Tag Archives: writing

Milford Writers’ Retreat, May 2024

Posted on May 19, 2024 by Jacey Bedford

I’m starting to write this on Saturday 18th May 2024. I’ve just returned from the Milford Retreat Week at Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden, North Wales. I’m still giddy with excitement. It was such a great week, spent in the company … Continue reading →

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Scene Analysis – Winterwood

Posted on March 10, 2024 by Jacey Bedford

This was first written for Tiffani Angus’ blog when she was teaching creative writing and publishing. Story interspersed with my comments in bold italic. This first scene pretty much sprang into my mind fully formed. When I started to write … Continue reading →

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My Debut Novel – What I Know Now That I Wish I’d Known Before Publication

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Jacey Bedford

My first book, Empire of Dust, a space opera, came out in October 2014. I was excited, pleased and nervous all at the same time. A week or so before publication my author copies arrived, all packed up is a … Continue reading →

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My Publishing Journey

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Jacey Bedford

I started writing my first novel when I was fifteen, longhand in an old school notebook. I didn’t have a typewriter in those days. It was long before personal computers, and anyway, I couldn’t type. My characters were thinly disguised … Continue reading →

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Milford SF Writers’ Week

Posted on September 14, 2023 by Jacey Bedford

On 16th September I’m heading off to North Wales for a week of workshopping stories and novels with 14 other published science fiction and fantasy writers. We all submit up to 10,000 words in one or two pieces in advance … Continue reading →

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The Magic of Titles

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Jacey Bedford

I’m on Karen Traviss’ mailing list and her latest missive dropped today. I like Karen. She’s an ex-journalist, down to earth, prolific, and writes some excellent SF, whether it’s a franchise novel or an original. If you’ve never read any … Continue reading →

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Using a Word Cloud to Highlight Overused Words

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Jacey Bedford

First posted onJanuary 15, 2019 by Jacey Bedford Wordle used to be a web-based utility, a web toy that allowed you to paste in a piece of writing to make a word cloud. The more frequently a word appeared in … Continue reading →

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Cutting Overused and Filler Words

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Jacey Bedford

I’ve finished another edit of my Tam-Lin novel, The Midnight Rose. It’s almost ready to send off to my agent, so I’ve spent a few days cutting specific words, i.e. fillers that take up space without contributing to the meaning … Continue reading →

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Retreating

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Jacey Bedford

I’m at the Milford Writers’ Retreat in North Wales again. This will be the fourth retreat that Milford has run and I look forward to it each year. It’s a week of tranquility with no domestic duties or distractions. We’re … Continue reading →

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Retreating to Gladstone’s Library

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Jacey Bedford

During the first weekend in March, I went on a weekend writing retreat run by Shona Kinsella of the British Fantasy Society. The venue was Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden, North Wales. Yes, THAT Gladstone – William Ewart Gladstone, politician and … Continue reading →

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Happy Valentines

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Jacey Bedford

I don’t write romances, but all my books have an element of romance because – hey – humans are human and that means there’s going to be some attraction. In Empire of Dust, the first volume in my Psi-Tech space-opera … Continue reading →

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Hello 2023

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Jacey Bedford

Family plans were interrupted when our grandkids came down with a tummy bug and were unable to travel so 2023 didn’t start out so well for either us or them, but on 6th January my mum, Joan Lockyer, celebrated her … Continue reading →

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My 2022 Reading

Posted on December 31, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

I’ve blogged all my reading (and listening) over on my other blog at Dreamwidth https://jacey.dreamwidth.org/ so if you want detailed reviews, please go check it out. Several of these books were absorbed via Audible, especially the Lois McMaster Bujolds, Terry … Continue reading →

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Science Fiction and fantasy: when Germany seems farther way than Alpha Centauri or Narnia – a guest blog by Ju Honisch

Posted on November 23, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

Thanking Jacey for her kind invitation to write a guest blog entry I would like to tell you a little about German (language) SFF literature. This does not claim to be in any way complete, of course. We have quite … Continue reading →

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Apocalypse Winter

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

Have you got a BOB? What’s in your Black Out Box? Are you prepped? This winter is already looking like another Winter of Discontent This was the first one. On February 15, 1972, the Central Electricity Generating Board announced that … Continue reading →

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Digging Deep into Characters and Viewpoint

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

I’m currently writing a YA adventure set partly in the real world, present time, and partly in the land of faerie (not a nice place to be unless you happen to rule it or be a favourite of the one … Continue reading →

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It Hasn’t Gone Away.

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

Dear Aunt Polly,I hope you are well. And so began the letters we were taught to write as a child. It was boilerplate stuff. We didn’t actually care about Aunt Polly’s state of health. As children we all believed that … Continue reading →

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Milford 2022

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

I’m in North Wales in the middle of another Milford Writers’ Conference, a workshopping week for 15 science fiction and fantasy writers from all over the world. This year people have travelled from Japan, California and Nigeria, as well as … Continue reading →

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Critiquing and Milford

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

Milford is coming up in September, a week-long workshopping and critiquing week for fifteen published writers of speculative fiction, which covers science fiction, fantasy and horror. Those of us who are going are already sending out our pieces for critique. … Continue reading →

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Saying the Unsayable

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

This is a blog post full of questions. I don’t have any answers. If you do, then I’m sure you’ll be right. Everyone is right from their own point of view, just like everyone is the hero of their own … Continue reading →

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Best-of Lists

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

Over on Goodreads there’s a fantasy and sci-fi celebration, each genre list contains 72 books that have ‘ruled’ the field in the last three years. I’m always wary of best-of lists. What good do they do? Sure, they promote a … Continue reading →

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A book to beguile the tedious hours

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

If you follow my blog you might recall I extolled the virtues of Captain Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811) which has a glorious rundown of Georgian/Regency slang which is invaluable for those of us writing in that period. … Continue reading →

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What I did on my (not quite) holiday

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

In May I took a week off from real life and went to the Milford Writing Retreat in North Wales. It’s held at Trigonos, a centre for conferences, courses and retreats on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park. We … Continue reading →

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Behind the scenes – or – Why I did not write two new books during lockdown.

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

During lockdown I had the time/opportunity to write two novels. Did I do it? Of course not. Why not? I guess the reason is multi-layered and complex culminating in writerly inactivity. I didn’t exactly stop writing, but I ceased to … Continue reading →

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Happy Endings or Not?

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

Do stories really have happy endings? They do if we choose to stop the tale at the point where the prince slips a golden ring on Cinderella’s finger, or where Beauty kisses the beast, or the princess kisses the frog … Continue reading →

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What I’m reading (March 2022)

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

You absolutely can’t write science fiction and fantasy without knowing what’s being published. It’s always better not to reinvent the wheel unless you can make your wheel very different. Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education begins a new trilogy about the … Continue reading →

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Viewpoint

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

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 →

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Ciel Pierlot Answers Six Questions

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

Tell us who you are in three sentences or fewer. I’m a smol disaster bisexual who likes cats and doesn’t like sunlight. I’m writing pretty much constantly, in between being a university student, being an artist, and playing a truly … Continue reading →

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Does it Need a Map?

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

I should have asked this question earlier in the process of publishing, but I left it until the last minute. The answer from the office was, ‘No. If Sheila had thought it needed a map she would have said so.’ … Continue reading →

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The Amber Crown is published today – 11th January 2022

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

After what seems like an age, the Amber Crown is out today. I’d already written a first draft before I sold my first book to DAW in 2013. That sale led to six books (two trilogies), so I didn’t have … Continue reading →

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Countdown to The Amber Crown – One Week to Go

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Jacey Bedford

Only one week to go to publication of The Amber Crown, and there’s still so much to do. I’ve been writing blog posts for John Scalzi’s Big Idea, and Chuck Wendig’s blog, plus a piece for Jean Book Nerd, Paul … Continue reading →

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Countdown to The Amber Crown – (less than) 2 Weeks to Go

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

Happy New Year to all. This is my last post for 2021 and the penultimate post leading up to The Amber Crown. If you already have it on pre-order, thank you very much. If not, you can pre-order it now … Continue reading →

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Countdown to The Amber Crown – Three Weeks to Go!

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

The Amber Crown is out on 11th January and TODAY my author copies arrived. Whoo-hoo. I have so many people to thank for this book. I only wrote it. Luckily I get the opportunity to name names in the book’s … Continue reading →

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The Amber Crown’s First Review

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

Though it’s not due out until 11th January 2022, ARCs (Advance Reading Copies) are going out now, and the first review of The Amber Crown is here on Nimue Brown’s blog. It’s a very considered and thoughtful review without giving … Continue reading →

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First Person Narrative – a guest post by Juliet E McKenna

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

Thoughts on writing a first person narrative when that person isn’t you. Early reviews for The Green Man’s Challenge are coming in, and readers are commenting favourably on the way Dan Mackmain’s character comes vividly off the page. This isn’t … Continue reading →

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Random Pics from Milford 2021 to Give You a Flavour of the Week

Posted on September 28, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

Can’t wait to go back there. We still have places for the writing retreat in May 2022. All places for the Milford critique week in September 2022 are booked up but we operate a waiting list system. We are now … Continue reading →

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The Subtle (and Unsubtle) Art of Critiquing

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

At the end of August I did a post about the run up to Milford. It starts next Saturday so I’m deep into reading and critiquing the 23 pieces submitted by the fifteen attendees. I’m obviously not going to comment … Continue reading →

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The run up to Milford.

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

I’m very busy with the day job this week. I’m a music booking agent for folk-type artists from a Canadian-Cowboy bluegrassy duo called Over the Moon, to a troupe of Zulu singers and dancers from KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, called … Continue reading →

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How to Write a Speculative Fiction Book

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

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 →

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Space Opera

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

I write science fiction. I’m pretty sure my sub-genre is (so far) space opera. I’m happy with that definition. I grew up reading my dad’s Lensman books and the distinctive Gollancz yellow jacketed SF which (sadly) I only have a … Continue reading →

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What Am I Working On?

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

C-19 Lockdown hasn’t been a very productive time for me, writing wise. When self-isolating should have given me loads more time to write, for some reason I simply couldn’t get started on anything. I’m not alone in this. Talking to … Continue reading →

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Sorry I missed…

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

I missed last week’s blog post – mainly because I was engrossed in editing, so engrossed that Tuesday came and went without me really noticing what day it was. I’ve worked from home since 1980, so you’d think I’d have … Continue reading →

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Back, Just, and Other Superfluous Words

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

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 →

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Sherwood Smith – Rondo Allegro – For Your Reading Pleasure

Posted on May 5, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

I’ve always enjoyed reading Sherwood Smith’s fantasies, in particular the Inda sequence, and I just realised there are more books in her bibliography that I misse4d, so I can see I’m going to have to spend some time catching up. … Continue reading →

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Flashing Back

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

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 →

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What have I learned about writing?

Posted on March 23, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

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 →

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Patricia Briggs: Steal the Dragon – For your reading pleasure

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

There are no dragons in this book – well there is one, but not a significant one and it only appears on the page once, in a dream.  So having got that out of the way, this is early Briggs … Continue reading →

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Looking Both Ways – 2020 and 2021

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

As a year, 2020 sucked bigtime. It was not fit for purpose. If I’d paid good money for it I’d want a refund. Sure, it wasn’t too bad in January and February. The weather was miserable so I mostly stayed … Continue reading →

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In My Other Life

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

I have two blogs, this one and a book blog at https://jacey.dreamwidth.org/ where I blog every book I read and every movie I see in the cinema – that one’s a bit thin on movies this year, but rich on … Continue reading →

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Scene 1 of Winterwood – author analysis

Posted on December 1, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

This was first written for Tiffani Angus’ blog. Tiff teaches creative writing and publishing. Story interspersed with my comments in bold italic. This first scene pretty much sprang into my mind fully formed. When I started to write I didn’t … Continue reading →

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