I have just finished editing the first draft of one of my works in progress. This story takes place on a fantasy cruise liner sailing on a chocolate ocean with a permanent rainbow sheet hanging from the sky. In it, Ferris wakes up on the boat, but he's from the real world. He has no …
That Manuscript you Agonise Over
Perhaps 'agonise' is too strong a word. You see, I've gone back to work on the fifth draft of The Midnight Man, a novel I need to get right. I haven't been this obsessed with perfection since my first book. It's currently novella length and tells the story of Stan, a middle aged man in an …
Adultery and the Beta Reader
For the first time I used a Beta Reader. I've tried to before on another project but the person I wanted wasn't interested as the main character was not gay. He reasoned that he'd spent a lifetime reading mainstream novels, and that now with the explosion of queer writing, he wanted to indulge in stories …
Self editing my first draft
Over the last two days I've read through the first draft of a work in progress. I finished this draft three months ago. This is how long I take before I revisit a manuscript. Any sooner and I wouldn't be able to clearly see what elements need work. I had some doubts about this novel, …
Ideas, and where to find them.
I've been travelling. I took some time off to realign my life. Before this trip my day job got very hectic, taking over both my time and my thoughts, and forcing my current writing project to feel abandoned. Yet, in a way, this has turned out to be a good thing. The work in progress, …
Having no time to write.
My current work in progress is suffering. Well, maybe I'm being melodramatic but this has been a year of less time to write. First off I had to step into a new role at work meaning my luxurious three day working week changed to four sometime during March. Monday is currently my only day to …
A Scriverner Newbie
For my birthday I treated myself to Scriverner after an author friend raved about it. For those who don't know it, it's software for writers. I'm still a newbie, but I can already see that Scriverner and I are going to be great friends. In the past I'd find photos to represent my characters and write …
