Here are more pictures of York from the other day. I went with my daughter and we walked on the wall surrounding York. It was my first time walking on the wall.
We even went to my favourite Waterstones although the fantasy and sci-fi section didn't seem as full as previous visits. There were no David Gemmell books either! We did stop in the cafe for a bun and I hauled a new book. Well 5 books in 1.
Neil x
Hi Peeps
Just a quick post as I haven't posted any content for 2 weeks.
Went to York yesterday with my daughter. We decided to try York Railway Museum. I haven't been since Primary School on a day trip and was a nice to go there for a change.
Here's a few snaps from the Railway Museum.
Hope you enjoyed.
Neil x
Hi fellow writers!
I thought I would share some writing advice that author Paula R C Readman shared on Facebook. It is borrowed from another author W.C.Stroby.
Not much is known about W.C. Stroby and the only author on the Google search came up as Wallace Stroby. Is this the same person? If anyone knows put details in the comments.
Paula R C Readman is an author friend of mine on Facebook and writes gothic and sci-fi stories. She is also the main person behind the online writers group For Writers Only Clubhouse. She has a few novellas out including Stone Angels and The Phoenix Hour.
The first rule: You must write.
The second rule: you must finish what you write.
Plus five other questions a writer must ask themselves.
Taken from ‘Handbook of novel writing’ an article by W.C. Stroby,
Am I ready for this?
For a book of any size, from start to finish, plan to spend at least 2000 hours working on it.
What’s my story about?
In one sentence or two at the most, if you cannot say what you novel is about then you are already running into trouble. There are no new ideas just a new ways of telling it. Outline your story briefly, just to keep yourself moving in the right direction.
Do I know who my characters are?
Bring them to life with your writing within the story, but don’t go to the length of locating every mole on their body or even what they had for breakfast.
Do I know the Genre?
It is one thing to know what is good or bad writing, but you must know what genre you are writing in. You need to be familiar with your chosen genre so you don’t write one of the many hoariest of clichés. Don’t subvert your own writing styles to something you think may be more ‘Marketable’. There is genre within a genre. Stay within the genre, but you do something different with it.
Am I excited by the story I’m going to tell?
Write a story that will keep you awake at night, that challenges you, gets you longing for your keyboard when you are suppose to be keeping an appointment somewhere else. If you can’t get fired up, who else will?
Don’t forget.... What if? What next? What now?
How to turn a short story into a novel, remember Longer is shorter. Detailed exposition of what your characters’ thoughts, said, did and what in their past made them act in that way.
Don’t get fool into to thinking that the plot is longer too, it isn’t.
A novel isn’t a series of short stories linked together by the same characters. A novel must have integrity, no matter how wide-ranging it might be, must have a single cumulative effect to please the reader. Every minor climax must point towards the book’s final climax, must promise still better things to come. Tell your novel in a series of scenes.
Characters:
When bringing your characters on stage, write at least 100 to 150 words about them. What they look like etc to indicate how important they are as a character in your story.
Each scene:
Setting
Time/ place
Temperature/season
Lighting/ sound/ smells
Symbols/ images
Characters/ relationships
Dialogue/ subjects
Sub plot
Action
Point of view
Climax
Exit line
Hi Book Nerds
Went to the White Rose shopping centre near Leeds last night.
Saw The Works shop there and I'm sure it's new. So popped in for a look as they have some good, cheap, box sets.
When I saw the Mistborn Trilogy by prolific author Brandon Sanderson for just twenty quid I snapped it up.
Brandon Sanderson is a huge name in fantasy and sci-fi. Recently he made millions with a Kickstarter fund offering 6 limited books in his Cosmere series. He wrote the 6 books in the last 2 years in lockdown.
Brandon is the opposite of fellow author George RR Martin in that Brandon can write huge fantasy novels very quickly.
As a fantasy fan, Brandon Sanderson is a name I should have on my book shelves and I'm looking forward to getting to them.
In the comments give your thoughts on Brandon Sanderson and his novels. Are they good? Which book should I read first?
Well have a great weekend.
Neil x
Hi Folks
As it's a shitty August day, which is perfect weather for the kids being off school, I thought I'd give a quick August update.
Reading - Almost finished Valour by John Gwynne. So far even better than Malice, as the danger and action is increasing. Will my favourite characters survive?
Writing - I've still to sort memory issues on my laptop. Once I do I'll be tapping away!
I'm also thinking about doing an Open University course on creative writing. Will post more once I've looked into it.
Edge-lit is back! Next year Edge-lit returns in July. Will post more on this when I know more, but I'm definitely heading to Derby when this is on. Sadly Alex Davis who has run the Edge-lit events isn't in charge as he has moved onto Nottingham and has writing courses there and online. I hope to attend some at some point. It all depends on work. Check out Alex's Twitter for details on his writing courses at @AlexDavis1981.
Other - Hope to start the gym this month as a sit down office job is no good for losing weight! Quite the opposite!
So far new job is going well too.
Well enjoy August and the school holidays folks!
Neil x
