Writing is a pretty sedentary activity, which is problematic because apparently this leads to IMMINENT DEATH (much like everything else in the world – let’s face it, everybody dies. Still, I will endeavour to address this sensibly..).
Continue reading “Health Warning For Writers”
I was going to write you a blog post but unfortunately I didn’t have time, so instead here’s a list of five things I have read this week that I found funny, interesting and/or helpful. Enjoy!
This evening I am going along to a literary salon in Edinburgh to talk about 12 books in 12 months as part of a literary blog themed event.
I think this sounds rather grand for two reasons.
Then there’s me, struggling for weeks to get through Life of Pi but cheerfully staying up all night to read George R. R. Martin in a hostel in Ljbljana.
Continue reading “Edinburgh Literary Salon”
People often ask me, ‘hey Ali! Whaddya do when you’re not writing books, blogging about writing books or blogging about books written by other people?’
Continue reading “How To Sell An eBook”
My first contribution to The Working Barbarian is now live! You have just under a week to read it and vote on what happens next.
To explain – I recently became involved with an online Choose Your Own Adventure story. Every week someone writes a section, You The Public vote on what happens next, and the baton is passed on to the next writer who writes their bit of the tale based on the results.
Continue reading “Good News, Everyone”
One of the most difficult things I’ve had to write recently was a guest post for the Fight! Fight! Fight! blog – a website dedicated to pondering what would happen if fictional characters did battle with one another. Yes, it is a niche market.
Part of my issue was that the page is run by my boyfriend, so I knew that when he gave me a deadline he actually had a few posts in hand and there was no real sense of urgency. If I missed my deadline, something else would take its place.
The other problem I had was that it was not like anything I’ve ever written before. I had a lot of false starts, because it turns out I’ve never written a proper fight scene – my stories and articles are generally pretty light hearted. I had no idea how to make it convincing, so in the end I didn’t bother.
It turns out, therefore, that I don’t actually have any helpful advice to give on the subject of writing a fight scene. Sorry for the misleading title of the post. Still, if you want an example of how not to do it, you should probably check out the site. FYI, you may benefit from familiarity with Pride and Prejudice and a thick skin in terms of creative language, as my fight is between Mr Darcy and Malcolm Tucker.
If you want to write a fight, by the way, he is always looking for contributors – you’ll find contact information on the top right of the Fight! Fight! Fight! page. Hooray for the internet!
12 Books in 12 Months 