Tag Archives: writing advice

How Long is a Piece of String?

Posted on June 30, 2020 by

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 →

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Submission, Rejection, and my Coping Strategies

Posted on June 18, 2019 by

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 →

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Finish What You Start – Or Don’t

Posted on September 11, 2018 by

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 →

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IAm/Am Not a Word Machine

Posted on September 21, 2017 by

A reprint from a blog I did for Emerald Musings back in February 2017 – with updates. Douglas Adams famously said: ‘I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.’ That may have worked for … Continue reading →

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Committing Trilogy

Posted on April 20, 2017 by

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 →

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Style Sheets

Posted on February 7, 2017 by

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 →

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Ten Quick Tips for Writers

Posted on January 24, 2017 by

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 →

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The Yin and Yang of Writing Advice

Posted on December 13, 2016 by

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 →

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