In this technology driven society, we get used to hearing that things are, or are soon-to-be obsolete. It’s almost never the case of course. We still have theatre, radio, books etc. Remember Egon in Ghostbusters saying, “print is dead”?
Another example – I remember thinking, why would I ever write something freehand again, when electronic typing is so convenient? But it certainty has its uses. Read more…
Yes, another post about editing. They seem to be de rigueur these days. Well, for the past couple of weeks I’ve been doing a serious sort out of all my writing. Sort of a spring clean as it were. And my fellow writers, if you’re anything like me, then there will come a point when you will have a number of different projects, in various stages of completion, because (like me) you may be a project skipper in order to avoid actually finishing anything. Read more…
I was having a conversation with @thedavidwwright (from the excellent Collective Inkwell) on Twitter last week about the excellent Game of Thrones TV series. I thought it would be worth expanding on it a bit. Read more…
Editing can be laborious work sometimes, so we want to make sure we are getting the most worth out of it. With that in mind, what do you find is the best way to edit? Read more…
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I would try and set some time aside to finally finish something. It didn’t go according to plan, but in trying to carry on in what little time I had, something really hit me – editing takes AGES! Read more…
Have you ever had a project that just seemed to drag on? Frankly, seems like all of mine do. It’s a mixture of things taking longer than you estimate (always, ALWAYS) and me dragging my feet towards the end. Read more…
This week, I finally got started on a new project. ‘A new project!?’ you may protest, ‘but what about all the other projects that remain unfinished?’ Well this one is different. This project is a collaboration with someone else, and also, it isn’t really new. The pair of us have been throwing ideas around for this for a few years now. Read more…
So, a couple of weeks ago we went through some reasons not to show your work. These were arguably (indeed, I did argue it) good, solid reasons depending on where you were at in your project. But there are bad reasons as well. Reasons that must not be countenanced! Follow me… Read more…
Recently, I returned my attention to an older project that I really wanted to sink my teeth into. When I last left it, I’d received feedback from one of my friends who told me, in no uncertain terms, that it sucked. This is fair enough. One of the things you have to learn as a writer (or as someone who works in any artistic medium) is to learn how to take criticism. So, after lots of bawling, and weeping, and casting curses on his name, I actually sat down and looked at the feedback he’d given me. Namely the ‘it sucks’ part. Read more…
This came up in the comments of a recent blog post on writing speed. Unfortunately it’s not the case with me, but there are no doubt people out there holding on to work, and not giving it the airing it deserves. So, what are you waiting for, and when exactly should you show your work to someone? Read more…