At this stage in the Twelve Rules of Writing we reach the issue of word-count. As it says in the rules: 8. Word-count is important. Only books with specific numbers of words ever get published. This is why many books never see the light of day. Once a word-count has been used, though, it can’t…
Author: Shevdon
Short Stories: Yes or No?
We’re past the half-way mark in the twelve rules of writing, and entering the shady grey area of becoming a writer. As it says in the Twelve Rules of Writing: 7. Start with short stories before graduating to novel-length pieces There is no point in trying to write a novel before mastering the short story….
The Other Five Senses
As part of my continuing series on Writing, this article is about writing for your senses. Here’s a refresher for those who missed the original article. 6. Write for all five senses Some writers make the mistake of only writing for the visual sense. In order to increase the depth of your writing you need…
SciFi & Fantasy Book of the Year 2010
Well, the polls have closed and the votes counted and I am delighted to announce the SciFi & Fantasy Book of the Year for 2010 is: ~ The Road to Bedlam Close behind was Pink Noise by Leonid Korogodski and Amortals by Matt Forbeck (also published by Angry Robot Books) I would like to thank everyone…
Finding Your Voice
Continuing to take a serious look after my tongue-in-cheek article, the Twelve Rules of Writing, we have reached number five, which is concerned with the writer’s voice. Here’s the original rule to remind you: ~ 5. Develop a writer’s voice In order to be a successful writer you will need to develop a style which…
Characters: Now in 3D
As part of my continuing series following on my tongue-in-cheek Twelve Rules of Writing post, today we are discussing characters. First, though, let me remind you of Rule 4: 4. Characters must be three dimensional Creating characters is difficult enough, but you must also make them three dimensional by describing them in excruciating detail. In order for your readers…
Words: Choosing, Selecting, Deciding, Opting For
Rule 3 in my Twelve Rules of Writing went like this: ~ 3. Words are interchangeable, it’s what you mean that’s important. The English language was created to mislead you. Take the words ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. Clearly, the word ‘right’ is misspelled, since ‘write’ goes with ‘wrong’ and ‘right’ should be paired with ‘left’. Also,…