If only more first time authors had consulted a sensible teddy bear at an early stage... Credit : David Kazzie http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c9fc-crEFDw
Author: Andy McKell
A guy who writes speculative fiction, between doing a bit of acting
Writers’ rules, rules, rules?
"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." W. Somerset Maugham Similar thoughts are applied to comedy, theater, even to relationships. P.T. Barnum's solution: "There are two rules. One: always leave them wanting more..." Of course, Maugham meant "writing a successful novel", however success is defined. The modern aspiring …
Liebster Blog Award(s)
(Not the Oscars... but very, very close! Prepare for an acceptance speech!) I stand here today, honored to receive not one, but TWO, Liebster Blog Award Nominations! "What is this award?", you ask? The Liebster Blog Award is given to up-and-coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. “Liebster” is German for “favorite”. Hence this award …
Then And Now? Spot The Difference?
Oh, what a strange couple of months. Two new "rulers" - a new modernizing Pope and a new Chinese President. Please allow me to congratulate you both on your promotions and please remember to send invitations to your celebration parties using the Feedback form provided! Between them, these two men influence some 2.6 billion people, or …
A setting or a universe?
"Do you create an entire universe for your characters to live in and how much of that do you use in the actual story?" This is a question often posed, most recently by Mirjam Maclean of the LinkedIn Group: Science Fiction readers, writers, collectors, and artists. In my case...I began writing a human-based "far-future" novel (which is …
Oranges as life metaphors?
"The trouble with a book is that you never know what’s in it until it’s too late." Mrs Winterson, adoptive mother of author Jeanette Winterson. Fascinating. Isn't that a perfect metaphor for real life? You just don't know what you will experience or how it will turn out, you just hope for a good resolution and a …
Time To Get Moving?
Happy Day 27 ! Yes, the end of January looms - almost 1/14th of 2013 already gone, and what have you done so far? This means that there are, at time of writing, only 338 days left until next Christmas. (Yay!) And those are "real" days, not shopping days! So if you have not yet started that …
Winter Wonderland
I just had to share this photo of Luxembourg town center (photo by Mara Muniz)
A Beginner’s Tale #2
So it's 2012 and I am trying to write a novel, despite characters seeking independence, stories inflating to epic proportions and the looming specter of SF's accursed "infodump". How to keep it lean and clean but coherent and credible? With a bound, our aspiring author was free! (New readers go back and start here) Solution …
A Beginner’s Tale #1
At time of writing, my Book Summaries page indicates that I am working on two books at once. But it's much worse than that. Grab a coffee, pull up a chair and listen to the salutary tale of a beginner... In late 2011, I had sold my consultancy and was looking forward to a retirement of …
Andy McKell, Speculative Fiction Author 
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