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Recent Posts
- Building a Universe – The Psi-Techs January 26, 2021
- Lois McMaster Bujold: Beguilement – The Sharing Knife #1 – For your reading pleasure January 22, 2021
- Building a Universe – Power Structures and Personal Stories. January 12, 2021
- Charles Stross: The Bloodline Feud – for your reading pleasure January 5, 2021
- My 2020 Reading December 31, 2020
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Tag Archives: writing
Looking Both Ways – 2020 and 2021
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
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged 2020, 2021, Amber Crown, Covid-19, jacey bedford, The Amber Crown, writing
2 Comments
In My Other Life
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
Posted in reading, writing
Tagged a cappella, Artisan, Artisan harmony, folk music, reading, writing
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Scene 1 of Winterwood – author analysis
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
Posted in fantasy, historical fiction, reading, writing
Tagged analysis, jacey bedford, Rowankind trilogy, Winterwood, writing
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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
2 Comments
The Rule of Three
This post first appeared on David Tallerman’s blog. As humans we look for patterns. Three is the smallest number of elements that can form a pattern. Superstition suggests that three is the magic number, or that both bad things and … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged Amber Crown, psi-tech trilogy, publishing, Rowankind trilogy, rule of three, writing
2 Comments
Space Opera
I write science fiction. I’m pretty sure my sub-genre is space opera. I’m happy with that definition. I grew up reading my dad’s Lensman books and the distinctive Gollancz yellow jacketed SF, however I wasn’t aware of any distinction between … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged jacey bedford, science fiction, space opera, stephan martiniere, writing
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Game of Thrones Revisited
Just after Game of Thrones finished, Iain Grant sent a few of us some revealing questions about Game of Thrones. I know the ending was contentious, but though I would have wished for a happier ending, I wasn’t honestly expecting … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, writing
Tagged characterisation, Game of Thrones, television, writing
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The Geography of Words
Writing science fiction and fantasy involves worldbuilding. Sometimes we take a concept, strip it right down to basics and invent a planet where the sea is pink, the sky is upside down and the dominant life form has seven tentacles … Continue reading
Getting Things Done – a guest post by Gail Z. Martin
I’ll admit it. I have a reputation for getting a lot done. People ask me if I sleep, or take vacations, or have down time. And the truth is that I generally log about seven hours sleep a night, take … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged gail z martin, time management, writing
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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
A Moment of Stuckness
Anyone who knows me will testify that I’m not usually stuck for words. It’s not that I don’t believe in writer’s block (obviously it is a thing) it’s that I’ve rarely experienced it. However, recently I had a period where … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged jacey bedford, music, writers' blosk, writing, writing exercises, writing idead
2 Comments
How I Got Here From There
First published on Gillian Polack’s blog in March 2020 for Women’s History Month It took me a long time to get here, possibly too long. If I’d known then, what I know now, it might not have taken so long… … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged book deals, DAW, jacey bedford, milford, Milford SF Writers, misc.writing, psi-tech trilogy, Rowankind trilogy, Sheila Gilbert, writing
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Fiction Must Make More Sense Than Real Life
Fiction must make more sense than real life. I think we all know that real life isn’t making much sense at the moment. If we wrote about a global pandemic in which presidential staff held hands and prayed that it … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged conspiracy theories, Covid 19, fiction, pandemic, self-sufficiency, vegetable growing, video calls, writing
3 Comments
House Arrest
Due to Covid 19 we’ve pulled up the drawbridge and dug a shark infested moat around Bedford Towers. No, we’re not sick, but I’m diabetic and my other half has suddenly become classified as elderly. How scary is that? Our … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged conspiracy theory, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Dan McKinnon, editing, pandemic, self-isolate, Survivors, time management, writing
8 Comments
Reading Writing and Rewriting
I was a voracious reader as a child, working my way steadily through the stock of my local public library children’s department. My literature of choice was anything with horses or ponies in it. Some of the books in my … Continue reading
Creativity and the laugh-track of my life
I signed up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) at the beginning of November, a commitment to write 50,000 words in a month. It’s fewer than 2000 words a day, so it should be—if not easy—not all that difficult. I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged creativity, jacey bedford, making time to write, muse, writing, writing inspiration
2 Comments
Process
I’ve been thinking about process over the last few weeks. I’m writing a new, story which I hope will turn into the next novel project. It’s as yet untitled, and if I had to describe it at all it would … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged aliens, characters, fantasy, inspiration, plot, scrivener, writing, writing process
2 Comments
It’s not too late to join up – NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo – National NovelWriting Month-takes place each November. You sign up Her: https://nanowrimo.org and commit to writing 50,000 in November, which means writing just a little under 2,000 words a day. It’s only 3rd November, you still have time to … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, reading, science fiction, writing
Tagged NaNoWriMo, Nimbus, pantsers, plotters, procrastinatio, Silverwolf, Winterwood, writing
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Retro-Blog of a Pre-published Writer from Autumn 2008
With hindsight this is really interesting. This (edited) collection of blog posts is from the early days of writing The Amber Crown, which then had the working title of Spider on the Web. (Sometimes the working title became That Bloody … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, writing
Tagged Baltic, Baltic novel, jacey bedford, milford, Retro-blog, retrospective, The Amber Crown, writing
3 Comments
Writers Injuring Characters
I went to visit my dentist for a particularly difficult tooth extraction today, so as I write this I’m sitting nursing a sore jaw as the anaesthetic is wearing off. I can’t deny that I felt a bit wobbly after … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged head injuries, jacey bedford, Peaky Blinders, Promethius movie, psi-tech, psi-tech trilogy, PTSD, writing, writing injuries
5 Comments
Generating Ideas – a guest post by Joshua Palmatier
The three new themes for Zombies Need Brains’ Kickstarter have been revealed (apocalypses, food, old tech finding new life) and I thought I’d offer up a suggestion here for how to generate an idea that fits a theme AND make … Continue reading
My Other Journal in a Galaxy Far far Away
In 2008 I started a blog on LiveJornal (and later moved everything over to Dreamwidth, but that’s another story). These days I mostly keep Dreamwidth for book and movie reviews, but in those early days my blogs were much more … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged blogging, Dreamwidth, empire of dust, LiveJournal, old journals, other blog, psi-tech trilogy, titles, writing
2 Comments
Science for Fiction 2019
Science For Fiction is an annual event organised by Dr. David Clements at Imperial College, London. It’s a series of lectures by scientists at the cutting edge of their field, specifically aimed at writers. (Unsurprisingly a load of Science Fiction … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged David Clements, Imperial College, jacey bedford, science, science fiction, Science for fiction, writing
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For the Love of Prequels – A guest post by Gail Z. Martin
One of the tricky parts of telling a story is knowing where to start. The beginning of the interesting part isn’t always the place to start the main tale. That’s especially true when the main story is truly epic in … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, writing
Tagged fantasy, gail z martin, prequesls, sequels, writing
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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
Milford Writers’ Retreat
So here I am, in the wilds of Welsh Wales on a writing retreat organised by Milford SF Writers (of which I am the secretary – so yes, theoretically I organised it myself). The venue is Trigonos, the village is … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged jacey bedford, milford, trigonos, writers' retreat, writing
1 Comment
The Long Haul
Now, here’s the thing… when you write a trilogy you are in it for the long haul. To all those people who write a single book, I salute you. It’s not easy. It takes dedication and effort. Now imagine you … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged crossways, empire of dust, Nimbus, psi-tech trilogy, rowankind, Rowankind trilogy, Silverwolf, trilogies, trilogy, Winterwood, writing
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What I Like to Read, and Why
Though I have a large collection of paper books, some of them from my childhood, I mostly read fiction on Kindle these days. It’s not that I prefer electronic to dead tree books, but books are books and it’s the … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged books, characterisation, jacey bedford, Joe Abercrombie, Lois McMaster Bujold, reading, Sebastien de Castell, writing
1 Comment
Updated Blog Archive: 2013 to 2018
2013 Bated Breath Seven Short Men and a Waif Preparing for Milford Jumping in at the Shallow End Serendipitous Book Browsing Four days to go Three Book Deal Milford Writers Publishers Marketplace Announcement Editor Talk New Book Log on LJ: Karen Traviss: Star … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged authors, blog archive, blogging, blogs, fantasy, guest post, jacey bedford, reading, sci-fi, writing
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It’s never too late to talk about a book
Unless you are lucky enough to live in a city which has good bookshops, or even better, specialist science fiction and fantasy bookshops, your browsing of new SFF titles may be limited. My little local bookshop sadly closed last year, … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged awards, book blogging, Hugos, reading, reviewing, reviews, writing
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Writing Tip: Using Wordle to highlight overused words
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 your text, the bigger it appeared in the … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged content edit, copy edit, final polish, overused words, word cloud, wordle, writing, writing technique
6 Comments
Looking Back and Looking Forward: 2018 and 2019
It just so happens that my alternate Tuesday blog falls on 1st January 2019, so it’s a good time to assess 2018 and see if I can peep into the future to 2019. I’m not sure where 2018 went to. … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged 2018, 2019, Christmas, conventions, jacey bedford, milford, rowankind, writing
2 Comments
My Week at Milford
Many thanks to last week’s guest blogger Joshua Palmatier for doing a post for me while I was away at Milford SF Writers’ week in Snowdonia at the lovely Trigonos, Though they do have wi-fi there now, it tends to … Continue reading
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
Character self-determination
There’s one of those little graphics floating around Facebook that says: Main Characters: You do everything you can to raise them right, and as soon as they hit the page they do any damn thing they please. Yes, fellow writers, … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged Cara Carlinni, characters, empire of dust, Ross Tremayne, Winterwood, writing
2 Comments
Writing New Series Vs. Sequels – A guest blog by Gail Z. Martin
Readers ask, “What do you like better, starting a new series or writing another book in an existing series?” That’s like asking, “What do you like more, going to visit old friends or taking a trip somewhere you’ve never been … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged authors, books, gail z martin, guest blog, guest post, novels, writing
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What times we’ve lived through.
My grandma’s house was a miner’s cottage in Mapplewell, probably built in the mid to late Victorian period. It was red brick, two up, two down with a toilet in the yard. There was a cellar with a freshwater spring … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged characters, family history, history, inspiration, novels, regency romance, research, rowankind, writing
5 Comments
The Reading Conundrum
When I got my first publishing deal back in 2013 I found that when I was writing to a deadline it was difficult to keep up with my reading. This reading conundrum is something many writers suffer from… When I’m … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged book blog, book blogging, Dreamwidth, jacey bedford, Jodi Taylor, reading, writing
7 Comments
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
My first book, Empire of Dust, launched on 4th November 2014 from DAW and, boy, was I excited. I’d waited a long time for that moment. When I got the first review , from Publishers’ Weekly, no less, I read … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged crossways, empire of dust, Nimbus, psi-tech trilogy, reading, reviews, rowankind, sci-fi, Silverwolf, space opera, Winterwood, writing
6 Comments
My Eastercon Schedule
Very much looking forward to Follycon, the 2018 Eastercon in Harrogate. I’m arriving Thursday and leaving Monday afternoon. I’ll have a Milford Writers’ Conference display (with leaflets and information). It will be lovely to meet up with friends and see … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged conventions, eastercon, history, writing
2 Comments
Discovering what I didn’t know I didn’t know.
I wrote my first two (unpublished) books on my trusty Amstrad PCW using Locoscript. I was fairly late to the computer party in general and email in particular (1996) but the internet was still young. Google didn’t exist. Wikipedia wasn’t … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged Amstrad, critique, internet, James A Hetley, manuscript format, misc.writing, r.a.sf.c, usenet, writing
2 Comments
It’s Official!
With the Psi-Tech Trilogy completed, and Nimbus now in the shops, I’ve signed a contract for the third Rowankind book, called simply: Rowankind, and due for publication in late 2018 from DAW in the USA. It follows on from Winterwood … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged DAW, historical fantasy, history, psi-tech, psi-tech trilogy, publishing, Ross Tremayne, rowankind, writing
7 Comments
Happy Book Day To Me!
My new book, NIMBUS, is out today. Let me say that again because it never gets old. My new book, NIMBUS, is out today! It’s my fifth published book, and the third in my Psi-Tech universe. It represents a milestone … Continue reading
Posted in science fiction, writing
Tagged ben benjamin, Cara Carlinni, crossways, empire of dust, Nimbus, psi-tech, psi-tech trilogy, publishing, science fiction, space opera, writing
4 Comments
What I learned about Tallin that I couldn’t have found out from a guidebook.
Following my trip to the World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki, I took a side trip to Tallinn to do some research for my novel-in-progress ‘The Amber Crown’ set in an analogue of the Baltic States in a time period … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, writing
Tagged Amber Crown, architecture, Baltic, historical fiction, history, inspiration, medieval, research, tallinn, writing
5 Comments
Bladdered or Shitfaced? The gentle art of word choice and the bogglement of page-proofing.
No, I’m neither bladdered not shitfaced – that’s one of my characters. I’m sober as the proverbial judge, and doing page proofs. Five hundred and thirty four pages of closely printed text – almost one hundred and seventy thousand words. … Continue reading
Posted in science fiction, writing
Tagged ben benjamin, books, Cara Carlinni, editing, jacey bedford, Nimbus, proofreading, psi-tech, psi-tech trilogy, sci-fi, science fiction, SF, space opera, writing
4 Comments
Corwen Silverwolf Speaks
Denby Hall, September 1801 I don’t usually get the opportunity to say much. It’s not that I’m henpecked, you understand, but—well—my author is female and she lets my beloved, Rossalinde, tell the story. So it’s nice, for once, to be … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, writing
Tagged books, characters, Corwen, Corwen Deverell, fantasy books, historical fantasy, jacey bedford, Magic, reading, Ross Tremayne, shapechanger, Silverwolf, Winterwood, wolf, writing
2 Comments
Life, Death and the Writer’s Pen
Last Tuesday, 6th June, I awoke to a world without Vin Garbutt in it – a world less bright, a world less funny. For those of you not in the folk music world, Vin was a unique performer, A Teessider … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, science fiction, writing
Tagged characterisation, DAW, music, music agency, Nimbus, pso-tech, vin garbutt, writing
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