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A writer's journey
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A writer’s reflections
175. Do readers still crave long books?
173. Appeal to intellect or emotion?
172. Verbing
171. ChatGPT, the Chinese Room, and the future of human creativity
170. Is verbosity always bad?
169. Reaching one thousand views
168. Loab is coming
166. Grammar snobs and imaginary mistakes
162. People do not have as much character as portrayed in novel
161. Is originality essential?
160. The future isn’t what it used to be
158. Stories as feel-good therapy
156. Stories and the discovery of the individual hero
154. Truth, Lies, and Stories
151. Tartan and Treachery – a Scottish fascination with spooks
147. Colour me stupid
145. The fiction of troubled times
138. Scenarios for the world after Covid
137. Risk and Fear. Coronavirus Narratives
136. Smashing statues
131. Writing through the lockdown
129. How does a story mean?
127. Twenty novels that shaped literature
126. The mystery rhythm of Sam was a Man
124. Does politics mar literature?
120. Stories that are hidden from us
119. Brexit, uncertainty and the toast Jesus
113. The third variety of fiction
111. What are judges looking for in a writing competition?
109. Complexity or intensity: is sentimentality bad fiction?
108. Creation and Analysis
105. Magic realism vs fantasy vs surrealism
101. The novel as self-discovery
My Writing Year
95. I won, I won, I won
93. Stories for change – restoration or transformation?
89. Point of view and perspective
88. Ideology and fiction
85. Writing Gracefully
Let me through, I’m a story-teller
82. A strategic turn
74. Granddad! What have you done?
72. How many stories are there?
58. Complexity, stories and the Trickster
54. Ideas from the frontier of knowledge
51. The unsuspected power of stories, Part 3
48. The unsuspected power of stories, Part 2
47. The unsuspected power of stories, Part 1
37. Joan of Arc – heroine or pawn?
33. If you can’t name it, you can’t see it
32. Could a machine write my books?
24. Inner Voices – where do stories come from?
23. The kindness of other writers
16. Playing fast and loose with the facts – more on historical “mash-up”
11. Some more encouraging numbers
10. Social media – 19,999,988 to go
7. Tinkering
2. Learning to Write
1. Join a group
Literary Events
164. Farnham Fiction Award Prizewinners
163. Farnham Fiction Award 2022 Shortlist
135. Farnham Flash Fiction Competition 2020
60. Foyles Discovery Day – speed dating with agents
56. The monthly challenge
45. In which our hero attends a Literary Event
20. Costa Short Story Award
15. Winchester – a worship of writers
Publishing
146 How to get your book noticed and bought
144. Press launch of “spycop” novel
143. What’s gone wrong with the Amazon “buy” button?
142. On the launch pad
141. Building a review strategy
140 Cover reveal: the evolution of a design
139. What would you pay? Pricing a book
134. Threading the Needle—my journey to publication 2: Which cover?
132. Threading the Needle—my journey to publication 1: The basics
130. Who do you turn to? Choosing self-publishing help
107. Do Readers Prefer Long Novels?
96. A Mentor to walk with me
92. How to succeed as a novelist – more facts
91. The Farnham Short Story Competition
87. How to succeed as a novelist – the facts
86. Rejection is your friend
78. The Big Push
75. The Sunday Times Prize – tempting the muse with breadcrumbs
73. Progress
53. Are you a brand?
31. What price artistic integrity?
28. To publish or not to publish?
17. For whom the bell curve tolls
14. Rejection
8. How do you know what agents and publishers want? Some key websites.
5. Rejection hurts – the dark night of the soul, the light at the end of the tunnel and other clichés
4. After the writing is over – publishing
Writing tips and tools
174. How can you tell what criticism to listen to?
167. Past or present tense? Which to use?
165. How to write sexual attraction
150. Which book discovery site offers best value for money?
149. The world in a grain of sand: fractal stories
128. Crafting powerful scenes
125. Six plot twists and two to avoid
123. How to Win Writing Competitions. Fifteen great tips
122. The robot will see you now: writing apps reviewed
121. Test-driving the Story Grid tool
117 The Shape of Stories
116. Story analysis apps under review
115. Frame Stories
114. From tiny tickles to character reveals: tropisms
113. The third variety of fiction
112. Rules bestselling authors ignore
110. Writing densely: layers and motifs
108. Creation and Analysis
106. Story tricks: making surprise work for you
103. Two steps forward, one step back
100. How to increase visitors to your site
94. Beating the odds to win literary competitions
90. Who do you write like? The limitations of literary analysis tools
83. My secret formula for flash fiction
81. Writing sex
79. Flash in the pan – tips for writing flash fiction
79. Flash in the pan – tips for writing flash fiction
77. Angry readers
76. Why it’s worth writing short stories
71. World-building
70. Developing an author platform
69. The art of descriptive writing
67. Road-testing agents and publishers listings, and avoiding scams
66. The curse of self-doubt
63. Writing a character with post-traumatic stress
62. How did she do that? – The Girl on the Train reverse engineered
57. Kill your darlings
55. A patchwork quilt – linking the impossible
52. The rhythm of language
46. Don’t worry about finding your voice
44. Revising with spine and ribs
43. Things I learned from the University of Iowa creative writing course.
42. What makes a good ending?
40. Zhuang Zhu’s Dream
39. The fourth wall – how readers collude with writers
36. Conceptualists and Experimentalists – which are you?
30. How sticky is glue? Footnote on editing software
29. Machina ex Deus
27. Editing – am I a craftsman?
Micro-editing points: Writing
Macro-editing points: Character and Story
26. Pithy pitches that woo for you
19. Writing and editing tools
18. The moral core of your characters
13. Scenes, Sequels, and MRUs
12. Tools
9. Lying to your readers
3. Plotting out a story
My fiction
Friday Fictioneers – Two Doors
Friday Fictioneers – Generative Pre-trained Transformer
Friday Fictioneers – The Spell
Friday Fictioneers – Running on Joy
Friday Fictioneers – Ethan
Friday Fictioneers – Indecision
Friday Fictioneers – Blood orange and red onion
Friday Fictioneers – Memories of memories
Friday Fictioneers – Mimesis
Friday Fictioneers – Who knew?
Friday Fictioneers – Imaginary Islands
Friday Fictioneers – Lost City
Friday Fictioneers – First Contact
Friday Fictioneers – Playing my part
Friday Fictioneers – The Price of Everything
Friday Fictioneers – Questioning
Friday Fictioneers – Sunlight through lattice
Friday Fictioneers- Manifestation
Friday Fictioneers – Genius
Friday Fictioneers – Oops
Friday Fictioneers – Moment of Decision
Friday Fictioneers – See Spot Run
Friday Fictioneers – Psst
Min Min Challenge – The best laid plans
Friday Fictioneers – Empty Eyes
Friday Fictioneers – Transference
Min Min Challenge – Lights in the Sky
Friday Fictioneers – Incident on the A9
Friday Fictioneers – The Escher Staircase
Friday Fictioneers – The end of memory
Friday Fictioneers – Fire
Friday Fictioneers – Rear Window
Friday Fictioneers – The Visitor
Friday Fictioneers – The Apology
Friday Fictioneers – The gods
Friday Fictioneers – Homecoming
Friday Fictioneers – Behind the door
Friday Fictioneers – Sign
Friday Fictioneers – The Beach
Friday Fictioneers – Loab
Friday Fictioneers – Floating
Friday Fictioneers – War Correspondent
Friday Fictioneers -They will understand
Friday Fictioneers – Accident
Friday Fictioneers – Signatures
Friday Fictioneers – Big Rain
Friday Fictioneers – Control
Friday Fictioneers – Waiter, there’s a man in my soup
Friday Fictioneers – Footprint
Friday Fictioneers – Astro-archaeology
Friday Fictioneers – Rant
Friday Fictioneers – Absence
Friday Fictioneers – Juxtaposition
Friday Fictioneers – The Rift
Friday Fictioneers- The Fate
Friday Fictioneers – Say it with flowers
Friday Fictioneers – Sure and Certain Hope
Friday Fictioneers – Fireworks
Friday Fictioneers – The Smoke That Thunders
Friday Fictioneers – Belinda’s Window
Friday Fictioneers – Worm i’ the Bud
Friday Fictioneers – Post-It
Friday Fictioneers – Smartarse
Friday Fictioneers – The Slight
Friday Fictioneers – The Corner
Friday Fictioneers – The Lost Story
Friday Fictioneers – Tessellation
Friday Fictioneers – I know
Friday Fictioneers – Mutability
Friday Fictioneers – The Sight
Friday Fictioneers – Silence
Friday Fictioneers – Refugee
Friday Fictioneers – Beauty is Truth
Friday Fictioneers – Living With It
Friday Fictioneers – Magic Boy
Friday Fictioneers – The Kit
Friday Fictioneers – Quiet Desperation
Friday Fictioneers – The Song
Friday Fictioneers – Kids do the darnedest things
Friday Fictioneers – Courtship
Friday Fictioneers – Street Artist
Friday Fictioneers – One is not enough
Friday Fictioneers – Uncertainty
Friday Fictioneers – Bequest
Friday Fictioneers – The Dunny on Dune View
Friday Fictioneers – Shoeshine
Friday Fictioneers – The Fence
Friday Fictioneers – On the Ice
Friday Fictioneers – Sticky Past
Friday Fictioneers – Make Money While You Sleep
Friday Fictioneers – Summer holiday
Friday Fictioneers – Funfair of youth
Friday Fictioneers – Take my hand
Friday Fictioneers – Never forgetting
Friday Fictioneers – Lights
Friday Fictioneers – The Secret
159. Ritzkreig
Friday Fictioneers – Cycle of Life
Friday Fictioneers – Cambridge Backs
Friday Fictioneers – Anxiety
Friday Fictioneers – Warlord
Friday Fictioneers – It’s alive
157. Reading the pandemic runes: Covid stories
Friday Fictioneers -Old Man on the Horizon
Friday Fictioneers – Wisps
Friday Fictioneers – Bauble
Friday Fictioneers – Something’s Coming
Friday Fictioneers – Mary’s in the fridge
Friday Fictioneers – Making Memories
155. Are you a spymaster? Can you crack this code?
Friday Fictioneers – Blinded
Friday Fictioneers – Hero
Friday Fictioneers – Power for Life
Friday Fictioneers – Matter out of place
Friday Fictioneers – Making the Sky
Friday Fictioneers – Giant
Friday Fictioneers – A Traveller’s Tale
Friday Fictioneers – Even Stevens
Friday Fictioneers – Disaster Movie
Friday Fictioneers – Alone
Friday Fictioneers – Up Went the Barrel
Friday Fictioneers – I want a table
Friday Fictioneers – Baking
152. Special Offer
Friday Fictioneers – Writer in Lockdown
Friday Fictioneers – Maestro
Friday Fictioneers – Truth Telling
Friday Fictioneers – Keeping Ted Alive
Friday Fictioneers – Transaction
Friday Fictioneers – Where’s Wally?
Friday Fictioneers – Anti-Vax
Friday Fictioneers – Gaslight
Friday Fictioneers – The Wink
148. Cara’s Saga
Friday Fictioneers – Job Interview
Friday Fictioneers – Gratitude
Friday Fictioneers – Battle Cry
Friday Fictioneers – Gone
Friday Fictioneers – Field Report
Friday Fictioneers – Switchback
Friday Fictioneers – The Future
Friday Fictioneers – Cast Off
Friday Fictioneers – The Shadow
Friday Fictioneers – Magic Door
144. Press launch of “spycop” novel
Friday Fictioneers – the street
Friday Fictioneers – Hiding
Friday Fictioneers – Self-Interest
Friday Fictioneers – Escape
Friday Fictioneers – Dirt
Friday Fictioneers – The kiss
Friday Fictioneers – The Limits of Spells
142. On the launch pad
Friday Fictioneers – Keep America Beautiful
Friday Fictioneers – Off
Friday Fictioneers – Illusion
Friday Fictioneers – Jacob’s Ladder
Friday Fictioneers – The Dying of the Light
Friday Fictioneers – The Train
Friday Fictioneers – Backdoor
Friday Fictioneers – Objet d’Art
Friday Fictioneers – Strangers
Friday Fictioneers – The system
Friday Fictioneers – Captaining
Friday Fictioneers – Dragons
Friday Fictioneers – Second Story Man
Friday Fictioneers – Charcoal Charlie
Friday Fictioneers – the world in a grain of sand
Friday Fictioneers – Airiness
Friday Fictioneers – Overlords
Friday Fictioneers – Jesus wen cry
Friday Fictioneers – Make your own story
Friday Fictioneers – I had an idea
Friday Fictioneers – Through a zinc sheet darkly
Friday Fictioneers – Dreaming Spires
Friday Fictioneers – Earth Abides
Friday Fictioneers – Coda
Friday Fictioneers – The Experiment
Friday Fictioneers – Dreams
Friday Fictioneers – The Knock
Friday Fictioneers – Seed Bank
Friday Fictioneers – Progress
Friday Fictioneers – Parting
Friday Fictioneers – Meal by Cloud
Friday Fictioneers – Duty
Friday Fictioneers – Tupilakosaurus
Friday Fictioneers – Daddy
Friday Fictioneers – Homesick
Friday Fictioneers – Reflections
Friday Fictioneers – The Hard Problem
Friday Fictioneers – Twins
Friday Fictioneers – Shame
Friday Fictioneers – Cavity
Friday Fictioneers – Taxi War
Friday Fictioneers – Fairy Ring
Friday Fictioneers – Help
Friday Fictioneers – Sacrifice
Friday Fictioneers – Playing House
Friday Fictioneers – The Wrong Destination
Friday Fictioneers – Bar girl
Friday Fictioneers – Skin Deep
Friday Fictioneers – Vocabulomancy
Friday Fictioneers – All
Friday Fictioneers – Obedience
Friday Fictioneers – the Line
Friday Fictioneers – Until Yesterday
Friday Fictioneers – Cracks
Friday Fictioneers – Ancestor
Friday Fictioneers – Ten Steps
Friday Fictioneers – Purple Emperor
Friday Fictioneers – Martians
Friday Fictioneers – Dilemma
Friday Fictioneers – Holiday Town
Friday Fictioneers – Urban Haunting
Friday Fictioneers – Reincarnation
Friday Fictioneers – Breakfast
Friday Fictioneers – Bel Canto
Friday Fictioneers – Deception
Friday Fictioneers – Just a Small One
Friday Fictioneers – Bears
Friday Fictioneers – Gizmo
Friday Fictioneers – Selkie
Friday Fictioneers – Alex
Friday Fictioneers – Temple
Friday Fictioneers – Reflections
Friday Fictioneers – Sorry
Friday Fictioneers – The Message
Friday Fictioneers – Stardeath
Friday Fictioneers – Mill Girl
Friday Fictioneers – The Fan
Friday Fictioneers – Conundrum
Friday Fictioneers – The Package
Friday Fictioneers – The Bad Thing
Friday Fictioneers – The Librarian
Friday Fictioneers – Hunter’s Moon
Friday Fictioneers – Hologram
Friday Fictioneers – Safe haven
Friday Fictioneers – Hospitality
Friday Fictioneers – Fjord
Friday Fictioneers – Miss Masie’s Mausoleum
Friday Fictioneers – Surveyors
Friday Fictioneers – Expedition
Friday Fictioneers – Vanishing Point
Friday Fictioneers – Oil
Friday Fictioneers – Subject and Object
Friday Fictioneers – Malkie
Friday Fictioneers – The Last
Friday Fictioneers – T is for taunt
Friday Fictioneers – Incubus
Friday Fictioneers – Do Buy
Friday Fictioneers – Compassion
Friday Fictioneers – The Collection
Friday Fictioneers – Backstage
Friday Fictioneers – Fish
Friday Fictioneers – Free Speech
Friday Fictioneers – Day’s End
Friday Fictioneers – Dan Grimes
Friday Fictioneers – Late
Friday Fictioneers – Radium Daguerreotype
Friday Fictioneers – Meaning
Friday Fictioneers – Small miracles
Friday Fictioneers – Air Show
Friday Fictioneers – I didn’t plan to steal your dog
Friday Fictioneers – The Mask
Friday Fictioneers – The Dance
Friday Fictioneers – Bargee
Friday Fictioneers – Window
Friday Fictioneers – Capitol
Friday Fictioneers – Holes
Friday Fictioneers – Personalised Medicine
Friday Fictioneers – Magic
Friday Fictioneers – The Walker’s Tale
Friday Fictioneers – On the Run
Friday Fictioneers – Storage Solution
Friday Fictioneers – Taking dictation
Friday Fictioneers – Mission Accomplished
Friday Fictioneers – Upcycling
104. Nothing is as it was
Friday Fictioneers – The Visitation
Friday Fictioneers – The Meeting
Friday Fictioneers – Naming
Friday Fictioneers – Lights in the Sky
Friday Fictioneers – Legend
Friday Fictioneers – Blizzard
Friday Fictioneers – Butterflies
Friday Fictioneers – Enchantment
Friday Fictioneers – Teatime in Paradise
Friday Fictioneers – Monument
Friday Fictioneers – Rooming House
Friday Fictioneers – Gravity
Friday Fictioneers – Cup
Friday Fictioneers – Doing Time
Friday Fictioneers – Wheels within Wheels
Friday Fictioneers – Going Home
Friday Fictioneers – Boundarising
Friday Fictioneers – Succour
95. I won, I won, I won
Friday Fictioneers – Bio-hacker
Friday Fictioneers – Invention
Friday Fictioneers – Breathing
Friday Fictioneers – Common as muck
Friday Fictioneers – Attack
Friday Fictioneers – Ordinary Folk
Friday Fictioneers – The Cottage
Friday Fictioneers – Locked-in
Friday Fictioneers – Reflection
Friday Fictioneers – Wasteland 2
Friday Fictioneers – Walker
Friday Fictioneers – Miracle at Breakfast
Friday Fictioneers – Spectre
Friday Fictioneers – Eternity
Friday Fictioneers – Feral Stories
Friday Fictioneers – Portal
Friday Fictioneers – Moko
Friday Fictioneers – Flower Power
Friday Fictioneers – One Phone Call
Friday Fictioneers – Railway Time
Friday Fictioneers – the Copenhagen Interpretation
Friday Fictioneers – Erasure
Friday Fictioneers – Fairy Tale
Friday Fictioneers – Departure
Friday Fictioneers – Duet
Friday Fictioneers – Beam me up
Friday Fictioneers – Where do people come from?
Friday Fictioneers – the Temptation of Solomon Strong
Friday Fictioneers – Nostalgia
Friday Fictioneers – Confession
Friday Fictioneers – Chess
Friday Fictioneers – the Yagnobi
Friday Fictioneers – The Atelier
Friday Fictioneers – Still Life
Friday Fictioneers – Writing on the Wall
Friday Fictioneers – Waterfront
Friday Fictioneers – A Bundle of Sticks
Friday Fictioneers – Tourist Trap
Friday Fictioneers – Portent
Friday Fictioneers -A Tale Endless as Summer
Friday Fictioneers – Starfall
Friday Fictioneers – Garbage
Friday Fictioneers – Entanglement
Friday Fictioneers – Orchid
Friday Fictioneers – Illumination
Friday Fictioneers – Staying Put
Friday Fictioneers – the Miller’s Daughter
Friday Fictioneers – At Pat’s
Friday Fictioneers – The Test
Friday Fictioneers – The Curtain
Friday Fictioneers – Speaking English
Friday Fictioneers – After the Asteroid
Friday Fictioneers – Lovers
Friday Fictioneers – The world carried on
Friday Fictioneers – the Cellist
Friday Fictioneers – The Past
Friday Fictioneers – Void
Friday Fictioneers – Pieces of Eight
Friday Fictioneers – News
Friday fictioneers – Bigness
Friday Fictioneers – The Vaults
Friday Fictioneers – Fame
The memory vats
The Machine
Friday Fictioneers – The Signature, Part 2
Friday fictioneers – The Signature
Friday fictioneers – What’s the point of wasps?
Friday Fictioneers – Thebes
Disappearance
Friday Fictioneers – Abstract
Friday Fictioneers – Leaving
Friday Fictioneers -The Ambassador
Friday fictioneers – Parting
Friday fictioneers – The Fury
Friday Fictioneers – Journeying
Friday Fictioneers – Curiosity
Friday Fictioneers – Inside
Friday Fictioneers – War
Friday Fictioneers – Beside the seaside
Friday fictioneers – Waiting
Friday Fictioneers – Blue is the colour
Friday Fictioneers – Missing
Friday fictioneers – the fall of an angel
Friday Fictioneers – Mud
Friday Fictioneers – Mystery
Friday Fictioneers – Wasteland
Friday Fictioneers – Metropolis
Friday fictioneers – The Mice
Friday fictioneers – river of stars
61. Spin again – Henry VII’s Star Chamber
59. The age-old art of spin
49. Engines of war
40. Zhuang Zhu’s Dream
37. Joan of Arc – heroine or pawn?
The Scrivener’s Forge Writing Exercises
The Scrivener’s Forge – finale
The Swan and the Company – Scrivener’s Forge 12
The Scrivener’s Forge 12 – An exercise in creativity
Rupture – Scrivener’s Forge 11
The Scrivener’s Forge 11 – Point of view again
Beans Talk – Scrivener’s Forge 10
The Scrivener’s Forge 10 – Point of view
The Scrivener’s Forge 9 – Reveals
Hunting – Scrivener’s Forge 8
The Scrivener’s Forge 8 – Plot and Endings
Bomaru’s Quest Part IV – Scrivener’s Forge 7
Noble Lies – Scrivener’s Forge 4 exercise
The Scrivener’s Forge 4 – Character and Likeability
Waiting – Scrivener’s Forge 3 exercise
The Scrivener’s Forge 3
Reunion
The Scrivener’s Forge 2: Character, Desire, and Plot
Spin Cycle
The Scrivener’s Forge 5 – Character and World-building
The Scrivener’s Forge 1
The Scrivener’s Forge 7 – Plot: Go in late, come out early
Loving Kiran – Scrivener’s Forge 6 exercise
The Scrivener’s Forge 6 – Character is action
The Barn – Scrivener’s Forge 5 exercise
Conversations
152. Knowing what and how to write
98. Interview with Claire Fuller
35. Conversation with A U Latif
34. Songs from the Laughing Tree by A U Latif
A Mentee’s Journey
A Mentee’s Journey 2: First Pass
A Mentee’s Journey 1: Anticipations from an arranged marriage
A Mentee’s Journey 3: Voyage’s End
The Tears of Boabdil
Conversations
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