Scrivener is my go-to writing tool for just about everything1 but it has a weakness: compiling Word documents with built-in headings that make them easy to navigate. Here’s how to solve that problem. I don’t often write about Scrivener because there’s a community of people who really know their way around it, not least the […]
The Book Corner season 5: Book vs film. Episode 8: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones The whimsical beauty of Hayao Miyazaki’s hit 2004 animation of Howl’s Moving Castle has eclipsed the clever fairytale of Diana Wynne Jones’s 1986 novel. Which one’s your favourite? The Book Corner The Book Corner is a regular break […]
Among literature’s many grand claims is that great works embody universal truth about the human condition. It’s frequently used to emphasise the importance of literary fiction and establish the importance of canonical works and authors. The former canonical heretic and latter-day literary saint, James Joyce, himself declared Ulysses to be a novel of universal truth: […]
The Book Corner season 5: Book vs film. Episode 6: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Alice Sebold’s 2002 debut novel delivered a bold and uplifting take on a brutal child murder story. In 2009, The Lovely Bones became a film by Peter Jackson, but neither the critics nor the box office warmed to his […]
The Book Corner season 5: Book vs film. Episode 5: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Ishiguro’s sixth novel was published in 2005 and its film adaptation, scripted by Alex Garland, was released in 2010. Read on, and I’ll explain why the novel is a great example of bad storytelling that the film fails […]
Amazon has updated Author Central and asked me to recommend five books for five questions. Here’s a few more for your TBR. If you’ve never heard of Amazon Author Central, it’s like a micro-site for every author. You can host a bio, photos, and now suggest books you like. For the update, Amazon asks you […]
Space archaeology is a real job, but how did it combine with the sci-fi classic Alien to help me write better characters? Next time you’re watching a film or TV show set in the future, see how many personal items you can find. I’ll wager it’s very few. Real life isn’t like that. Our cars, […]
The Book Corner season 5: Book vs film. Episode 4: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin vs Tales from Earthsea by Goro Miyazaki A Wizard of Earthsea became an instant classic of children’s fantasy when it arrived in 1968. It launched six novels exploring the wizards, peoples, lands and creatures of the Earthsea […]
The Book Corner season 5: Book vs film. Episode 3: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan The Percy Jackson heroverse is a middle grade mega-brand today, but 2005’s The Lightning Thief was cast firmly in the role of Harry Potter wannabee by its 2010 movie adaptation. Does the plucky young demigod deserve his reputation, and […]
With only three weeks left until Nanowrimo 2023 kicks off, there’s still time to prepare your story so you can hit the keyboard hard on November 1st. More importantly, a little prep will give you something to fall back on when the words run dry on November 21st. I won’t be on board the Nano […]