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Recent Posts
- Behind the scenes – or – Why I did not write two new books during lockdown. May 18, 2022
- Happy Endings or Not? April 29, 2022
- What I’m reading (March 2022) March 15, 2022
- Viewpoint March 8, 2022
- Do You Need an Editor? March 1, 2022
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Tag Archives: writing advice
Viewpoint
I’m in a Facebook writers’ group for writers of all levels. Someone asked what the POV (point of view) limit was on a traditionally published debut novel. The answer, of course is: there isn’t one. Sometimes you find prescriptive pieces … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction
Tagged books, crossways, empire of dust, fantasy, jacey bedford, Nimbus, POV, psi-tech, psi-tech trilogy, reading, rowankind, silverwold, viewpoint, Winterwood, writing, writing advice
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Do You Need an Editor?
Yes, you absolutely do need an editor, but when? There’s a thread on one of the writers’ groups on Facebook as to whether you need to pay for a professional editor before you start punting your book to agents and … Continue reading
How to Write a Speculative Fiction Book
I’m not going to be able to teach you how to write a book in the twelve hundred or so words in this blog post – even presuming I have the skills. Yes I’ve written books, seven published so far … Continue reading
Posted in writing
Tagged books, characterisation, crossways, empire of dust, fantasy, jacey bedford, plot, plotting, reading, rowankind, Silverwolf, Winterwood, worldbuilding, writing, writing advice
2 Comments
Back, Just, and Other Superfluous Words
I’ve recently finished a structural edit on a YA manuscript, involving swapping some scenes around, making changes that needed to be worked through from beginning to end. In other words a proper structural edit, not a copy edit (which will … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction
Tagged editing, jacey bedford, superfluous words, writing, writing advice
4 Comments
Flashing Back
It’s generally easier to start writing a book at the beginning, keep on going until you reach the end, and then stop. A story has a beginning, a middle and an end. Sequential storytelling mirrors the world we experience on … Continue reading
Posted in writing
Tagged empire of dust, flashbacks, jacey bedford, prologues, writing, writing advice
2 Comments
What have I learned about writing?
Writing is a funny old business. Writers probably learn most by reading. You are what you read. Reading develops your ear for tight prose and snappy dialogue. Without even thinking about it, you learn about character and plot. The difficulty … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, historical fiction, reading, science fiction
Tagged donald maass, jacey bedford, misc.writing, usenet, writing, writing advice
2 Comments
Style Sheets
Posted on February 7, 2017 by Jacey Bedford There’s a lot of information to keep in your head if you’re writing a book. There’s even more if you’re writing a trilogy or a series. I happily wrote seven books without … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged copy edit, DAW, psi-tech, psi-tech trilogy, style sheet, writing, writing advice
3 Comments
How Long is a Piece of String?
Chopping and Changing – Revisions, Cuts and Additions. How long should your story or novel be? A piece (story, novel or poem) should be as long as it needs to be – but that’s not always as long as you, … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged Ann Leckie, editing, fantasy, jacey bedford, revision, science fiction, Sheila Gilbert, word count, writing, writing advice
2 Comments
Submission, Rejection, and my Coping Strategies
I’ve always written. I started my first novel when I was fifteen. (It was dire, and I never finished, but I loved writing it.) It took me years to actually tell anyone I wrote, and even more years before I … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged jacey bedford, psi-tech, rejection, rowankind, writing, writing advice
4 Comments
Finish What You Start – Or Don’t
Unless you stop faffing about re-writing the beginning of your story/novel, you’ll never finish it. Believe me, I know this. I am an expert in faffing around. I’ve spent untold hours/days/weeks/months getting the start of my novels just right. Sometimes … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged beginnings, Nimbus, psi-tech, psi-tech trilogy, rowankind, Rowankind trilogy, writing, writing advice
7 Comments
Committing Trilogy
As I write this blog post I’m editing and polishing my third Psi-Tech book, Nimbus, the last in my trilogy of space operas (though there may be more ahead set in the same universe—it’s too early to tell, yet.) It’s … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged fantasy, fantasy books, historical fantasy, psi-tech, rowankind, science fiction, space opera, trilogy, writing, writing advice
1 Comment
Style Sheets
There’s a lot of information to keep in your head if you’re writing a book. There’s even more if you’re writing a trilogy or a series. I happily wrote seven books without having a single style sheet… and then I … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged jacey bedford, psi-tech, style sheet, writing, writing advice
2 Comments
Ten Quick Tips for Writers
Here are ten quick tips for writers (not necessarily in order of usefulness and not necessarily complete). Feel free to ignore what doesn’t work for you. Remember: ‘Follow no rule off a cliff.’ – C.J. Cherryh. Besides these are not … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged empire of dust, jacey bedford, writing, writing advice
2 Comments
The Yin and Yang of Writing Advice
Writing advice is great – when it works for you. When it doesn’t, find another way of doing things. “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” —W. Somerset Maugham: “Follow no rule … Continue reading