Simon P. Clark's Blog, page 7

An Insight Into Editing - Eren

Editing is one of those things that new (and old) writers find frustrating and readers find fascinating. Maybe it's because it lays bare the bones of a story, or because it's often what separates bad writing from good, but the whole thing - the whole process of writing and rewriting and going over things - seems to have developed a mythology of its own.

I'm in the middle (or, towards the end, I hope) of editing Eren. While every book is different, the process has been eye-opening and helped me...

Short Stories Are A Good Thing

I feel like I should open this post with a confession; I haven't read Alice Munro. Nevertheless, her just-announced Nobel Prize has got a lot of people talking, and one thing in particular seems to be coming up again and again - the fact she wrote short stories.

Lots of writers write short stories, of course (or short fiction, or stories, or whatever you wish to call them). Munro simply wrote more short pieces than anything else. She has one novel, but ten collections. That's hard to do in a w...

Update / New Stories

It's been a busy few days around here. I've been away for the last week in Bermuda / a ship going to and from Bermuda, which was relaxing and exciting and beautiful and a lot of other things. I got some writing done, and some editing, but just before I left I managed to get a lot of work on Eren done, which is good. I hope. I think so.

The blog looks different right now - and for a very good reason. I was lucky enough to win an art piece from the very talented Kate Jarvik Birch, so soon e...

Writer, Tell Your Story @ The Writers' & Artists' Yearbook

Yes, I know I'm supposed to be on break, editing. Such is life.

I have a guest post today up on The Writers' & Artists' Yearbook, all about Van Gogh, writing even when no one is watching, and how important it is to write, in the end, for yourself. You can find the post here: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/2013/09/writer-tell-your-story

Apart from that, a lot is happening - not least, a trip to Bermuda in a couple of weeks, which will mean much time away from the Internet, and...

Gone Editin'

It's funny how writing can be so time consuming, so tiring even when it's fun. The hours / weeks / months spent on a new story, a new project, can be a bit overwhelming at times, but then you end up with a book, and that's a form of magic, I suppose.

Eren is a complex story, a story about stories, and what they mean. It's set in a town, and it's about a boy - Oli - but it's also partly my attempt to understand what myths and tales are. It's not an easy question, that.

I spent some time today on...

AgentHunter.co.uk - A Review

I was recently given the chance to review a new agent database / website, Agent Hunter. Full disclosure - they were nice enough to offer me a year's subscription in return for this - but I promise, it's an entirely honest and unedited critique. The first they'll see of this post is when I publish it. I also already have an agent - the incomparable Molly Ker Hawn (Hi, Molly!) - but hey, it's the thought that counts.

It came as something of a relief to me that Agent Hunter is actually reall...

We Are One Four and Other Shenanigans

I have been a busy bee lately, and the blog's been somewhat ignored. Woops.

Let's just jump right into the most exciting news: We Are One Four!

We Are One Four is a new group of authors, all with debuts coming out in 2014. We're a mixed bunch, but all of our books are either young adult or middle grade. There's romance, horror, and everything in between, and the group will be growing over the next year as more writers come and build it with us. The whole thing's organized through http://ww...

Too Hard And Too Real: Bowdlerizing And Condescension In Children’s Books

From Wikipedia:  Thomas Bowdler (11 July 1754 – 24 February 1825) was an English physician and philanthropist, best known for publishing The Family Shakspeare, an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's work, edited by his sister Henrietta Maria Bowdler, intended to be more appropriate for 19th century women and children than the original.

When children read books, is it a good thing?

Books are a bit of a two-way street. Writers put their thoughts down and send them out into the world,...

Why Being A Writer Means Being A Waiter

Waiting. Oh, waiting.

It's part of a writer's life like you wouldn't believe.

Not the tables-and-tips kind - though I'm sure there are plenty of writers who also work as waiters, and plenty of waiters who also work as writers.

No, the other kind - the-less fun kind. The P word, actually.

Patience.

The kind of person who will sit down and pour their mind out into pages and pages of words, and then share those words with other people, tends to be a little ... off. There's always an arrogance about a...

Having Problems With Words

I've been going back and forth about this blog post, trying to come up with interesting topics for readers and writers, all full of insightful sayings and learned wisdom.

Ten Ways Writers Are Like Fish.

The Best Way To Write A Query Letter Using Rhyme And Interpretive Dance. 

Web 2.0 For Left Handed Writers Living In Asia. 

Reasons I Hate Writing And Love Rum

But actually I thought I’d try to write something more honest, less contrived, and less aimed at a particular group of people.

Wri...