R.A. Black's Blog, page 5
March 10, 2015
Book Review – Medieval Minds
Medieval Minds by R Holland What would you do if you were offered a free trip to tour a medieval theme park for the week of Spring Break, and later found out you were going to be paid $1,000 dollars? Victoria (Tori) Ginsen and her best friend Jasmine are given an offer from a beautiful […]
March 1, 2015
Realistic Vs Believable
I write mainly horror and fantasy, so my work is full of things that either don’t exist, can’t exist, or most people wouldn’t accept existing. Demons, guardian spirits, soul transference, sympathetic magic, mind reading, ghosts and were-kittens have all appeared in manuscripts I have written or I’m currently writing. In exploring these topics, there are […]
February 26, 2015
Things to Look Out for When Editing
On the back of the previous post, here are some things to watch out for when you are editing your own work. You don’t have to take out every adverb or cut just entirely from your manuscript. I don’t believe in blanket rules for writing, other than the grammatical ones, but they’re definitely things you […]
February 25, 2015
Editing Happily Ever After
Writing the novel is always the easiest bit. Having finished Happily Ever After about a month ago now, I’m beginning the next stretch – editing. This is probably the most grueling part of the process. Not necessarily the hardest, as I think querying probably wins that prize, but it’s definitely a hard slog. I’m waiting […]
February 17, 2015
Book Review – Branded (Fall of Angels, Book 1)
Branded (Fall of Angels, Book 1) Keary Taylor Jessica’s had the nightmares for as long as she can remember. Nightmares of being judged for people who have died, of being branded by the angels. Her friends and family think she’s crazy because of it all. Yet she carries the mark of the condemned, seared into […]
February 15, 2015
Sun vs Snow Query Critique Workshop
See here for details. Of course, of anyone has any feedback I’d appreciated it. This is an unedited manuscript, so I haven’t really considered the query. As such, it’s very rough, I’ll warn you now! Title: Happily Ever After Wordcount: 107,000 Genre: Fantasy, Adult Query: Dear [agent name] They say that endings are just new beginnings and that […]
February 7, 2015
Book Review – Destinies Intertwined
Destinies Intertwined by Gaytri Deshmukh Lark isn’t your normal princess. She’s the princess of Myrinor, an influential kingdom with a rich history. Along with that title come great responsibilities, such as learning swordplay, trying her best to be the perfect role model, and most importantly, hiding her deepest secret. As days go by, she discovers […]
The Problem of the Passive Princess
The book has female characters, who act like women, rather than cardboard cut-outs or men in dresses. They talk to each other about things other than men. But is that enough? There seems to be a problem with women, (and it nearly always is women), who talk up their strengths, who take the lead in stories, and […]
February 6, 2015
How My approach to Writing Novels has Changed
When I started my first novel, I was eighteen. I’d written many stories before this, but this one felt different. I didn’t know much then. I just enjoyed writing for the sake of it: building new worlds, creating new people to populate them. That hasn’t changed, but how I approached a new project has steadily […]
February 3, 2015
First Person Perspective or Third?
There is no right or wrong answer to this. Both options have pros and cons, and it is down to the writer to pick the one they think will work best. Sometimes we get it wrong. I wrote fifteen thousand words of Happily Ever After before I changed my mind and decided to switch from […]
