a little fantasy * a little sci fi * a little love
The scene is only several paragraphs long. It's the last time we're alone with just the gay characters in my work-in-progress set in the nineties. In the initial draft they talk about Australian politics at the final stage of that decade. Only one other chapter examined politics and that was in an overall 1990's way. …
Continue reading "I’ve written several versions of the same short scene!"
My last post was about a new plotting method I'm using. A few things got in the way of my usual writing days after I published that post, and somehow I didn't feel bad about missing them. It was because I didn't feel like I was working on a book. There were a few times …
I'm trying something new. Usually when I plot a new novel, I work chapter by chapter having a fair idea of the story and how it will end. I also add notes on the conflict for each scene and every chapter's cliff hanger. But I'm experimenting with a different approach called the Snowflake Method. Right …
I don't normally solicit feedback on my works in progress. Yet I have used Beta Readers twice in recent years, and my first novel was professionally assessed several times. This paid assessor gave feedback over several drafts before I decided to have another draft looked at by a team at a publishing house, for the …
There's a unique anxiety after the release of a novel. It doesn't happen straight away. We are on a buzz when our new book is in the public arena. We're busy marketing while finding new promotional possibilities. We're updating our website and searching for new reviews. Then searching for new reviews again. And again. But …
Continue reading "Waiting to see if your new book is selling."
This is not a book review. It's about what I learnt from reading this classic novel and has some elements of critique in it. A month ago I posted a blog about how anything you read influences your work in progress. My current project is written in third-person. All but one of my published works …
Continue reading "Thoughts on ‘Strangers On a Train’ by Patricia Highsmith"
Yes, I'm Australian, so of course I love Eurovision. I was in New Orleans early last decade where a local had to tell me about this song contest they just discovered and how as a gay man, I'd really be into it. I finally worked out he was talking about Eurovision. He had no idea …
This is a topic I’ve been thinking of blogging about for a while. But something happened recently which really put this in perspective. A review of my audio book was shelved because the reviewer assigned to it couldn’t get into it. The reason is because it is not a Romance story. I have a small …
Sometimes I choose what I read carefully. For example, I read H.G. Wells and Ray Bradbury when I worked on my first dystopian novel. My assessor got me to read Joe Keenan as she wanted me to hone in on the farcical elements of my first book. But when I'm reading for pleasure, whatever style …
Continue reading "Anything you read helps your work in progress"
In my last blog I wrote about writing a summary for a book submission. And although it's for a novel I'm still working on, it hasn't stopped me considering how to pitch it to potential publishers. I've created a 500 word and a 300 word synopsis, and a 200 word summary, in line with what …
kevin klehr - author 