Hornsea Writer, Stuart Aken, On Writing

Give me a 3-word summary of what you will be doing, writing-wise, in the coming year.

Creating new fiction.

Tell me more

Currently, the envisaged novel is forming within my skull, as the idea forms into something that may become publishable. As a pantster, I never plot. My created characters are people I come to know and love, mostly. Once those relationships have matured, I set the players in a location relevant to the story and allow them to determine the route they will take to arrive at my predetermined destination. I know what themes I want to explore. I carry in my grey matter the fragile scaffolding on which the story will be built. But all my writing, regardless of what else the story says, is about relationships. And the way I deal with those is by wearing my characters’ skins, moving in their shoes, encountering their doubts, fears, and hopes, and attempting their ambitions.

The new novel is partly inspired by Yann Martel’s extraordinary work, ‘Self’. For now, I’ll say no more on that.  

Tell me about a writing-related event from last year

Resting from the all-consuming demands of imagined scenarios, I spent last year writing for Medium. Eighteen stories in total, on a variety of topics from dogs through taxes and beaches, to walks in foreign climes encouraged me to share my thoughts. Most of these are accompanied by photographs I’ve taken (I was once a full time professional photographer, and now continue the art in a semi-professional way.) You’ll find one piece that illustrates my two creative loves here. There will be more short articles this year. You’ll find them here.

Writing the odd factual piece is useful for an author of fiction, as it increases the writer’s knowledge of the real world, which can then inform whatever stories are subsequently written. Not all fiction is reliant on research, but by far the vast majority is. We spend a great deal of time discovering facts to lend validity and truth to the products of our imagination. Last year, I spent a good deal of time resting my creative drive and encouraging the restorative effects of enjoyment of life. I also read a lot of factual books, including some basic research for the next novel. That task will continue this year, even as I begin to write the new book. It’s an ongoing process for most of us. Without deep research from the author, many works of fiction would fail to convince the average reader of their veracity.

Learn more about Stuart here.

Hornsea Writer, Linda Acaster, On Writing

Give me a 3-word summary of what you will be doing, writing-wise, in the coming year.

Pivoting my focus.

Tell me more:

For years I’ve been a writer of novels which needed a great amount of research and planning. While they’ve brought me much satisfaction, they are definitely a long haul job.

By chance I came upon novellas, dipping my toe into the Chiller genre with Scent of the Böggel-Mann and The Paintings, and found the length better suits the demands of my current lifestyle. I’ve a couple of Historical novellas to finish, and I’m looking for a subject and genre I’d enjoy carrying into a series.

I’m also concentrating more time on content-writing for Medium, a digital platform which hosts a multitude of niche publications. The aim is to launch a couple of my own. Through years of research and novel-writing, I’ve a wealth of information to share.

Tell me about a writing-related event from last year

I created my first decent ebook cover for the Psychological Mystery The Forever House, launched during early summer, but overlooked the “bleeds” necessary for a paperback edition – LOL! After an initial horrified shriek, I turned to YouTube to immerse myself in a crash course on photo-manipulation, and realised I enjoyed the challenge. The attention to detail is very reminiscent of that needed when writing fiction.

Learn more about Linda here.

Hornsea Writer, Penny Grubb, On Writing

Image: Mystic Art Design, Pixabay

Give me a 3-word summary of what you will be doing, writing-wise, in the coming year.

Editing, writing, blogging.

Tell me more:

EDITING: I’m editing for a publisher. I’m a second editor on books that are being prepared for publication later in the year. The big plus is that it pushes me into reading books I wouldn’t otherwise look at. If I were an initial reader, rather than 2nd editor, that big plus could be an equally big minus, as I might get stuck with badly written books that were a chore to wade through.

However, these are books that have already been approved and gone through initial edits from good editors. They might not be titles that I would have picked up off a shelf, but they are, by definition, good reads.

I’m currently editing an epic fantasy, a contemporary relationships story, and a historical romance. Not that I edit 3 at a time, but they overlap or I would miss my deadlines. I would never have chosen these 3 books to take on a trip with me, and yet if I had, I would not have been disappointed. Although I occasionally fall into the wrong fictional world and confuse myself over why a character in a WW2 drama is not using magic powers, I have become totally engaged in all 3 books.

These initial three have set a high bar for books still in the pipeline. I have hedgehog adventures, folk tales, and space adventures yet to come. Can’t wait!

WRITING: I completed a novel at the start of the year. It’s a crime story set in the 1990s. I’m hoping it’s at the final polish stage, but you know how it is, when you get too close to a book, you no longer see the flaws, the ambiguities, the plot holes. Several people are reading the manuscript for me and I’m leaving it well alone for a few months.

Meanwhile, I hope to get started on a new novel. I’m nurturing an idea for a new installment in my Private Investigator series. I’m also dabbling with a “slightly sci-fi” but given that “slightly sci-fi” isn’t a recognised genre, I might have difficulty placing it.

BLOGGING: I blog about life, the universe, and everything as the mood takes me. This is an article about handbags as a cause of marital strife. This one is about my flock of dinosaurs. And this looks into the oddities of writing life.

Tell me about a writing-related event from last year

My children’s book Horse of the Same Colour, written as Melodie Trudeaux, was launched in the autumn. The book is a sequel to Horse of a Different Colour. The launch video features the first chapter from each book.

Learn more about Penny here.