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About this blog

Musings as I continue to write a story that I originally envisioned as being 'around 80,000 words' and which is now reaching 170,000. Thoughts on the creative process, the way feedback can bring new ideas and the twists and turns of plotting.

Entries in this blog

Writing

Character Development

I've been away on a writing course this week and would like to share some of the exercises we did. Much of it was concerned with character development. Here's one of the first ones we did: Close your eyes. See a character walking towards you. At first, they are indistinct, then as they come closer, you start to pick out some features. What are they wearing? What do they look like? As they come closer still, notice their face and hair, the texture of their skin. Closer still, what do they sm
Mawgrim

Mawgrim in Writing

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Writing

Writing Course

Tomorrow I'm off on a week's writing course. I'm really excited about it. There's nothing like immersing yourself in a writing environment and talking with other people who are on the same wavelength. Getting out of the usual routine is also inspiring and visiting a new place always gives me lots of ideas. For anyone who is following my stories 'To the Weyr' and 'Hidden Secrets' don't worry - they will be updated on Monday and Thursday as usual, although I may be slower replying to comments
Mawgrim

Mawgrim in Writing

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Writing

Winter Ghost Story

During these dark, short winter days, the possibility of ghosts rises to the surface. On a bright, warm, summer day, it's easy to put our fears aside, but on a foggy December afternoon, as the light fades, they rise out of the shadows. Our ancestors used to gather around their fires as the snow swirled outside and tell ghosts stories. Nowadays, we can just post them on the Internet. Here's my latest spooky offering: Bad Vibes - Shortly after moving in to new offices, Luke and his staff
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Mawgrim in Writing

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Writing

The end of one story...

Well, 'Threadfall' is almost at an end. It was originally intended as a short prequel to 'Gone Away, Gone Ahead' and has ended up far longer. There are a few more short stories to come in the 'Dragonriders of Pern' fanfic series and hopefully a longer third part, taking up from where 'Gone Away, Gone Ahead' finished. Finishing a story is always slightly sad, but it gives the mind an opportunity to start thinking about new ideas as well. Coming soon: 'Hidden Secrets' - A murder myst
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Mawgrim in Writing

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Writing

Working on something new

Over the past week, I've started working on another story. Several years ago I took part in NaNoWriMo when I was suffering from writer's block. It certainly did the trick, as I managed to write 52,000 words during the month of November. The story I'd planned out had lots of my favourite elements in it; cinemas, the supernatural, a mystery and romance. As I was writing it at a rate of about 1000-2000 words a day, it was rough in places and the ending was a bit rushed as I wanted to finish a compl
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Mawgrim in Writing

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Writing

Revisions

I was reading a blog entry by @Comicality the other day concerning revisions of old stories. It struck a note (and has an awesome example of revision in an iconic scene from 'Star Wars') as I have lately been digging out some of my old stories and re-reading them. Some of these things are so old they were printed out on a dot matrix printer (don't ask, kids) or even typewritten, complete with Tipp-Ex corrections. It's always interesting to read back your own work. Sometimes it makes you wince; c
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Mawgrim in Writing

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Writing

Time to write

I've been spending quite a lot of time over the past few weeks making sure I am several chapters ahead of posting. There are now only two more chapters left of 'Gone Away, Gone Ahead' before reaching the end. I have had a few comments asking if there’s going to be a sequel and over the past few days I’ve been seriously considering that. I'm still working on the prequel, 'Threadfall', and estimate there's probably another 20-30,000 words to go on that. If someone had said to me that I would manag
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Mawgrim in Writing

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Writing

Finished!

Well, that's it. Apart from a little editing, 'Gone Away, Gone Ahead' is now finished. I was tempted to extend the number of chapters, to keep it going a while longer, but I realised that the story I had originally planned had reached its natural stopping point. I'm not someone who plans out a story in great detail. I know what needs to happen and roughly where it's going to happen, but sometimes the characters start taking me down other paths and bring in more twists and turns on the journ
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Mawgrim in Writing

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