Tag: Writer

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Book Review – Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by David Gerrold

Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy

Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by David Gerrold

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Worlds of Wonder – How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by David Gerrold is a non-fiction title for writers who are looking to learn about the craft of writing in the genres of science fiction and fantasy.

The Cover: I really wasn’t sold on this cover. It didn’t really suggest the book was non-fiction, the picture didn’t really work for me, and I really didn’t like the font used on the title and author name. It made the book look less professional to me. If I took the text away from the cover all together, this could have been a sci-fi, horror, or thriller novel in my opinion.

The Good Stuff: Wow! I thought the last book I read on the craft of writing was good, but this book blew me away. This has to be the best book for writers that I have read. David Gerrold really has a firm grip on the craft. I am the target audience for this book and it did its job, really hitting the mark for me. The chapters are succinct, no waffle, no filler, no repeating the same thing 3 times, just solid direct writing. The words run smoothly and make perfect sense to me as a writer and to top it all off, my version was published in 2001. David Gerrold’s text is relevant today as much as it was back then and seems to be timeless.

The Bad Stuff: I’m pretty sure I have covered all the bad stuff in the cover section.

Overall, I found this book to be pretty amazing. If you can only afford to buy one book on writing this year I would recommend you make it this one. It is clear and concise, covers a wealth of information, provides some solid advice, and the writing is interesting. This one is getting a star making, writer creating 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

Want to know if you agree with my review? Grab your own copy from these links:

Amazon.com
Amazon.com.au
Kobo

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.

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It’s Good, But It’s Not Good. You Should, But You Shouldn’t – Now I’m Confused!

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Hello Readers,

I submitted my latest story to my writer’s group and got some feedback yesterday. It is always interesting when you receive differing opinions, but it makes it hard to work out which way to go with your writing sometimes. The submission was a fantasy/horror piece that started as a short story. I finished it some time ago and had been letting it sit after some previous feedback. The general consensus at that time was, they loved the concept, but it was more than a short story and I should continue writing it.

I picked it back up about a month or two ago and started to add to it. I have some new characters and I’ve built a bit more of a plot. I’ve also added more details around the concept and had to alter some of the previous content to align it with the changes. Anyway, after my latest submission there were a couple of people that really loved it and gave me glowing feedback. And then there were others who felt confused, said it needed to be clearer,  and had questions on how the concept works. I’m not big on the details, as a writer I don’t think everything needs to be explained. I like to throw things out there and let my readers read between the lines, drawing their own conclusions. After all, I write fantasy and some things can’t be explained, they just are. But my dilemma is that some people thought I should leave it as a short story and others thought it could be a longer work. Now I’m wondering what to do. Do I leave it as a short story, publish now and move on to my next project, or do I carry on and turn it into a novella or a novel? I may just keep writing, send both versions to my Beta readers to see which they prefer, hoping there is a clear winner.

Happy Reading.

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in some libraries. 

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It’s all about me, but it’s just for you.

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Hello Readers,

Okay, so I know readers are an inquisitive bunch and most of you like to get to know a little about the authors you read, so I thought I would make this post about myself. Hopefully it will give you a bit of an insight into who I am and what I like to do with my spare time.

Now where do I start? Hobbies is probably a good place. To be honest, with a full-time job, most of my spare time is taken up with my writing and the business of being an author. On the occasion when I find I do have some spare time or those days when I really just want a bit of a break, I do love a good movie. My favourite genres would be action/adventure and sci-fi movie. I don’t just watch mainstream movies either, I will watch movies from around the world. I love a good international movie and recently watched an awesome South Korean flick called ‘The Villainess’. Some of my favourite movies would have to be The Matrix, Ninja Assassin and The Princess Bride. As for TV shows, well I can’t go past Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and the recent version of West World for the commonly known shows, but I also like things like Untouchables and Acquitted on the lesser watched world TV scene.

What else can I share with you? Ah… I really enjoy going out somewhere for a coffee, whether it be a new café in a peaceful surround or an established coffee shop in a bustling, inner-city suburb. Similarly, I like to go out for a drink in a small bar somewhere with a couple of mates or have a small group of friends over for a few beers and something to eat.

As far as sports go, I love martial arts and I enjoy watching UFC or other contact sports on the TV. I also like to think of myself as a bit of an artist and I’ve been told that I’m quite accomplished at painting miniatures (and while I don’t play D&D, I do love the card game ‘Magic the Gathering’). I’m not so good with watercolours, but I enjoy painting with them. I am my own worst critic when it come to my art , but while I don’t generally like the pictures I paint, I do have some pieces that I’m proud of. I also like ink as a medium, I really like the look of things drawn in black ink on white paper.

Activity wise, I enjoy bush walking from time to time, but more-so adrenaline fuelled experiences, especially the ones that involve me driving. Whether it is a V8 dune buggy, a Lotus on a skid pan, or an HSV speed trial – I’m up for it!

And that’s about it for now,

I hope you enjoyed learning something about me.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in some libraries. 

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Time To Check In – How Are Things Looking?

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Hello Readers,

Welcome to my new site – allanwalshauthor.com, I hope you like what you’ve seen so far. I’m quite pleased with the result and feel it looks more professional than my last website. The new site has been up and running for a few weeks now, and so far I haven’t come across any teething problems. I don’t tend to view my own site from the front end as much as my readers though, so I thought I would reach out to you and see if you have had any issues. If you have come across any stray links, problems with downloadable content, or just spotted a spelling mistake or two, please reach out to me by email and let me know. Alternately, you can leave me a comment below to let me know what you think of the new site, any issues or ideas on how to improve it.

Over the last weekend I was thinking about the sort of posts to put on this new site. I certainly want to gear it towards my readers and your interests. If you’ve been following the site, you will have noticed that I have re-posted my 10% club posts from my old blog. I wanted to get the samples of my work up on here for new readers visiting the site that might want to see some of my work. I’ve also decided to continue with my book review posts, this way you can see what I’ve been reading and what I thought of the books. I may also transfer some of my previous reviews over from the old site, but I will try to layer these between new posts so you are not just getting a lot of content you have seen before. I’ve started this off with a brand new review of The Destroyer by Michael Scott-Earle.

Being an Indie Author can be time consuming at the best of times. It is a big machine and the cogs need oiling to keep everything running smoothly. I have spent the last few months setting things up so the wheels don’t need as much grease, and now that I have established my new site and set up the tools I need to continue my journey with a little less effort, I hope to focus more on my writing. I look forward to giving you all something new to read in the future.

Until then, happy reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in some libraries. 

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