Stuart Aken's Blog, page 217
April 11, 2015
IndieReCon – It’s Coming! It’s Coming
There’s a free, online self-publishing conference taking place next week. It’s the third year of IndieReCon, and they have an action-packed schedule filled with all sorts of great stuff – a mixture of posts, vlogs, webinars, as well as the opportunity to drill deeper into the various topics with a series of online and Twitter chats. The fun kicks off next Wednesday, April 15th at 7:30 (EDT) and runs until Friday, April 17th . Be sure to drop in, there’s some cool stuff planned, and it’s all F...
April 6, 2015
Running and Writing for ME/CFS No.27
Lower Lydbrook, from the valley sides; taken on our walk. Running:
This week, we travelled back up north to our native Yorkshire and collected our daughter, Kate, from her digs with a friend. She’s finished her temporary waitressing job in the area is staying with us in our new home in the Forest of Dean until the middle of the month. Then she flies out to Thassos to take on her new role of Holiday Rep with Thomsons.
She’ll be with us only for a couple of weeks, so we’re devoting some time to...
March 29, 2015
Running and Writing for ME/CFS No.26
Central Lydbrook, where I terminate my shorter runs. Running:
10 minute easy run on Wednesday was an easy jog through the village, reaching further than before, so some improvement. 20 minutes in the forest on Friday, witnessing the arrival of spring as I jogged along the tracks. Due for 15 minutes today, but did that indoors due to the inclement weather. It looked as though the rain was set in for the day. But this afternoon brought a break in the clouds and rain, so we walked to the lower e...
March 27, 2015
The 100 Most Beautiful Words in English
I don’t agree with all of these as Top 100, but there are some pretty good words here. What are your thoughts?
Originally posted on Just English:
March 23, 2015
The Paintings, by Linda Acaster, Reviewed.
Linda Acaster’s, The Paintings, is not a book to read before bed, unless, of course, you prefer nightmares to sweet dreams. This short chiller is subtly sinister, as it builds a story of the apparent ordinary into something with supernatural hints and underlying threats to reach a climax that is as satisfying as it is unexpected.
As always with this author’s writing, the characters are well realised: you’ll find no stereotypes, no cardboard cut-outs here. But are they all who they say they a...
March 22, 2015
Running and Writing for ME/CFS No.25
The garden slope after just a brief amount of work.
The garden slope after today’s efforts. Running:
10 Minute run on Wednesday; an easy jog through the village. 15 Minutes in the forest on Friday, listening the spring birds as I trotted along the footpaths. Due for 15 minutes today, but we had spent the last two days, and today, in the back garden. Part of that space consists of a very steep slope which is much overgrown with briars, nettles, weeds, bushes and small trees. Because the growin...
A Quick Question.
Does anyone know what might be preventing my blog posts appearing on my Goodreads Author Page, please? They appeared regularly when I blogged through Blogger, but since I changed to WordPress, they seem to be reluctant to appear there. If you know of a reason for this, please let me know through the comments facility. Thank you.
Filed under: Uncategorized
March 16, 2015
Running and Writing for ME/CFS No.24
Running:
This week I ran all three of the set runs in the programme. Fifteen minutes through the forest, with the birds chirruping their joy in Spring on Wednesday. Twenty minutes on Friday, extending the same run. And then a short; ten minutes on Sunday, running up the steep rise of Church Road, down the rutted track onto the village road and along as far as the Working Men’s Club. Then the return along the main street past the Village Hall where I go for my art class and on past the GP’s s...
March 3, 2015
The Last Post
This is the last post on this blog.
From today, all my posts will appear in my new, developing, website at http://stuartaken.net/ Please do join me there.
I would like to thank all my readers for their support here on Blogger over the past few years, I really appreciate it. So, why am I giving up this blog? Well, for one thing, as a free blog (thank you Google, for your support) it is open to the whims and fancies of its owners and controllers. Also, as a free blog, it has no real facility as a website.
I've migrated to a hosted site on Wordpress, where I will have much more control over the style and content of my new site, where I will be able to present my content in exactly the way I want it. Or, I will once I've learned the ropes of the new system.
So, please bear with me. It will take a little time to get on top of the technical issues, the changes in working, the simple act of placing the information on the new website, where I will also blog, of course. Please do join me there. You'll find it easier to comment as well, should you be so inclined.
Once again, thank you all for your valuable support here on Blogger. To those who don't wish to follow me into the new venture, I'm sorry to lose you. To those of you who click on the link above and join me on the new site, 'Welcome' and enjoy the read!
Ruled by Intellect or Emotion? Tips on Word Choice #25
For these few weeks, I’m looking at something subjective: how to choose between emotional and intellectual words for effect. You won’t always agree with me, of course; you’re writers. But, hopefully, my suggestions will get the thought processes going.
In this series I’m looking at the difference between words that seem intellectual as opposed to those that evoke a more emotional response. How you use them is obviously up to you. The point is that the alternatives have the same, or very similar, meanings, but their effect upon the reader can be markedly different. I’ve made some suggestions here, but I’m sure you can think of others.
Intellectual: LargeEmotional: Big
‘As the reigning Conservative party, we are able to fool a large portion of the electorate regardless of our appalling record of broken promises.’
‘There’s a big section of voters who are easily taken in by the lies of the major political parties.’
Intellectual: LearnEmotional: Find Out
‘What are we to learn from the speed of our response to the situation in Ukraine?’
‘Do you think we’ll ever find out why the stupid buggers took so long to actually do something about the Ruskies invading Ukraine?’
Intellectual: Peril Emotional: Danger
‘The evidence suggests that we will place the existence of the human race in peril should we ignore the evidence presented by climate scientists.’
‘Those bloody climate deniers have put us all in danger because they won’t believe the facts about global climate change.’
Intellectual: WorldwideEmotional: In The World
‘There appears to be a worldwide conspiracy amongst Big Business to drive the population into a frenzy of needless consumption merely to support the excessive lifestyles of the super-rich.’
‘Nearly everyone in the world’s been fooled by the leaders of Big Business and their plan to make us all buy things we don’t need just to keep them rich and comfortable.’
This last post in this series is also the last on this blog. From today, all my posts will appear in my new, developing, website at http://stuartaken.net/ Please do join me there.Related articles [image error] A Climate Change Denier's Links to the Fossil Fuel Industry Exposed [image error] Climate Deniers Using Same Tactics as Big Tobacco [image error] Climate Change: What's Really Been Going On (And How We Can Solve It)
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