November? Is it really November? Yes, it is. That means it’s almost Christmas, and that means that the Software Development Cycle is preparing for end of year, and THAT means a bit of a scramble to get the bleeders tied […]
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The Labyrinth of the Series
How many books makes a library? More than one? More than one hundred? Is there a cut-off? Let’s try something simpler – how many books makes a series? Two? Three? Four or more? As far as book retailers go, a […]
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Four (and a half) Little Words
In year nine I wrote a poem. It was chock full of symbolism and meaning. I thought it was pretty straight-forward, the rest of the class, teacher included, stood dumbfounded. “What was that about? Was that a collection of random […]
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About that Red Pen…
It’s a very nice red pen, isn’t it? The ink is smooth, the grip is light but firm. The colour is vibrant. How are you using it? Are you liberally applying ink to the page or are you more reserved […]
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Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling – Oh My!
There are reasons we read fiction. Finding out how good the author is at their spelling, grammar and punctuation is not one of them. If it is for you, you’re a stickler. Or a sicko. Or a sticklo. There, that […]
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Watch your Language!
The first sweep (or sweeps) have landed your book in a nice spot: It makes sense, it says what you want it to say, and it starts and ends properly. You’ve checked the continuity and all of that in the […]
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Grosvenor Lane Ghost is Free!
To celebrate the imminent arrival of Hampton Court Ghost on the 27th of September (only a couple of days now!), Grosvenor Lane Ghost, the first in the Paranormology series has been made free. So what does that mean for you? […]
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From the Top… Down
Sweeping through my draft on the first run, I want to make sure that my story says and does what I want it to say and do. If it’s a comedy, it has to be funny. If it’s adventure, the […]
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Sweeping Your Manuscript Clean
So you’ve bought yourself your red pen, good, and you’ve printed out your manuscript, even better, and you’re ready to get correcting. This post is about how I go about editing and correcting my work. Now, to give you a […]
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First, Buy a Good Red Pen
Back at school, when the teacher took out the red pen, you knew exactly what was coming. Underlines, circles, cross-outs, comments and the occasional tick. All in aid of making your work better. Now that you’re an author, you’re going […]
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