So, I’m hating having to write “Blue-Eyed Stranger”, that morris dancer/reenactor romance I mentioned. Possibly this is because the flu has settled into something bronchial and also blocked my sinuses. Possibly being knackered and ill and having the face of ache is enough to make me not want to work on this novella. But possibly…
For some reason, probably because Eldest is now at university and Youngest has never been known to remember birthdays or any other significant event without parental pressure, I was not expecting anyone to remember Mother’s Day this year. So imagine my shock and delight when they both collaborated to get me a present. Furthermore, it…
*g* It’s a slightly inflammatory title, I admit, but I do have a point, though it would be clearer if I rephrased it as “History and Historical Fantasy, is there a difference?” I’m discussing this over on the Samhain Romance blog https://www.samhainpublishing.com/2013/03/history-and-fantasy-is-there-a-difference/ and although I wouldn’t say I was 100% serious about it, having seen…
Having got your big idea and decided how long your story is going to be, it’s time to actually get started. A lot of people say they start with characters, but I think the idea must come first. For me, character creation starts with three things. The character’s role in the story, their name and…
Over on The Macaronis blog we’re having a day of posting excerpts and articles to do with our characters’ relationships with their mothers. I’m ashamed to say that this topic has made me realize how little my lads have to do with their mothers. Alec from Shining in the Sun being the notable exception, since…
So, you know how Captain America fights the evil organisation Hydra in order to save the world for the forces of freedom? Was someone in Random House trying to give us a subliminal warning about their new ebook-only imprint? http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/03/06/note-to-sff-writers-random-houses-hydra-imprint-has-appallingly-bad-contract-terms/ Obviously, I don’t have a problem with not getting an advance. I rather like knowing…
Last week, I started to talk about the structure of stories. At its most basic level it’s true to say that a story has a beginning, a middle and an end. But there are other things that you might want to think about before you start to make a plan for how to write your…
I found this on Nathan Brandsford’s blog His is naturally much more exciting, but here is the Pulp-o-Mizer cover for my blog Make your own here And since we’re on the subject of fun but silly, this made me laugh this morning too: http://www.snotr.com/video/8965/
This may be a timely reminder of how awesome you all are, and how you should not let society convince you there’s something wrong with you. It was for me 🙂 In our family, sitting together in the same room while browsing the internet on our phones/tablet/laptop can be sometimes substituted for sitting together in…
How come I know a bunch of boring stuff about Henry VIII and didn’t know about this? As part of my ongoing love affair with all things Romanian, I now discover that in Roman times they had artifacts of spectacular weirdness and opulence. Why have I not heard of the Dacians before? I was assuming…
