Apologies for the long delay in posting. But silence doesn’t always mean inaction. Over the last few months I’ve been working on the sequel to ‘Lightmaker’. This is now well underway, the first draft is complete and I’m now adding polish.
I won’t be dishing out an expected arrival date, but I’m pleased with progress so far.
I’ve also worked on a creative writing course which I hope to put on Udemy and similar sites. This will focus on science fiction and fantasy, but will help anyone wanting to learn about creative writing, or at least learn about my thoughts on the subject.
I cover areas like creating goals, having fascinating characters, writing clearly, building tension, and I also show how to avoid common pitfalls. There are sections on finding motivation as a writer, and on getting feedback.
The course is called the ‘Writer’s Secret Toolkit’. Why secret? Ever read a book you loved? Ever wondered how the author created that work? I did too, but I couldn’t find any single book or course which acted like a cooking book. Occasionally I’d stumble across some useful nugget of wisdom in one book, but that book would hold a lot of filler too.
Over time I built up a list of useful nuggets of wisdom, and I worked to build links between them.
I also took courses in creative writing, and attended writing conferences where I chatted with successful authors. The concepts came together and helped me find success with my writing. Even better I enjoyed this wonderful new hobby – nothing beats the sensation of seeing your own characters develop their own personalities.
So I now had a cookbook. A way to turn ideas into stories. The manual wasn’t exactly secret, but it was well hidden – it had been scattered across countless creative writing books and courses, and even in the minds of successful authors.
To make everything accessible I divided what I’d learnt into 140 tools. Each one works on its own, and each one should improve your writing, and help you enjoy the craft.
The script is written, I’ve bought the video software I need, and I’m preparing the slides and headshots for the videos. I’ll bring you more information later this year.
Best wishes,
Kevin.