Stuart Aken's Blog, page 198

The Red Room, by Joan Barbara Simon, Reviewed.

I have never read anything like this. Now, there’s a statement. But what does it mean? This book is subtitled, ‘a portfolio’ and that’s a good description of the range of contents. First, let me advise potential readers that this is material for adults. Those who seek gentle reassurance in romance and the sweet murmurings […]

First Draft of the Mars Book Finished.

Much to my surprise, I finished the first draft of the current WIP, yesterday. This science fiction novel set on Mars currently has no title, other than ‘the Mars book’, which, let’s face it, isn’t exactly inspiring! Why was I surprised? I write as a pantster, so I don’t work to a plot, merely a […]

Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 42.

Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here are some tricks to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Enter in: Since you can’t enter out (that would be an exit), let’s leave it out, eh? e.g. Jenny was prepared to enter in the dragon’s den […]

Mothers’ Day: A Best Friend Remembered.

In May this year, it’ll be 52 years since my mother died. That was 2 days after my 16th birthday and my memory of the day is, perhaps understandably, a little hazy. She was the victim of an idiot driver who reversed down a road in a place hidden from oncoming traffic. My father, driving […]

Creative #Writing #Contests Page Update Reminder

Here’s this week’s reminder that the table has been updated on the website. Whenever you visit the page, the table will be as up to date as it is on my home computer, since it updates each time I ‘save’ to the table. You can access it by clicking here.Filed under: Author, Creative Writer, Prizes […]

Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 41.

Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here are some tricks to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Eliminate entirely: To eliminate something is to eradicate it, therefore ‘entirely’ or ‘completely’ or any other tautological qualifier is just that; tautology. e.g. The leader said, ‘If […]

Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury, Reviewed.

Ray Bradbury was one of my earliest writer heroes. I read a lot of his work when I was a teenager and young man. Along with Asimov, Clarke, Aldiss, Heinlein and Wyndham he was one of the authors who created my love of science fiction. I hadn’t come across this collection of essays aimed at […]

Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 40.

Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here are some tricks to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Dwindle down: Can you dwindle up? I don’t think so. e.g. Attendances at football matches have dwindled down since clubs started paying players ludicrous amounts and charging […]

Creative #Writing #Contests Page Update Reminder

This week’s reminder that the table has been updated on the website. Whenever you visit the page, the table will be as up to date as it is on my home computer; it updates each time I ‘save’ to the table. You can access it by clicking here.Filed under: Author, Creative Writer, Prizes Tagged: Author, […]

Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 39.

Writers like to share ideas to improve their craft. Here are some ways to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the removal of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Desirable benefit: Do you know of an undesirable benefit? I thought not. e.g. What desirable benefit does a racehorse owner obtain from his horse? Try: What […]