Jonathan

I could SloMo.

I like “London and Her Shadow” too, with “Shadow City” a close second.

@raine I made it 1,666 words a day – 50K over 30 days. Have the counts changed?

Edit: ah, never mind – you did say excluding weekends – I’m half-asleep today!

I didn’t really enjoy it the one year I did it. I stopped using Strava for cycling for the same reason, namely that it becomes, for me, about word count and targets than actual enjoyment of the activity, and that can affect quality. But that’s just my take. People do produce publisher-ready material from it. I probably should do it again. I quite…[Read more]

First let me just say that when this is published I am totally buying it!

Next – titles. Hmm. I love SeaGreen’s “The Time-Snatcher’s Daughter” but that of course could be a bit of a spoiler and I’m sure there’s something like it already out there, but it covers the time angle and the feminine one. I’m getting Gaiman/Mieville vibes with a hint of…[Read more]

Maybe “Seven Years Gone?” Just simple and kind of … vaguely … title-ish? Or maybe just her name. Or what about those title generators or standard methods for titling a book, eg this? Or maybe something that could be a quote at the moment of change that hints at the situation: “Abby Smith Is Hiding” or something.

In my head I am wanting to focus on the seven years. Seven is a highly symbolic number. Seven year itch, seven colours of the rainbow. Seven seconds, seventh son of a seventh son. Seven deadly sins, seven horcruxes if you like Harry Potter. I think it’s the first “difficult” number for children to master in multiplication. She’s been gone seven…[Read more]

I read something a while ago on “how to accept compliments” or something to that effect. The temptation to say “oh, no, it’s not very good, it’s nothing” is, as I understand it, to be resisted, using a simple “thank you” in its place. Doing this has, for me, changed the way I see myself a little, from impostor playing at “being artistic” to…[Read more]

Will definitely watch that video – thanks for this.

Argent Strings

In his dreams the nylon twanged faster and faster, jumping like fleas, until –

Until he woke. The hipster fashion for tiny instruments had not run dry. Instead it had uncovered a sinister network of enthusiasts, meeting once a month in railway huts, disused kiosks. The world’s abandoned places. But why? That was his job, to fin…[Read more]

Hi,

I can really see this place, this off-season clifftop eatery, can hear the lonely squawk of gulls and the crush-thump of incoming waves. The atmosphere of near-total stillness in the cafe is well-depicted. And you’ve got some great lines in here, particularly around the descriptions:

“a fall of autumn leaves across forehead, eye lids, nose,…[Read more]

I imagine details such as the number of times someone is hit – or even the exact manner – would be gratuitous; I don’t think anyone would keep track and I think it could actually lessen the realism as well as being rather unpleasant to read and write imo. But I do wonder if there is a chance to show character, eg sympathy for the victim by showing…[Read more]

My question would be why do you not want to write the scene in more detail? Is it a matter of taste? (ie you’re not keen on doing it) Or is it more in keeping with the rest of the book that way?

Congrats to Seagreen – very well done! And thank you Daeds for running and also for the feedback. Very helpful – so thank you again 🙂

Personally unless it’s sci-fi I prefer quaint, pretty and historic; something a little like Lyra’s Oxford in Philip Pullman’s books. I love geography; rivers, canals, trees, paths, places that go somewhere and places that separate, forgotten parts of the city are all good stuff that I find can augment the sense of place; think “Bodies of Water” by…[Read more]