The Reading-Writing Nexus
Reading and writings go hand in hand. I wanted to be a writer because I loved reading so much. I wanted to do for other people what writers were doing for me. In a presentation to a large group of teenagers, I was once asked about the connection between...
Ten Steampunk Novels I Haven’t Had a Chance to Write Yet
Force 10 from Westminster The Disraeli Identity Mary Shelley, Princess of Power Gilbert and Sullivan and International Domination Have Pith Helmet, Will Travel The Revenge of the Colonies Dirigibles, Digging Machines and Great Big Tanks The Funicular Network Giant Cats Destroy London via the Underground (some work needed on...
Most Important Writing Tip Ever
Version Control This could be the most important writing tip you’ll ever read. I’ll settle for second best, I suppose, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be in the top five. Easily. Computers are wonderful and they make a writer’s life easier in many ways. But computers can make a...
Retrocool! How 1967 imagined life in 2001.
Thinking ’10 Futures’, and here is a great article about what 1967 thought 2001 was going to be like. Retrocool!...
Five Tips for Revising and Editing
Tip 1: use Word’s ‘Find’ feature (or ‘Advanced Find’ in Word 2010) to highlight words you use too often. Plug in the word, click on ‘Reading Highlight’ and then skim through your ms to get a stark visual overview of often the word appears. An abundance of fluoro yellow...
Being Edited
After reading Keith Stevenson’s thoughtful piece on the importance of editing, I began thinking about this process from the point of view of a writer. That is, I wanted to share some thoughts with you not on the subject of editing, but on the subject of being edited. This...
Steampunk Regalia
...
GREAT SF AND FANTASY CLICHÉS
If you ever find yourself thinking “Geez, why hasn’t anyone thought of that before?” the answer is: they probably have. And, more to the point, they’ve written a story about it that appeared in Super SF Stories Bumper Xmas Edition 1938. So, if you’re new to the genre –...
Writers Write: My Favourite Book 32
Tim Pegler As my childhood memories become foggier and less reliable, there are several book moments that stand out from the murk. The moment I discovered Herge’s The Red Sea Sharks (a graphic novel in a small rural library!) was like tripping over a gold nugget. The thrall induced...
I, You, He or She – Some Thoughts on Point of View
In 2003, I wrote the first draft of what was to become Blaze of Glory, the first book in my Laws of Magic series. As I was writing, I was perplexed by how difficult it was. It’s not that I expect writing a 100,000 word novel to be easy...