Category Archives: reading

Traps of World Building by David Gullen

Posted on June 12, 2018 by

It occurred to me that the one great challenge of world-building is that you are, in fact, building a world. What to put in? What to leave out? I’ve recently been reading The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to becoming … Continue reading →

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Listening to Your Characters by Karen Brenchley

Posted on June 5, 2018 by

When I was a kid, my favorite toy was a set of tiny wooden figures called Little People, made by the Fisher Price company. These were very crude, with solid bodies and minimal markings to distinguish hair and faces, but … Continue reading →

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Tinkering with First Person Point of View by Brenda Clough

Posted on May 27, 2018 by

My latest novel, A MOST DANGEROUS WOMAN (SerialBox , May 2018), is a sort of sequel to a much greater work: THE WOMAN IN WHITE by Wilkie Collins. Like many Victorian novels, this work was told in various first-person voices. … Continue reading →

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Fighting and Gender, by Nancy Jane Moore

Posted on May 24, 2018 by

At a recent meeting of my writers’ group, we discussed fight scenes while critiquing an early draft of my novel in progress. The discussion went something like this: “Women fight differently from men,” one of the guys said in pointing … Continue reading →

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The Parallels Between Singing and Writing by Jacey Bedford

Posted on May 14, 2018 by

This is all about lessons learned and applied I used to be a folk singer. No–correction–I am a folk singer, I just don’t do it as a full-time job any more, but even though I’ve officially retired from the road … Continue reading →

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Less is More – Looking at Jack Vance, by David Gullen

Posted on May 8, 2018 by

I love Jack Vance’s stories for their wit and imagination, and for his accomplished use of language. I’m not alone, he’s inspired a devoted readership*, significant critical praise, and some writers mimic his distinctive style. Vance can vividly describe worlds, … Continue reading →

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Where I’m at, by Ben Jeapes

Posted on April 24, 2018 by

Once upon a time there was a young man with the twin ambitions, not incompatible, of making it big in publishing and becoming a successful writer. How did he do? Well, the publishing happened, for a good few years. It … Continue reading →

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