"Build a platform", they all said, to become famous and influential before you publish your first novel. Market something that does not exist? We used to call it "vapourware", now it's "work-in-progress". But I followed conventional wisdom... I joined a dozen or more platforms, forums and exchanges. I participated in campaigns to encourage Followers and at …
Category: On Writing
Authoring’s easy. Really. See how!
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
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 …
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 …
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 …
WIP the New Year
ALERT: Sit well back from your screen while reading this. With the onset of the New Year (woot! woot! streamers & champagne), I had wanted to try something new, blogistically speaking. It would have been an occasional series of very brief blogs on my "Work In Progress" (WIP) and the fun associated with being a struggling …
Whence Inspiration?
On a recent 3 hour train journey, I was forced to consider creative inspiration to save myself from insanity. I can make the drive in 2.5 hours at legal speeds, but the chance to relax was worth the the extra 30 minutes. However... My netbook battery failed after an hour, so I became more aware of …
How Does Ian Rankin Write?
I often wondered how really successful authors do it. So I was pleased to catch a recent BBC documentary/video diary following Ian Rankin as he wrote his latest book. How do YOU compare with his technique? January 2nd, begins first draft without knowing the plot or the protagonist (!) Early March, draft finished, begins fact-checking, …
So You Want to Write – 1
Really? You really, really want this? I explored why I want to write in an earlier blog. And I am probably way behind most readers in this process, but perhaps ahead of a few seeking mutual support at this difficult time. Hopefully, you already know what you want to write. The plot and the characters may …
Andy McKell, Speculative Fiction Author 
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