Category: Awesome authors

Essential writing skills: what I learned from Jack Kerouac about chapters

September 13, 2014

One of the major battles Jack Kerouac had to fight when publishing On The Road was his lack of divisions. His editors won; the book as originally published had divisions – I wouldn’t exactly call them chapters. And with good reason. Divisions, usually chapters, are an expected part of a book – a useful device for … More Essential writing skills: what I learned from Jack Kerouac about chapters

Essential writing skills: he said, she said – without adjectives

August 9, 2014

Have you ever tried writing dialogue without all the ‘he said’, ‘she said’ nonsense? It’s an effective technique, though it’s easy to say ‘do this’. Harder to master. Hemingway set the gold standard – half-page strings of dialogue, often without any directions at all as to the speaker– and it was usually clear as to who … More Essential writing skills: he said, she said – without adjectives

Tell me – have all the best sci-fi ideas been used?

July 20, 2014

H. R. Geiger passed away this year, aged 74. Probably best known as designer of the icky thing that exploded out of John Hurt’s stomach in Alien (1980). When it comes to spooky haunted house stories – which is what that movie really was – Geiger’s Alien has to take first price for scare factor. … More Tell me – have all the best sci-fi ideas been used?

Essential writing skills: it’s OK to write square mountain ranges

July 12, 2014

It’s almost a cliche these days to say that modern fantasy writers all stand in J R R Tolkien’s shadow. Or George R R Martin’s. But it’s true. Obviously, having two middle names beginning with R is a pre-requisite for greatness in the genre. And it was Tolkien who really defined the field for so many author … More Essential writing skills: it’s OK to write square mountain ranges

A glistening quote from the Wellington Writers’ Walk

June 30, 2014

I was out on the Wellington waterfront the other day with my camera and spotted the light falling just so across this quote from New Zealand’s best known short-story writer, Katherine Mansfield. She’s one of several authors commemorated in the Wellington Writers’ Walk. My DSLR’s not new-tech, and CCD’s being what they are, I wasn’t sure … More A glistening quote from the Wellington Writers’ Walk

Sherlock’s public domain – but will writing new stories be elementary?

June 23, 2014

A recent US court ruling that 50 Sherlock Holmes stories published before December 1923 are in public domain – hence free for all to use – raises questions about whether we’re about to be inundated with a flood of new Holmes adventures. It’s subject to possible appeal, I suppose. But it’s a tricky issue. Here … More Sherlock’s public domain – but will writing new stories be elementary?

Don’t complain about J K Rowling. Follow her lead instead.

February 28, 2014

The other day a novelist complained that J K Rowling was making it harder for other authors, and why didn’t she just stop? By her own admission, this critic had never read a word of ‘Harry Potter’. To me it came across as a ‘she’s had her turn, now it’s mine’ kind of argument. It’s … More Don’t complain about J K Rowling. Follow her lead instead.