Characters - where do they come from

For me getting to know your characters and seeing them develop into fully rounded, if at times eccentric, individuals is one of the great pleasures of writing.  They become friends (is that strange?).  This is especially the case with the three Inspector Kirby books (I’m now working on a fourth).  But where do those characters they come from? 

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Writers - do we worry too much a bout the writing?

I’ve been writing now for about nine years.  I must enjoy it because, if I considered it work making the minimum wage is still an aspiration.  But it’s not about the money is it?  Not that I’m saying making a bit wouldn’t be nice and there’s always hope.  When I began writing I paid for some editorial advice.  For the first book it was great, pointing out some of the traps I guess many new writers fall into.  It also educated me in the basics around construction, writing dialogue and more.  For the second book it was less helpful, however what it did teach was to value my own opinion.

Over the years I’ve taken a couple of on-line courses, read books and blogs on writing, all the time trying to improve my craft and make myself a better writer.  However, what does that mean?  Recently, I’ve been revising several new books, going back over my work numerous times.  It has even had me looking back at my published books with an effort to improve the writing.

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That very last (honest, I mean) revision - what I look for

I’ve been doing  a lot of revision recently.  On top of finalising the second and third books for Inspector Kirby I am also revisiting my first book, for which I’ve had books two and three sitting on my hard drive for a few years now.  I’m not saying I’m an expert, however, I have got into a sort of rhythm with it.  I write the story quickly.  I rarely go back and tinker until the whole thing is finished (unless I have a eureka moment).  The first few revisions are easy and I find it fun.  I’m assessing the plot, adding interest, finding better way to describe, correcting clunky prose etc.  At some (undefined) point I draw the line on this and go into to polishing mode.  I’ve done that for Kirby and that’s what I’m doing now to that other series, including the one I’ve published (after all it was my first book).  I don’t know if doing so much revision has sensitised me however I find myself, in that last run through, obsessively looking for certain things.

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Indie authors - is writing that series the key?

Like most indie-authors I’m looking for the “secret of sales".  How do I get the word out, how do I attract those followers I need.  And yes I know it’s not all about selling, at least not for me.  I enjoy the writing and I get a real kick out of people who tell me they’ve read my books and enjoyed them.  In many ways I just want more people to enjoy them and if I can make a little on the positive side of expenses:sales balance sheet that would be great. 

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Who and what influenced me as a writer?

I was asked what influenced me as writer recently.  At first I thought it was an easy thing to answer.  I’ve said before that Arthur C Clarke’s Childhood’s End is what got me hooked on science fiction, the ending blew my teenage mind.  That lead me to reading more Clarke and Asimov then authors such as Greg Bear and Ben Bova.  Also, I grew up  at the time of the Apollo missions and the moon landings.  As a young lad, how could that not captivate my imagination?  Then later films such as 2001, Close Encounters and Star Wars were taking science fiction on the screen from clunky B Movie status to the mainstream.

However, having given my standard answer it occurred to me that these were things that had sparked my interest as a consumer of science fiction, and later fantasy through authors such as Raymond Feist and David Eddings.  However, had they influenced my writing?  In terms of the subject matter, yes.  I have adapted themes that those writers have explored before me (and I presume they adapted from earlier writers).   As for my actual writing, perhaps much less than Imagined.  They may have placed that spark, the desire to write.  However, as to influencing my writing that comes later, from the authors I’ve read just before and while I’ve been writing.

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Guest post - The Timelost by Chris Turner

Hi,

This is the first time I've run a guest post.  What prompted me to run this one was the combination of the written word and sound.  If you follow the The Timelost link below you'll see what I mean.   I haven't come across this before and found it fascinating.  Anyway, I'll let Chris tell you about it:

Just follow this link  

A writer's resolutions for 2018

In my previous blog I reflected on what I'd learnt in 2017.  So now It’s time to look forward to a new year and make my writer's plans for 2018, a.k.a. resolutions.  I do this every year and yes, I do look back at them from time to time.  Like most of us some I have fulfilled, others have been partially met and some discarded along the way.  So are they worth it?  I think so.  It’s a good time to re-focus, to assess what I’m trying to do, what I want to achieve.

So for 2018:  For the complete blog follow the link 

All those writer courses - shop wisely

Now up front I want to say I’m not against paid on-line writer courses.  I can only comment on the ones I have looked at and in a couple of cases paid out good money for.  They are full of useful content that, if you are in the right place with your writing and prepared to put in the time and effort I’m sure they can have a major impact.  However, what they are not (in my opinion) is a magic bullet.  For the vast majority of Indie-authors success will not be instant and when it comes will probably be modest.  But hey, modest is good and I’ll be happy with modest when I get there.  And yes any better than modest, I admit, would be great.

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Writers beware - sod's law exists

Part of my first job on leaving Uni was in the quality assurance section of a scientific organisation.  Believe it or not, before the late 1970s little of it existed.  After all everyone was doing their best so the data and reports would be fine wouldn’t they?  Answer, no.  Because if nothing else Sod’s Law operates. i.e. whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.  And one of the problems back then was that nobody understood what could go wrong – it was of course, anything and everything.  So after a few well published cases, which I won’t go into, the need for a formal system of quality assurance was established.

For me this involved, amongst other things the checking of scientific reports, both for internal consistency and against the “raw data”.  At first my involvement, essentially pointing out where people had made errors was resented.  I mean, who was I to tell a senior scientist they had made mistakes.  And this wasn’t just the odd typo, whole lines of data were transposed, decimal points were in the wrong place, thing disappeared from the records only to appear elsewhere.  I could go on.  These didn’t always affect the scientific outcomes, but occasionally they could and this was important work.  What’s more it’s not as if you could predict when or where a major error might occur.

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What does it take to be a writer? - Persitence

For most writers success is not an overnight event.  One of my all time, and sadly missed, writer heroes, Iain Banks, completed five or six books before being published.  He persisted.

Now I write this blog a week or so after I’ve launched my latest book.  I’ve had some sales, but not as many as hoped for.  So yes, I admit it, I’m a little disappointed.  I feel that I just need that kick start, that nudge that sends sales cascading.  The book itself is a new venture for me, being urban fantasy / detective story, written in a humorous style, rather than my usual science fiction.

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What I've learnt from 4 years of blogging

Recently a site, The Digital Reader (morning coffee – 1 September 2017) picked up on a blog I wrote in 2014, 7 key things I’ve learnt from a year  of blogging.  To my pleasant surprise this has created a lot of traffic, so I assume people are interested which is great.  That got me thinking, three years on do I come to the same conclusions, what else have I learnt:

1) The first thing listed was:  Blogging does not sell books

I still hold with that, mostly.  I think this to be the case with most blogs.  However, it is possible to tailor at least some of your blogs to help promote your work.  You can discuss the subject of your work, the locations, what makes your characters interesting etc.  At least then the reader will get to know a little more about what makes you and your writing tick.  Make it interesting and If they like what you’re saying they may then take the time to look at your books.  I don’t do it all the time, I think this would get boring and there are other things I want to discuss.

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Indie author - afraid to change?

It’s daft I know.  There I am, an indie author, with books only selling the odd copy every now and then - yet for some reason I’m afraid to change things.  Perhaps part of it, as I talked about in my last blog, is the vain hope that an agent and publisher is going to come a long and wave their magic wands.  Well, that’s not going to happen and even if it does I’m still the one who is going to be making most of the running.

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The publishing dilemma of the indie author

I recently went on holiday for a week (yes, again for any regular readers of my blog).  It was a very chilled trip to the Greek island of Cephalonia, I recommend it.  So I had plenty of time to think amongst reading, eating, boat trips, watching the world go by and the odd cocktail or two.  And for me that means about my writing and inevitably publishing because:

Here I am again.  I have a book almost ready to launch and I know I’m prevaricating.  I have sent it to eight or nine agents back in February and so far I have had a "thanks but no thanks" from two of them (and I’m not holding my breath for the rest).  I guess like most self-published authors the lure of a publishing deal is still the dream no matter how much I tell myself that I am good enough to make it as an indie author.  And I know that agents receive hundreds of manuscripts a year and at best they take on one or two new authors.  So my chances are slim. 

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Science round-up inspiration 15

I haven't produced a science round-up blog for some time.  It’s not that I haven’t been following events and news, it’s just that I’ve had other things to blog about.  Anyway, time to put that right.  As always these are in no particular order of importance or merit they are just an eclectic mix of items that have caught my eye.

Out of this world

Pluto fly-by

NASA have amalgamated more than 100 images from New Horizons to form a video fly-by of Pluto.  New Horizons, in July 2015, became the first spacecraft to fly by the dwarf planet which is more more than seven billion kilometres from Earth.  

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A writer on location

My latest book is out to agents – fingers crossed.  Although, I won’t be too disappointed if it’s not taken up as I will be excited to see what I can do with it myself.  Early readers have been enthusiastic and reckon it’s more commercial / an easier sell than my normal scifi.  This latest venture is a detective mystery with a supernatural / magical edge.  It grew out of several short stories centred on the main character, an Inspector Kirby.  Once again it shows the value of shorts stories to the novel writer (something I’ve blogged about before).  So, what’s this got to do with me being on location? 

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Science fiction and the human tribe

As a science fiction writer I’m always imagining what the future might hold for us human beings. I imagine us travelling to the stars and new worlds.  It represents an almost unlimited opportunity for a species that has always had a thirst for the new, exploration, pushing the boundaries.  In scifi land we think of global societies or even multi-global societies.  However, what history tells us, along with what is happening in the world today, is that that may be incredibly simplistic or just plain wrong.  That human beings will never feel comfortable living in some form of global society.

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One writer's resolutions for 2017

I do this every year and yes looking back I don’t always follow all my resolutions.  However, at the beginning of the year it’s not a bad idea to review what you did last year (my last blog) and think of what you might like to change / achieve / try in the coming year.  For me writing them down, whether you call them resolutions or not, makes them more than just a passing thought.  So here are mine for 2017

Finish and implement the Slight Edge.

I mentioned this in my 2016 round-up.  It’s a book by Jeff Olsen which is all about doing to those small things consistently over a long period of time that will make a big difference.  Also not giving up on them.  Obviously there is more to it than that, after all it is a book.  However, I admit that over the holidays I have let it slip.  For me it’s all about my profile as a writer and of course selling more books.  I need to decide which of those “small actions” are the ones that are going to make the difference and then stick to them for long enough to tell if I’m right.  At least if I follow the advice I will be taking positive steps and not just letting things drift.

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What this writer has learnt in 2016

Another year has almost been and gone, zoomed past. I’m sure someone is stealing days and weeks from me and replacing them with vague memories (perhaps there’s a story there.)  Anyway, as 2016 draws to a close it’s time to look back, before looking forward.  So, what have I learnt?  What sage nuggets of wisdom (and some not so sage) will I be taking forward into 2017.  Here goes:

1)  Planning

Earlier this year I paid some money and took part in the James Patterson master class series.  Was it worth it?  Yes, I think it was and one of the main things I learnt is the art of planning.  I use the Scrivener writing program, which is a good start and makes planning a lot easier.  Also, I already had an idea for a novel based on a few short stories featuring (my now) main character.  This was a great opportunity to apply James Patterson’s regime.  So, I spent more time on detailed planning than I have before.  I divided the story into many more chapters than I do normally which worked well.  I played with them, moved some a round, added others and took some out.  All this meant that by the time I came to writing I was confident with the plot.  Reaction by some early readers has been great and I will be publishing early in the New Year.  If you want to read more on the James Patterson methods I wrote a number of blogs on my experience, starting with this one: My writing - I'm going back to basics.

2)  I knew there had to be a reason:  Farting helps reduce high blood pressure and is good for your health.

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