Stuart Aken's Blog, page 193

Searching for the Right Words? Tip #8

Hoping to inspire readers with joy, arouse their fear, romance them with love? Or, perhaps your story needs the reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for the job. Example: “She’d gained confidence and was becoming an attractive […]

Research Done: Re-Writing Begun!

Following on from my post on research a couple of days ago, I thought I’d quickly update you with progress so far. I started what is effectively a re-write, rather than an edit, on Saturday. It was late in the day when I began, but I was determined to get something down, something started as […]

How to Win the Lottery (And Other Stories), by Iain Parke, Reviewed.

An unusual and intriguing anthology, this. The author introduces each piece of fiction with an account of his route to the story and some of his writing methods. It makes for an interesting read for both readers and writers. The collection is varied in both topics and style, but each tale is well structured and […]

Research or Write? That is the Question.

How much research should a novelist undertake before setting out on the creative journey? How much should be done before editing to produce the final work? These are questions that probably occur to most of us at some time during the writing process. I was inspired to visit these questions this week when I finally […]

Searching for the Right Words? Tip #7

Hoping to inspire readers with joy, arouse their fear, romance them with love? Or, perhaps your story needs the reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for the job. Example: “I watched the road as it took us […]

Publisher’s Trailer for The Methuselah Strain

My publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing, has just released this great little video to promote my SciFi novella, The Methuselah Strain. Please take a look, ‘Like’ it and, if you’re looking for some exciting reading, buy a copy. It’s available in both ebook and hardback versions by clicking those links. You can also find a synopsis […]

30 Flash Fiction Writing Competitions With Cash Prizes

Originally posted on Sacha Black:
There are more short story competitions than words I’ve written. And I’ve written a shit load of words. But finding a FLASH fiction comp (under 1000 words) is a bit of a rarity, so when I do find one, I get a bit giddy. But lately, I’ve had to weep…

Synthesis, Fantastic SciFi Anthology Now in Print.

The science fiction anthology from Fantastic Books Publishing is now available in print form. I’ve already reviewed this when it first appeared as an ebook. You’ll find the review by clicking this link. I have a story in this excellent collection of imagination and future speculation mixed with fantasy scifi. Great stories, now available for […]

Searching for the Right Words? Tip #6

Want to inspire readers with joy, arouse their fear, romance them with love, or does your story need the reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for the job. Example: “I had only ever seen a television briefly […]

The Case for Mars, by Robert Zubrin, Reviewed

Subtitled, The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must, this extraordinary work by Robert Zubrin, with Richard Wagner, is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Mars either as an observer or as, in my case, a writer of science fiction. In researching for my novel about Mars, I’ve read a great […]