The draft, getting it right the first time.

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. Do you hurry through a first draft, or are you conscious of flaws as they go down? Has that changed over time? Before I answer that, I need … Continued

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Story Arc. Can you see the future?

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. What is story arc to you? Oh no, not another technical prompt! Although this time at least it’s not grammar. I sort of get the idea of story … Continued

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Adverbs everywhere

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. Are adverbs really the devil? If they sneak in occasionally, does it mean we’re lazy? As I’ve said to you many times before, I don’t do grammar. I … Continued

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Putting a face to a name

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. Do you draw your main characters so that a forensic sketch artist could put them on the cover, or do they belong to the reader? Until this question … Continued

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It’s life, Jim

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. What elements from your life are woven into your latest book? Travel, to strange and exotic lands. I spent most of the 1970s and 80s at sea, those … Continued

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This is Lockdown

This week, I’m very happy to showcase and review a new book. Compiled during the Coronavirus lockdown that started in March 2020, its a collaborative effort between a lot of talented authors and bloggers. The collection has been put together … Continued

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I’ve got nothing to wear.

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. How do you decide how to dress your characters? The simple answer is – Realistically. Many of my books are set in the far future. If you remember … Continued

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Breaking the Rules

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. What generic ‘rules’ did you abide by when you started writing that have gone out the window? Being self-taught, I never really had any rules to follow. Grammar … Continued

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