Category Archives: Writing

Bath Short Story Award

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Cheryl

Yesterday I popped over to Bristol to attend the Bristol Women’s Literature Festival. I’ll have more to say about that tomorrow, but today I want to mention something I came across while I was there. I got handed a postcard … Continue reading →

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The Finkbeiner Test and Default Status Characters

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Cheryl

One of the more interesting things I found online this week was the Finkbeiner Test. Inspired by the Bechdel Test, this is aimed at journalists who cover women scientists. It’s very nice for women to have articles written about their … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Journalism, Writing | 2 Comments

Introducing Long Hidden

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Cheryl

Here’s a Kickstarter project you may well want to back. Crossed Genres is floating Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction From the Margins of History, to be edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older. The blurb for the book includes the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Writing | 2 Comments

Pembroke Lecture on Fantasy Literature in Honour of JRR Tolkien

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Cheryl

As promised over the Holidays, here are the full details of the lecture that Kij Johnson will be giving in Oxford later this month, and the writing course she is doing the following day. I hope to see some of … Continue reading →

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New Aussie Podcast

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Cheryl

Thanks to Kirstyn and Mondy of The Writer & The Critic I have been altered to a new podcast by prolific Australian blogger, Sean Wright. The podcast is named after his blog, Adventures of a Bookonaut, and Episode 1 is … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Books, Feminism, Podcasts, Science Fiction, Writing | Comments Off

An Oxford Lecture

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Cheryl

As you doubtless all know, Professor Tolkien taught at Oxford University, and wrote much of his famous work while there. He was a Fellow of Pembroke College, and in January Pembroke will be hosting the first in what will be … Continue reading →

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Writing Course Offer

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Cheryl

I have recommended Cat Rambo’s writing courses before now. I have even taken one myself. Cat has a lot more on offer this year — see here for the full list. And between now and Jan 2 she has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 2 Comments

Women In Sensible Social Situations

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Cheryl

There has been quite a bit of talk around the blogosphere recently about how “realistic” having strong female characters in epic fantasy novels might be. Apparently various authors have been getting complaints from outraged fanboys over their use of strong … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Science Fiction, Writing | 7 Comments

No, No Wri Mo

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Cheryl

Today is that start of NaNoWriMo. Many of my friends are hunkering down and starting to write. I’m not. I do have a huge backlog of books to read and review, but more importantly I have a backlog of books … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Wizard's Tower, Writing | Comments Off

Rambling About Writing

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Cheryl

Clearly I have been listening to Gary and Jonathan too much because I am about to ramble. Hopefully a coherent post will result. My starting point is Justine Larbalestier being smart about publishing, which in turn led me to Diana … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Publishing, Writing | 2 Comments

Farewell, Diana

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Cheryl

Diana Wynne Jones died in March last year. The funeral was a private, family affair, but it was obvious that something should be done for the many friends and fans from all over the world that Diana had acquired over … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Writing | 4 Comments

Writing Classes

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Cheryl

Earlier today Neil Gaiman made a tumblr post in response to a question about the cost of networking for young writers. The questioner made the point that going to conventions and attending writing workshops is expensive. I guess they were … Continue reading →

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SF & Malt Whisky: A Perfect Blend

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Cheryl

As many of you will know, one of my current favorite whiskies is Jura Prophecy. I had no idea that the Jura distillery also owns a writer’s retreat. I should be paying more attention to what Ken MacLeod writes about. … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel, Whisky, Writing | 2 Comments

Film Agents?

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Cheryl

This is a bit of an odd request, but does anyone know any good film agents? It’s not for me, I hasten to add, it’s for a friend. And it’s a US company wanting rights to a UK author’s work. … Continue reading →

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How Did I Do?

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Cheryl

NaNoWriMo is now well and truly over. How did I do in my attempt to write 50,000 words of non-fiction in that period? As it turned out, I managed just over 30,000. I’m reasonably pleased about that. I was fairly … Continue reading →

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Book Review – The Watergivers Trilogy

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Cheryl

Another day, another book review done. Well three books actually, as this time I have turned my attention to Glenda Larke’s excellent Watergivers Trilogy. If you think these books are just fat fantasy for girls, think again. Go read the … Continue reading →

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Hundred Stories Update

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Cheryl

You may recall Liz Williams commented on my mention of her Hundred Stories project to the effect that donations under $100 were OK, but there were problems with PayPal accepting them. It appears there is some sort of issue between … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Somerset, Writing | Comments Off

You Don’t Have To Be Mad…

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Cheryl

Love of the weird is an affliction. There can be no doubt about it. The very reading of that dread tome, The Necronomicon, can cause a man to lose his sanity. And while that book might be quite a hefty … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Weird, Writing | Comments Off

Digging Up The Dark

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Cheryl

I often joke about living in Darkest Somerset (which I don’t quite now as Trowbridge is just over the border into Wiltshire), and these days the country doesn’t amount to much save for a cricket team famous for losing finals. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Somerset, Writing | 4 Comments

Novels: More Than Just Words

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Cheryl

With BristolCon over, and various other commitments being dropped, November is actually starting to look relatively relaxed (at least for me). As some of you will have noticed on Twitter, I’ve actually contemplated doing NaNoWriMo. This is, of course, stupid. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 7 Comments