
January 30, 2021
haiku in English. Really?
I've been helping a friend of mine with publishing his series of poetry books.
As is says on Amazon: "A collection of poetry in the style of Japanese haiku and tanka written over the last twenty years by Michael Claxton, a long-time resident of Tokyo and former chairman of the Swedish/Japanese Society. Real haiku and tanka should be written in Japanese but many foreigners do their best in their own languages with varying results - from the dire to the entertaining. I hope this collection tends towards the latter. What do you think?"
Take look here: https://www.amazon.com/haiku-English-...
As is says on Amazon: "A collection of poetry in the style of Japanese haiku and tanka written over the last twenty years by Michael Claxton, a long-time resident of Tokyo and former chairman of the Swedish/Japanese Society. Real haiku and tanka should be written in Japanese but many foreigners do their best in their own languages with varying results - from the dire to the entertaining. I hope this collection tends towards the latter. What do you think?"
Take look here: https://www.amazon.com/haiku-English-...
