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RichardB replied to the topic Bath Novel Award Successes in the forum Podium 6 years, 11 months ago
Yeah, triff. Well done, lads.
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RichardB replied to the topic New Book Release: Revolt (The King's Knight) in the forum Podium 6 years, 11 months ago
And the armour would have gone rusty.
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RichardB replied to the topic New Book Release: Revolt (The King's Knight) in the forum Podium 6 years, 11 months ago
I believe I once read that Henry VIII, in his youth, could reputedly vault into the saddle over the horse’s hindquarters while wearing full armour…
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RichardB posted an update 6 years, 11 months ago
Nice birthday present yesterday: the first in the latest round of rejections.
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Happy Birthday!
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Penblwydd hapus! But also, ugh.
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I hope it was a happy birthday anyway. Sorry to hear about The Last House, but it’ll sell, trust me
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Happy belated birthday @richardb! I read of someone (name escapes me) who used to collect rejections and aimed for a certain number each month, each one being an achievement and a measurement of activity and submission. So each one worthy of celebration. I’ve actually found that approach helpful myself, bizarre though it seems…
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RichardB posted a new activity comment 6 years, 12 months ago
Back in the days when I had a young family I used to do all my writing at dead of night when everyone else was in bed. I particularly remember one summer night when I got so carried away that dawn was breaking before I stopped.
I can’t do either anymore. Write in the small hours (brain turns to mush), or get carried away like that. Sigh…
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RichardB posted a new activity comment 6 years, 12 months ago
No, hang on a minute. Why should I? Works both ways, dunnit?
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Totally applicable to any family member. They should undergo training for being partnered with a writer. Step one, don’t come home early without prior warning!
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Back in the days when I had a young family I used to do all my writing at dead of night when everyone else was in bed. I particularly remember one summer night when I got so carried away that dawn was breaking before I stopped.
I can’t do either anymore. Write in the small hours (brain turns to mush), or get carried away like that. Sigh…
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RichardB posted a new activity comment 6 years, 12 months ago
Er, wives…
(ducks and runs for cover.)
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No, hang on a minute. Why should I? Works both ways, dunnit?
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Totally applicable to any family member. They should undergo training for being partnered with a writer. Step one, don’t come home early without prior warning!
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Back in the days when I had a young family I used to do all my writing at dead of night when everyone else was in bed. I particularly remember one summer night when I got so carried away that dawn was breaking before I stopped.
I can’t do either anymore. Write in the small hours (brain turns to mush), or get carried away like that. Sigh…
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RichardB replied to the topic Unediting in the forum Blogs 7 years ago
Yes. In one of mine I rewrote two chapters from a different POV – for consistency: they were the only chapters from that character’s POV and it upset the balance. Then I discovered that those chapters really, really did work better with the original POV. So now I’m going to have to not only restore the original chapters but change others to be…[Read more]
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RichardB replied to the topic Terminal discouragement? in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years ago
Ah, Jonathan, you and I (and Harry) are thinking along the same lines. And yes, there is more. The full blog is here:
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RichardB replied to the topic Terminal discouragement? in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years ago
When I was (a lot) younger I used to snort in contempt when I read in an author’s bio on a book cover, usually American in those days, that they had a degree in creative writing. Hah! I thought, either you got it or you ain’t. You can’t teach it like you can physics or history. It’s not hard and fast stuff like that.
Much later, after discovering…[Read more]
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RichardB started the topic Terminal discouragement? in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years ago
I came upon this gem of advice from The Fuehrer at JW:
One of the problem with all those MFA courses, those university diplomas in Creative Writing, the workshops, the peer-to-peer critiquing stuff is that writers end up with style all right . . . but they can all end up sounding the same.
Because we at Jericho Writers do a lot of editorial work…[Read more]
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RichardB posted a new activity comment 7 years ago
Yes, the Cloud was something very special, and I don’t know if that particular vibe can ever be recaptured. Though it has to be said that it had already soured before it vanished, due to the efforts of A Certain Person. My daughter has wide experience of forums devoted to her ruling passion, football, and when I told her about the souring of the…[Read more]
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RichardB replied to the topic Bi-Monthly Comp – May/June 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years ago
You seem to have set a fire with your idea, Raine: even I’m having a go. Yet more apologies: 408 words.
The Last House
There’s freedom and there’s freedom. Sleeping rough and scavenging for food is freedom, but not the sort that appeals to me. And that’s exactly what I’ll be doing tonight if something doesn’t turn up. Another night’s B&B will…[Read more]
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RichardB replied to the topic 'The Five': A Dissenting Voice in the forum Blogs 7 years ago
Interesting point there, Raine, about reinforcing society’s assumptions because, obviously, Rubenhold was trying to do exactly the opposite. Bit of a misfire, that.
Agreed, John, that it’s an appalling attitude. The book sets out to do a job that was well worth doing. I just wish she’d done it in a less fanatical and dishonest way.
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RichardB replied to the topic 'The Five': A Dissenting Voice in the forum Blogs 7 years, 1 month ago
I did see the programme, Squidge, and yes, it was very interesting. I had heard of this man, Aaron Kosminski, before – he is also the suspect named in the recent DNA testing controversy – and though many people are not convinced, I am at least convinced that the Ripper (whoever he was) was an ordinary, local man, a face in the crowd with int…[Read more]
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RichardB started the topic 'The Five': A Dissenting Voice in the forum Blogs 7 years, 1 month ago
Hallie Rubenhold’s The Five, her account of the lives of Jack the Ripper’s canonical five victims, has created quite a stir. It made headlines before it was even published, and it has climbed the Sunday Times best-seller list. It has received fulsome praise from critics, who have called it ‘an angry and important work of historical detection,…[Read more]
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RichardB started the topic A Bad Job: Thirsk, 1892 in the forum Blogs 7 years, 1 month ago
Though the story of every fatal accident is a tragedy for somebody, few are quite so sad as the tale of what is known as the Thirsk railway accident, although it actually happened about three miles north of there. I have perforce had to include some (simplified) signalling technicalities, but you’d need a heart of stone not to be moved by this…[Read more]
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RichardB posted a new activity comment 7 years, 2 months ago
I haven’t written any shit today, because I haven’t written anything at all. I’m mulling stuff over. But one H*rry B*ngham once pointed out that he’d spent a whole week in his study mulling things over and not writing a single word, and still counted it as writing time because it produced results later. A murrain on daily targets, that’s wot I say.
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RichardB posted a new activity comment 7 years, 2 months ago
I had something like this recently. Got an e-mail notification that someone had commented, but when I clicked on the ‘View the discussion here’ link I found that all but the last few posts had vanished, including the actual post by me that was being replied to. Came over here to check and it was the same. Is this a software issue?
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It should show all your posts but sometimes it ‘folds’ them to save space. This is annoying but there’s not much that xan be done at present. However if you’ve been mentioned in a post using your handle, then select mentions from the main navigational menu (assuming you’re logged in). You can access the post there. Failing that trh actually going…[Read more]
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Thanks Jules – I’ll accept it is an occasional hiccup and work round it.
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Yeah, I got hit by that glitch on that comment thread too, @sandradavies. It does seem to strike at random. :-/
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