43 Problems

Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! So yes, I have 43 problems to solve in my rewrites. 43 questions or comments left to myself in the text. Some are thankfully minor, a note to self to change a sentence, or even a word. (Yes, one word changes can be a nightmare, just let me …

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The Slaves and The Djinn: Read through update

Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! So, it has been a few weeks now since I finished my Ernest Hemingway edit-as-I-go manuscript (digital), and this weekend I sat down and read it in one uninterrupted sitting. I tried VERY hard not to stop and edit, or add comments as I went, but I can’t …

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The Writing Life: Edinburgh Chip shops and fantasy city design, a diversion

Time Passes. Hello, friends and the occasional relative! I visited my home town of Edinburgh recently, and while much had stayed the same, a lot had changed. Profound, I know. So I’m going to talk about chip shops. First, I am convinced that if you want the real experience of fried fish in Scotland, don’t …

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Why I Write Fantasy: Managing the Disconnect.

Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! This is my sixth attempt at writing this column. I'm not saying this is the best, it's just the one I'm willing to share right now. Once I was a boy with shining dreams. Fantasy fiction, of my own making and the stories I enjoyed reading, were an …

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The Slaves and The Djinn: Final edit-as-I-go draft update?

Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! I write this before I have finished my writing for these days off, with Chapters 31 and 32 written, so I am 96.96 recurring% of the way to completion of this edited-as-I-go draft. Cheers Ernest! Still no graphic representation. Except I have not really edited from 29 on, …

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Seven weeks in a row: truncated activity and a difficult finish line

Hello friends and the occasional relative! This has been a disjointed weekend, and as expected, I only managed one chapter, that looked easier on paper than the last couple, but turned out to have a lot of challenges. The surprises of writing. Three chapters to go! So I am now 90.9% of the way to …

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Weekly update: knowing you don’t have perspective, and being okay with it

Hello, friends and the occasional relative! Six weeks in a row. The streak will be busted sooner or later, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. This has been a good weekend. I wrote not one, not two, but three chapters! 87.87% of the way through this edited-as-I-go draft. Still no progress bar. I am …

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The Slaves and The Djinn—Weekly Update

Hello friends and the occasional relative! (FatoR™, for future reference.) Yes, I know, this is crazy, how many weeks in a row has it been now? Five? Motivation, deadlines, and the very act of doing this update and not wanting to miss my weekly target is keeping me gloriously focused. I am aware this could …

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