Category: Blog

When you start writing fiction one of the most common aphorisms that you're likely to hear is "write what you know". It makes sense, but I get the impression from a lot of what I read that people take it far too literally. Of course if you have expertise or experience in a particular field… Continue reading Write what you know, even when it’s about giant killer moths

Distant MachinesPeter Lewis has very kindly interviewed me for his Why Did You Write That? blog.Why Did You Write That? is a blog that is intended to provide "a glimpse into the life and mind of your next favourite author", and although I might not become your next favourite author the questions certainly provide some… Continue reading Why Did You Write That? Distant Machines interview

Before I get started I'd just like to tell you about how blogging works. Blogging is the gerund of the verb "to blog", which is itself a portmanteau of the phrase "web log", and it describes an activity in which individuals of the species Homo sapiens sapiens record their thoughts online for others to read.… Continue reading The Proactive Anti-Prologue Ante-Room

Our mutual friendTony Healey, over at Fringe Scientist, is trying to get a Charles Dickens reading relay off the ground to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens. It involves voting for the Dickens book that you'd like to read (or re-read), then joining a chain of readers who will read the book,… Continue reading What the Dickens

My collection of three definitely speculative fiction and probably vaguely science fiction short stories, Distant Machines, is now available as an ebook from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk: Distant Machines on Amazon.comDistant Machines on Amazon.co.ukI think it's also available on the .fr, .de, .it and .es versions of Amazon as well, but it's in English so they… Continue reading Distant Machines

Over the last few days I have been putting the finishing touches to a collection of three short stories, which I shall be putting up onto Amazon, Smashwords and other places in the near future. The stories are all set in the not-too-distant future, and they touch on subjects such as genetic manipulation, a world… Continue reading Distant machines drawn by a fringe scientist

A little while ago I mentioned a competition being run by the Diamond Light Source, which as you all know is the UK's national synchrotron facility. At the time I said that I couldn't say anything about my story because it was being judged anonymously and I didn't want to prejudice the judging process. Well, the… Continue reading You have won second prize in a synchrotron contest

I wrote a short story recently and, as all writers should (and as I suspect that only some actually do), I sent the draft out to people for review and comment. There was one sentence that I put in that I was unsure about. It felt a bit forced, a bit writery, but I quite… Continue reading Subjectivity in reviews, obesity as satire and a pantomime witch

After writing about narrative in video games recently I've decided that I want to come back to the genre and look at character. I think it's still on my mind partly because I reached saturation point over Christmas from the deluge of television and internet advertising for big-budget blockbuster games like Super Pope Fighter II… Continue reading Making an 85-year-old professor of ethics kick a disabled child in the face

Alain Gomez at Book Brouhaha has written a very thoughtful and considered review of my short story The Restoration Man, giving it four out of five stars.Read it here: http://bookbrouhaha.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-of-restoration-man-by-simon-john.html