I recently mused about writers having more ideas than time. Is there a solution to the conflict between over-inspiration in a finite lifespan? How about sharing the load? The Association of Ghostwriters claims 50% of best-sellers are ghosted. Shocked? The Old Masters of painting sketched out their ideas on canvas, leaving students to produce …
Category: On Writing
From Blocking To Overflow
If, as I suggested in an earlier post, writers have more ideas than they can cope with, how about Writer's Block? And is it a creativity killer? Block prevents the transfer of ideas into word-count on the page. The idea is usually in there, somewhere, but not well-formed enough to get past our internal filters. Sometimes, …
Ideas to Ink
(This post was written as a Guest Post on Helping Hands site) © Freds | Dreamstime Stock PhotosI read of a literary agent who dreaded parties. “Someone always sidles up, saying they have this great story idea, but don't know how to write a book, and maybe one of my authors would appreciate the idea?” The …
No Revolution Is Too Big: Vol 4
A few days ago, I told you about the SciFi series, "No Revolution Is Too Big". Each story in the series is written by a different author and explores the universe devised by bestselling author, Mike Lynch. Volumes 1,2 and 3 had already been released when I wrote, and now Volume 4 is available from Amazon and …
No Revolution Is Too Big: Vols 1-3
After a bit of an absence, due to family, writing and acting commitments, I'm back with news about one of the projects I have been working on. Award-winning writer, Mike Lynch, has launched a series of short books, all set in the universe established in his original story, "No Revolution is Too Big". That story …
Do You Have “As You Know, Bob…” Syndrome?–How Writers Can Butcher Dialogue & How to Fix It
This post addresses an aspect of bad writing that I really, really hate! Thanks Marcy and Kristen.
Mind Your Language
I am lucky. My native tongue is English. British English to be precise - and that does matter.By accident of birth, I am most comfortable speaking a language that is the third most widely spoken native tongue (after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish). Around 25% of the world's population claim to speak at least some English.I …
13 Lucky For Some?
Happy September! I always find this a good time to look back on the year and to plan out what still needs doing in the final trimester. This is probably because my birthday falls at the end of the month, then suddenly it's Christmas and that's the year gone.So I need to give myself that …
Sinking in the Middle?
I am a greedy reader. I read books, mainly science fiction. I scan blogs and articles on science, technology, society, history... I also watch TV documentaries on these topics. I do not have an eidetic memory; I don't recall much of what I expose my brain to. But snippets stick to the sides of my …
Blog The Builder
They're building a house on the land next to mine. It used to be fields. Now it's a construction site. Never believe you own the last house on the street! The construction chaps arrive at 7:15 am, to a cheery chorus of revving engines, slamming car doors, and hearty hails across the open space outside my …
Andy McKell, Speculative Fiction Author 
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