New/Old Discoveries

May 26, 2022
It wasn't quite the age of steam when I started writing, but it's long enough ago for me to have used a typewriter to produce my manuscripts, including carbon copies! (Even writing that makes me feel ancient.) In some ways, computers have made life far easier: mistakes can be corrected without making a mess; you can produce a copy at a click, and can easily accommodate different formatting requirements. In addition, you save on postage and stationery. Another advantage is how much cupboard space you gain.
Being a belt and braces kind of person, I still make paper copies of my work in addition to backing up everything on memory sticks, but with so few publications now insisting on postal submissions, copies can be single-spaced and double-sided. However, I tend to change work every time I send it out, and until recently, I've been neglecting to update the hard copies too. It being Spring, I thought I should rectify that. While I was at it, I went through the cupboard where all the manuscripts are kept to root out any that had been changed or were duplicated.
I now have enough rough paper to insulate the loft. I also have a stack of extra sorting to do, because in the back of the cupboard I discovered around a dozen plays that I'd forgotten about–they aren't even on the computer. My suspicion is that I'd forgotten about them for good reason.
One, a television script, was ghost-written for someone I've lost touch with, so that one went straight in the bin (metaphorically–I hate wasting paper). A couple of others were definitely beyond their sell-by date, the world today having made them irrelevant. The others, I've yet to look through. They include TV, radio and stage scripts, and encompass historical, science fiction and 'contemporary' subjects. I have a feeling that the standard of writing will be cringeworthy, but there might be something worth saving–maybe a character, plot strand or even the occasional clever line.
I'm ever hopeful, but I was no prodigy. At least, I won't have the disappointment of peaking with my first work and sliding downhill ever after. No, my best is yet to come!
 

Time Travel

May 15, 2022
I recently spent a happy few days in Tudor England, reading two very different historical novels. Execution by S. J. Parris is a spy thriller cum whodunnit that weaves its way through the seedy backstreets of Elizabeth I's London and a tangle of plots and counterplots. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell imagines the life of Shakespeare and his family from when he met Agnes (Anne) Hathaway to the years following the death of his son, Hamnet.
In many ways, the two books couldn't be more different. Exec...
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Creative Paralysis

April 5, 2022
I know I'm not alone in finding that rather than inspiring me, catastrophes seem to paralyse my creativity. Many people were inspired by COVID-19 to write poetry, essays, diaries and more, whereas I struggled even to find a tweet on the subject. Now, just as the worst of the disruption caused by the pandemic appears to be over, another catastrophe has emerged, with bombardment, death and grief, and I find myself without words adequate to the situation. Writing fiction feels too trivial. What ...
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Happy Days

February 22, 2022
You know what it's like when you decide to have a tidy up and throw out the things that you no longer need. You end up going through everything, reminiscing or rediscovering old loves. I finally got around to sorting through my handwritten drafts and notes for the Exiles of Ondd series, and found early incarnations of the novels, several deleted scenes, characters and discarded plot lines that I really did not want to put in the recycling bin. I even found an Iyessi lullaby that I'd forgotten...
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Wasting My Time?

February 7, 2022
It had been one of those mornings. I had checked the submission requirements for several publications, sorted out the pieces of work that I thought would appeal to them, and formatted them according to the instructions. I went back online and filled in the submission forms, and in each case when I clicked on submit I received a message that submissions were closed for the time being. It was all the more frustrating because putting the message at the top of the submissions page instead would h...
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It's Puzzling

January 31, 2022
My first is in puzzle, but not in quiz; my second is in bubble, but not in fizz, my third is in snappy, but not in bite; my fourth is in sunny, but not in light. What am I? Too easy? You don't have to be a literary genius to work it out, but few readers or writers can resist word puzzles. They might seem like a waste of time, but writers have a good excuse for indulging.
Crosswords are great for waking up and/or extending your vocabulary. Codewords where you are given a couple of letters on ...
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Too Good to Be True?

January 25, 2022
Contests can be great for writers. If your work is shortlisted you know it's of a high standard, and if it's a prize-winner both your bank balance and your reputation are likely to benefit.
Most writing contests are run by people with literary or publishing experience, some are organised by charities, and some are organised by charlatans. The latter will take your entry fee, and it's doubtful that any of the entries are ever read, let alone judged by anyone with any literary credentials, and ...
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Best Regards

January 16, 2022
Pardon me, but I want to mention one last thing about Christmas before everyone starts thinking about St Valentine's Day. One of the maddest things of all the Christmas madnesses can seem like sending Christmas cards. It can feel rather pointless and simply an extra chore that people only do because it's expected of them. To be sure that the people you send cards to know that you've truly given them some thought and care, you don't have to buy big, fancy cards that will cost as much again to ...
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Resolutions

January 8, 2022
I don't believe in 'em–New Year resolutions that is, mainly because I know I'll have fallen short before the end of January. However, I do have a long writing to-do list.
While I was writing the Exiles of Ondd novels, I gathered a big folder of ideas for everything from novels to essays, micro-fiction to monologues, and I want to dive into these. I'm not daft enough to think I can write them all in a year, even if I did think they were all worth it, but I should at least be able to finish s...
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Limboland

January 1, 2022
This is such a strange time of year. All the anticipation leading up to Christmas has gone, but the new year has not really got into swing. Many people have been back at work already, but the decorations are still up. Before you can decide what might happen and what you'd like to achieve in 2022, you need to assess where 2021 has brought you.
Personally, I expected to complete Discord's Shadow far sooner than I did. By the time it was finally launched on 6th November there was little time lef...
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About Me


My writing career began as a freelance feature writer for the local press, businesses and organisations. Now a prize-winning playwright and short story writer, my work has appeared in numerous publications on both sides of the Atlantic. I write as K. S. Dearsley because it saves having to keep repeating my forename, and specialise in fantasy and other speculative genres.

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