Simon P. Clark's Blog, page 9

The Power & Importance of Books, and Why Children's Books Aren't The Same as Lying

Last weekend I decided to go book buying - and, for reasons of my own that are probably not too hard to work out, I was determined to eschew Amazon.com. Independent bookstores are wonderful places but they're fast becoming few and far between. A little online research, though, soon led us to To Be Continued, a pretty snazzy store in Metuchen, NJ. It's only about 15 minutes away from me, and this is a Good Thing.

(The shop's actually in the exact location of a previous bookshop that closed...

Thirteen Years, 150 Posts, and a Book Deal

I've been unusually quiet on this blog for a while. Writing happened, and life, and beaches, etc. I've also been holding off on writing this post. It's this blog's 150th, and I wanted it to be something special and awesome and something that could act as a big huzzah. Then, like a lot of things when you think about them and want them to be just right, nothing did seem right, so I kept waiting.

Well, now, a Good Thing has happened (perhaps even a Great Thing) and it is easily 150th post materia...

Ian, Who Queried Agents, and Died in a Mudslide - A Cautionary Tale

Once upon a time there was a man who was partly mad, and so he became a writer.

Look at what fun he's having, children, with his pens and paper and all his ideas. Hooray for the writer! Hooray!

One day, not so long ago, the writer - who we can call Ian, if you like - decided it was time to write a Book. It was going to be a Very Good Book, and perhaps even a Great Book. He didn't write it just to make money, although if that happened, well then, he wasn't going to say no.

He might have been a...

Wednesday's Inspiring Books

Yes, returned once more, it's Wednesday's Inspiring Books, a series of posts looking at books that inspired me as a child. Specifically, inspired me to become an author. On the shoulders of these giants I now want to stand and do good, bookish things, and it's thanks to these books and these authors that the Simon sitting here today is not some other, non-writer Simon.

Today's book / books is / are THE DOOMSPELL TRILOGY, by Cliff McNish.

    
Snazzy covers, no?
I read these bo...

Eleven Things Never to Say to an Author

I wish I could do that

No you don't. You wish you could stay at home in your PJs all day, which is what you think I do. What I actually do is work a normal job and also spend hours alone at my computer making things up, like the word 'quobblum,' which I am particularly proud of. Hey. Hey, no! No, don't walk away! I want to tell you about my quobblums...

I had this idea for a book...

Good. And next time you visit your vet I suggest you tell him about the idea you had for a new type of cat.

Remembe...

Great First Lines Part One - Twenty Years of The Carnegie Medal

I had it in my mind to write a post about opening lines - about how they mean so much, set the tone, can change whether a person reads a story or not. I thought about writing a post about first lines and how they change from draft to draft to final book, losing words, changing angle, sometimes taking on whole new meanings,

And then I thought - no. Not that. What's the best way to see how to do opening lines? Where's the best place to look to see it done right?

Good books.

Any...

Modern Grimmoire Anthology NOW ON SALE

Happy to announce that my first officially published story is now out there in the world, to be bought and read and everything else. It's part of Modern Grimmoire: Fairy Tales, Fables and Folklore, which you can read about, buy, and enjoy just by clicking that link - or even by clicking this picture of the actual book in my actual hand:



The hardcover is $18, and the e-book will be available on Friday, May 24. It's a beautiful book and the folk at Indigo Ink Press have done a fantastic job...

I Want To Be a Writer, I Just Don't Have Time To Read

Modern life certainly feels like it's getting busier all the time. Unless you're living in a yurt, or possibly some sort of make-shift tipi, chances are you're reading this on your computer, maybe in between several other tasks, with family and friends and fun nights out all stuffed in there as well.

[Full disclosure: I had to look up how to spell tipi. Who knew?]

Working as a writer is time-consuming enough. Getting reading done can become a luxury - a stolen moment when yo...

If Only I Had Enough Time - Weak Sauce Excuses and Writing

Gosh, books are hard. Aren't they? They're so long, for one thing. Have you noticed? Thousands of words, at least. And not even the same word. All different words, put together, to make stories that are supposed to make sense. Flippin' heck.

Writing a book. That's something people do. Why not you? You're too busy, probably. You'd like to. You'd love to. You easily could, as well. It's easy. You just don't have the time, what with being so busy and all.

Or ... are you too busy? Really? Or are yo...

Ten Reasons Writer's Block Isn't A Real Thing

Yes, I said it. Plenty of other people have, too. Writer's block isn't a thing. It's not actually a very good excuse for not doing something you want to do. It's not a good reason for stopping and not carrying on - especially if you don't feel your writing life has got "there" yet - wherever "there" may be for you.
It's definitely not a good excuse for stopping just because things are hard. Yes, writing gets hard. Of course it does. That's the moment you're supposed to roll up your sleeps and...