May 18, 2014
Sonnets have 14 lines, tweets are allowed up to 140 characters, most story contests have a maximum and sometimes a minimum word count. What they all have in common is that they offer the writer a certain amount of leeway as to exactly how many words to use. An exception is the drabble. This must have exactly 100 words excluding the title. Easy to get spot on, even if you have to count them manually–at least that's what I thought until I tried submitting some this week and discovered that my word count and my computer's word count differed.
It appears that the computer classes any word that is hyphenated as two words. It does this even when the part of the word on one side of the hyphen is not a word on its own, as in made-up names or words such as co-operative. Consequently, I had to recheck every drabble to make sure each one was the right length. Those I had composed on the computer were too short in actual words, but those I created using pen and paper were too long according to the computer. In the end, I went with counting hyphenated words as one and hope that the editor who receives them won't be fooled by their computer if it has the same habit as mine.
Don't you love technology?
Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
May 12, 2014
There are many writing competitions around and it would be great to enter them all, but apart from the difficulty of coming up with work of a high enough standard, all those entry fees add up. Sadly, not all prizes reflect the amount of the entry fee either. Sometimes the only prize offered is publication, which is great if all you want is the exposure, but most writers need to earn to eat. Entrants are also, in effect, paying to be published. They might be better off self-publishing on Kindl...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Competitions
April 27, 2014
Discord's Apprentice was steaming along nicely this week, but then it got hijacked by one of the characters. I don't know where she came from and I'm not at all sure she should be allowed to stay. What's more, I'm not even sure whose side she's on. Now, she's painted herself into a corner, and I can't see yet how to get her out.
No doubt, I shall have to backtrack. It could be that if I try thinking myself into another character, I'll find a more logical way for the story to progress. It c...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : FantasyFiction
April 20, 2014
With regard to writing sentences, Mark Twain said: "At times he [the author] may indulge himself with a long one, but he will make sure there are no folds in it, no vaguenesses, no parenthetical interruptions in its view as a whole; when he has done with it, it won't be a sea-serpent with half its arches under the water; it will be a torchlight procession."
As soon as I read that I felt an urge to check my sentences. Have I indulged in parenthetical loops? Do I use lots of subordinate clau...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Linguistics
April 13, 2014
The world is orange at the moment. I'm not talking about telephones or TVs, but Jaffa Books. The publisher has a new anthology coming soon, which I've mentioned before, called 'Legendary'. I've got a story in it, so I was allowed a sneak preview of the book, and I have to say I'm honoured to be among such fine company. All the stories are retellings of myths, legends or fairytales given a new perspective. They demonstrate that the originals were far more than mere bedtime stories for children...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Coming Soon
April 7, 2014
The literary world is currently celebrating the centenary of William Stafford. This remarkable man wrote a poem every day for more than four decades, including the day he died. Even if a proportion of his prodigious output was duds, his discipline meant that over his life he published more than 22,000 poems in 65 volumes of poetry and prose.
I'd be happy if I could keep up that regime for even a year. That would be 365 poems instead of my usual handful. As it is, I struggle to create a tweet...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
March 30, 2014
I put my hand into the bag, and I pull out... a film: The Grand Budapest Hotel. I've seen it, and it's completely bonkers, but in a good way. It's a kind of fairytale grotesque alternative history/adventure/rom-com/thriller that rattles along like a steam train. There are top notch, often surprising, perfromances from a starry cast, including a host of cameo roles. Ralph Fiennes proves himself a fine comedy actor, and special mention has to go to Tony Revolori as Zero Moustafa the lobby boy. ...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
March 27, 2014
I should have known that if I wrote a blog about how important it is to write entries regularly I would jinx myself. Three days of closing my eyes and pretending that I don't feel nauseous, and another two of trying to avoid feeling seasick when I move, mean that I've broken my own rule. I'm now faced with quite a list of work to do before the end of the month, but I hope normal service will be resumed next week. Fingers crossed.
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
March 16, 2014
Sometimes a subject for a blog presents itself without having to think about it; something happens or a thought arrives in your brain and the words almost write themselves. At other times, the search seems impossible. You can trawl through old notes, leaf through the newspapers, go for a walk and nothing hits the right note. There's nothing for it, but to tie yourself to the desk (metaphorically or not, depending on whether the latter provides the kernel for a story about hostages or a magic ...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
March 9, 2014
Let me be transparent about this, I have a robust dislike of two adjectives that it seems no spokesperson can be interviewed without using in almost every sentence. It doesn't matter whether it's the police, a local councillor, a representative of the National Health Service or a head teacher, they all insist that they'll be introducing robust measures to ensure greater transparency in future, or demanding the same from someone else.
I suggest they look these words up in the dictionary. Not o...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Linguistics
