Tony Lyttle

There’s a lot to be said for Discord. There are a number of pages I visit regularly. I don’t imagine it would suit some of our members, but there may be no alternative in a year’s time.

No preference.

My WIP is first person, present tense. I didn’t choose or plan this; it just happened when I started writing. I think it fits the voice of the MC.

I suppose that many people who are mainly familiar with a narrator, often omnipotent, addressing the reader in past tense, assume that present tense (especially first person) is likely…[Read more]

Very true. There are precious few lighter moments. Mind you, he’s not quite the worst author I know for that. Not exactly fantasy (although he did write a collaborative series with Terry Pratchett), Stephen Baxter has the habit of making you identify with and root for particular characters, and then watch as their responses to ever tougher…[Read more]

@woolleybeans wrote: “For me, that aspect [the defining factor of PD] was/is the level to which the POV character’s thoughts, feelings etc influence/become part of the writing style itself.

As for how that correlates to film/TV…

The saturation of colours? Whether the shot angles up through something? The somewhat cliché blurry/wobbly scen…[Read more]

You’re probably right re urban fantasy, I have a rather vague grasp on the various subgenres, and that’s when authors oblige and ensure that their work falls squarely within one category. I have no idea where to put China Mieville’s Bas-Lag novels, and I suspect he likes it that way. They have the epic sweep and complex magical systems of high…[Read more]

There’s something awe-inspiring about coming into contact with truly large insects and similar bugs, and your blog reminded me of an incident on holiday in Spain, years ago. We’d rented a cottage and on the last day we were cleaning up and I’d put a bin-bag by the door. I reached down to retrieve what looked like a piece of vegetation poking out…[Read more]

We had one of those alight on the edge of our utility room door a little while ago. Huge, and very striking. Almost big enough to have the same sort of presence as a bird rather than an insect. Can’t find pics of it now, but we fairly often see them out and about, along with different types of dragonfly and damsonfly.

I was going to edit this to add some links but apparently I’m too late. Anyway, in case there are any non-SE grads out there, some details on psychic distance here

That sounds fantastic (in both senses of the word). My tbr pile is probably already longer than I will get through in my lifetime but I will add it anyway.

Fantasy definitely did seem to go through an obligatory magic ring/sword phase, not to mention the ominpresent dark lord – the overlong series’ of Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind and, to a lesser…[Read more]

Thanks Ath, and everyone who’s kept this place going. I admit I haven’t done as much as I would have liked to help the process, and like everyone else who has commented I would miss the Den if it were not here. I’ve been in a bit of a low spot for (fiction) writing for a while but I have recently been meaning to wander back in the hope of a chat…[Read more]

Well, you’ve convinced me. I may have to add  have added the book to my ever-growing kindle list. Another great blog by the way.

“A bit harsh maybe” you say, of Ursula K. Le Guin’s remarks. My feelings about this are mixed. I can see her point, but I am not convinced. I would have thought that the way we approach the old stories is what matters.…[Read more]

Do write another blog, Richard!

Yes, the Cloud had the benefit of the Writers’ Workshop behind it. Not only did people find it from WW Courses, but from other services. I found the Cloud when I bought an editorial review. Then, it had things like the ‘Getting Published’ day in London and the ‘Festival of Writing’ in York.

Goes some way to…[Read more]

I had a look at our profile options a while back but I couldn’t see how it’s supposed to work. You can add information about yourself, but it doesn’t show up when your profile is viewed (which is a bit pointless). I’ll take another look at it.

Darn it! Sorry Knicks. It’s a great theme and I meant to have a go, but things just got away from me this month 🙁

Well done all of us, especially Knicky. A great read. And well, done Seagreen. Worth waiting for.

Wow! Looks interesting. Thanks Daeds.