November 24, 2014
How many times can you rewrite a first chapter? I think I'm heading for a record. The first few pages of a novel are crucial in hooking readers' interest and persuading them to keep going beyond the free sample. It's always going to be hard to get it right, but with a sequel it's even harder. How much of the previous novel's events should I fill in? Do I need to describe the characters again? There's a real danger that I'll end up info dumping–having characters tell each other things they already know–and slowing the start of the novel down so much readers will be bored. If I don't explain anything from the previous novel, however, will new readers be lost?
My dilemma presents a great temptation. Looking at how other author's have tackled the problem could provide me with a solution, but it's all too easy to get diverted and carry on reading instead of going back to my rewrites.
I might end up writing a prologue–a scene that brings readers up to date before the real action of Discord's Apprentice starts–which can be skipped if the reader chooses. What puts me off this is that 'the prologue' reminds me of Up Pompeii–definitely not the image I want for Discord's Apprentice!
Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Coming Soon
November 16, 2014
You never can be sure what the consequences of submitting work to a publication or entering a competition might be. It might seem straightforward: your work is either accepted, or it's rejected. However, even when the editors or judges don't select your submission/entry you might still end up a winner.
After my story, 'Salvage', appeared in
Daily SF, Paul Coles of
Beam Me Up Podcast asked if he could broadcast it. Of course, I grabbed the offer, and I'm privileged now to have had dramatis...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Competitions
November 2, 2014
Another magazine of speculative fiction has closed its doors only a few issues after it launched. In explaining why, the people behind it complained that there had been little take-up from advertisers and readers, and that people seemed more interested in writing stories than reading them. This may be correct. However, they went on to say that writers and would-be writers should spend $10 a week (around £6) on subscriptions to magazines.
Ideally, writers should always read at least one is...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
October 27, 2014
I've made a dreadful discovery: I've developed an addiction to 'as if'. It happened while rewriting the latest incarnation of Discord's Apprentice. Every other sentence has 'as if' in it, and the ones that don't, have 'seems' or 'like'. It's funny how you can fall in love with certain words or phrases and not notice how often you use them.
I suppose 'as if' is a result of wishing to 'show not tell'. Instead of writing: 'He gestured as if grabbing something out of the air...' I could put: ...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
October 19, 2014
Woohoo! At last I've started the next stage of the rewrites of Discord's Apprentice. This novel's turning into a real marathon. I thought it would take six months at most, but fate has a way of making your plans look silly. Setting myself unrealistic goals doesn't help. I inevitably think I can get more done than I can. The result is, I miss the targets I've set myself and if I'm not careful, I feel a failure. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Before I go further, I'd like to say that I ...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
October 6, 2014
Sometimes life is strange. I've had the privilege of being interviewed several times lately. They've all been internet interviews. Okay, so the Alfie Dog ones were questionnaires and by no means exclusive to me, but it's the same principle. The questions were emailed to me, so I had time to consider my replies. Not only did I have a chance to try to come up with interesting answers, but I had the opportunity to review what I put. Hopefully, I haven't said anything that might come back to haun...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Competitions
September 14, 2014
This has been one of those weeks when it's been time to catch up with a few bits and bobs.
I was given the opportunity to have a poem ('Bare the Body and Hide the Soul') on
Songs of Eretz Review, which required a short bio and 'poet's notes'. I'd no sooner sent them off than Steve Gordon put them online for the Poem of the Day on 9th September.
There were proofs to go through for my feature in
Thresholds about Samuel Beckett's story, 'Ping'. That should be online tomorrow (Monday 15th S...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Coming Soon
September 8, 2014
People who don't write usually don't understand how those who do can agonise over a word. Would it be better to use a name or a pronoun? Is 'indicate' a better choice than 'show'? It isn't only a matter of getting the grammar right, or even of making sense, but a need to convey a mood, capture character or to be beautiful or striking. Does a word have the right rhythm? Will it maintain the pace and flow?
A single word might have to fulfil several functions, such as showing a character's at...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
September 2, 2014
The good news this week, is that my entry was a runner-up in the Haynet and Lavender & White Equestrian Short Story competition. 'Horse Sense' is about a man who tries to reignite the spark in his marriage by taking his wife on holiday in a horse-drawn caravan. When things go wrong, it takes horse sense to save the day. All the runners-up will be published on the organiser's site at
http://www.hay-net.co.uk in the near future, and you can already enjoy the winner, 'Be Careful What you Wish Fo...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Competitions
August 25, 2014
One of the drawbacks of the school holidays is that the choice of films in the cinemas is restricted to blockbuster action movies targeted at teenagers, or animations aimed at children. There's little depth or humour, and when these are used, there's a tendency to batter the audience over the head with them.
On the face of it, Guardians of the Galaxy is no different, and my expectations of it were low. I looked forward to 90 minutes of fairly mindless action and noise with caricatures inst...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
