Stuart Aken's Blog, page 178

Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated

Here’s the monthly reminder that the writing contest table is continually updated. But, there’s a change this month; a slight alteration in the presentation of the closing dates for entries, which will make my job just a little easier. Hope it works well for you, too! Make sure you get your entries submitted in plenty … Continue reading Creative #Writing #Contests TableUpdated

Looking for the Best Word? Tip #19

A series offering help for writers to make their work more accessible, interesting, varied, accurate and effective by exploring similar and dissimilar words. Also for language learners. A good thesaurus gives substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence … Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip#19

Silent Plight, by Jill Province, Reviewed.

A fun story, this. The writer’s dilemma: freedom of expression and the associated poverty of writing what you want, or fame and the shackles the publisher will attach to your imagination? Required to write a formulaic tale to a strict deadline, the hapless author finds life gets in the way of creativity as family vies … Continue reading Silent Plight, by Jill Province,Reviewed.

Looking for the Best Word? Tip #18

This series offers help for writers to make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective by exploring similar and dissimilar words. It also helpslanguage learners understand some of the finer points of English usage. A good thesaurus gives substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context … Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip#18

Author Interview on Unplag.com.

Today, I’m delighted to be interviewed on the unplag.com/blog, and given a chance to share information, motivation and writing advice. The piece is titled, ‘Stuart Aken reveals a secret of his writing craft in his interview to unplag‘. I consider this a real honour and I’m pleased to share it with you. Here’s the link … Continue reading Author Interview onUnplag.com.

Chronicles of Drenyon: The Golden Sword, by NLJ, Reviewed.

Young adult fantasy, with the emphasis on the ‘young’. This is a sort of fairy tale told at length. Action-packed, fast moving and sometimes mysterious, this story is also convoluted and occasionally poetic. It is also surprisingly engaging. Surprising because there are structural, grammatical and even vocabulary errors that some serious editing would have corrected. … Continue reading Chronicles of Drenyon: The Golden Sword, by NLJ,Reviewed.

Looking for the Best Word? Tip #17

Today’s Google search for ‘Writers Help’ brought up 58,000,000 results. One post from this series was 4th in the list and a second was 6th! So, you’re in good company if you read this post. The series offers help for writers to make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective by exploring similar … Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip#17

Felicity – A Sparrow’s Tale, by Loralee Evans, Reviewed.

What’s this? A children’s book reviewed here? Not what you’d expect, I know, but it’s the season that’s mostly about children, and this book was recommended to me, so I thought, ‘Why not?’. As an author, it’s good to step outside your usual zone of activity from time to to time and experience a different … Continue reading Felicity – A Sparrow’s Tale, by Loralee Evans,Reviewed.

Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

Many readers followed my progress on Blood Red Dust, so I’ve decided to run a similar series of short blogs for the second book in the series. The new book is underway. I have a small core of characters, some of whom readers met in Blood Red Dust, and others new to the series. The … Continue reading Progress on the WIP: SciFi in theMaking.

Against the Night, by P M F Johnson, Reviewed.

Poetry is more difficult to review than novels or nonfiction. For me it is, anyway. As a writer of prose, often puzzled by the brevity and density of poetry, I feel less qualified to comment on technical aspects. What I can do, however, is describe how the poems made me feel, what I experienced as … Continue reading Against the Night, by P M F Johnson,Reviewed.