So you've seen me delighted to have my copy of the book. And now it's time for opinions!! First off, I'll just say it was a delight to get to read the works of the people who have, since it all started, become my friends. Each story was different, thankfully, and gave me a great read.
The Anthology was compiled by Andy Walker, cover designed by Claire Hack, and the poster will be done by Chris Stewart. We wish to continue the Anthology as an annual tradition in the Den, although there is no telling what might happen.
An idea has been suggested for a Literary Den Magazine to give other members a chance at publication. A quarterly magazine, it is suggested, would contain poetry, songs and other such things (including essays of the journalistic sort), as well as news from the Den, and perhaps reviews. Nothing is certain as of yet, except that myself and Rachel Phipps have experience in magazines. It may end up that we be the editors. Then again, maybe not.
So far one person has responded. He's not happy with the idea of poetry. However, if Rachel and I can find a way to persuade him, then it'll go ahead as planned. Hurrah!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Lit Den Book - Here!!
I got the book today! It took nine days! Longest nine days of my life. But it's worth it. Now I can put pictures like the one below on the internet.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a book to read!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Geneticide - Reviewed!
I received a review from Ellie Dyer today, as part of our review trade off. Though she was afraid I would think her to be harsh, I'm actually appreciative of the review. It makes good points that I will be keeping in mind.
"I enjoyed reading this - the style is simple yet lyrical. Dialogue is used sparingly but to good effect, and free indirect speech moves the action forwards effectively and gives us a deeper insight into the characters. I would like to see a little more in terms of physcial description and differentiation. Saying that, there is a lot of movement and plot development in the early sections, and I managed to follow it all without getting lost; testament to the author's ability to plot carefully.
I'll admit to being a little confused by the use of analepsis and prolepsis - the later chapters in particular jar when you read 'four weeks before the events of chapter 7' - perhaps this would be better done with a date? There are a few typos and syntax errors here, which I'm sure will be rectified with editing. On the whole, this is a remarkable piece of writing for such a young author, and I wish him luck in finishing it - it will be one hell of a story."
Previously I received some other great reviews. The first one I'll post is from NicTei, a mad American author who always puts himself down. I'll have to settle the score with him and leave him a review. Anyway, here's what he had to say:
"Well, I read everything you've got up so far, and let me tell you, it's a great read. That being said, there were some interesting spelling errors that made me reread sentences until I figured out what was supposed to be said.
However, the errors were minor, like a late space (i.e. 'them an' instead of 'the man') or common errors caused by your fingers developing minds of their own while still on the keyboard (i.e. 'teh' instead of 'the').
In conclusion, I found this to be a refreshing read, though I can't say that it's one of the only good things on Bebo. I've lead a sheltered life on the Bebo Authors feature, and have really only read stunning books by the likes of Chinaren and Andy Walker, among others. However, this reaches pretty close to the top of the list, and I'll likely be back if you post anything new.
Keep writing!"
A very friendly review from NicTei. And not too harsh. One of the reviewers who understands a typo when he sees one!
The third of the reviews I'm posting is from China Ren. Yes, the self-praising author I complained about earlier. Here's China Ren's extensive review:
"It's not bad. The theme is possibly a little hackneyed, but what can you do?
As I say below, you need to put more colour into the story. Put some time and work into describing the characters and the world. Take it a little slower in parts as well. There's a bit of a rushed feel here and there.
There are various places in the story that I think could do with a re-work of punctuation. EG:
- She was Emily Quigley. And she was a thief -
I think this should be one sentence with a comma. (And it’s not ‘good’ English to start a sentence with ‘and’ of course, though I understand you are doing it here for impact).
You should try and make sure you use contractions where applicable too. Eg:
- They had received
–“They’d received”
There’s also a lot of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’, though this does improve a bit over the course of the tale. Here’s an example:
- Brock was at his car when a white van pulled up beside him. He got ready for a fight; it was just a plain white van, and in the front two men in black. –
You need to try and put more ‘life’ into the descriptions. For example, maybe the above could read something like:The sound of tyres skidding on the road brought Brock out of his reverie. A serious looking white van screeched to a halt nearby, forcing him to dive out of the way. He just had time to glimpse a couple of shapes in the front, men dressed all in black, before the rear doors flew open with a crash…
Sorry, there’s simply not enough room on Bebo to do a really full review. If you post on Tomecity.com I’ll try and do a more detailed crit there."
It's not hard to see why I got so annoyed with him, is it? He tells me how to write it for crying out loud!
"I enjoyed reading this - the style is simple yet lyrical. Dialogue is used sparingly but to good effect, and free indirect speech moves the action forwards effectively and gives us a deeper insight into the characters. I would like to see a little more in terms of physcial description and differentiation. Saying that, there is a lot of movement and plot development in the early sections, and I managed to follow it all without getting lost; testament to the author's ability to plot carefully.
I'll admit to being a little confused by the use of analepsis and prolepsis - the later chapters in particular jar when you read 'four weeks before the events of chapter 7' - perhaps this would be better done with a date? There are a few typos and syntax errors here, which I'm sure will be rectified with editing. On the whole, this is a remarkable piece of writing for such a young author, and I wish him luck in finishing it - it will be one hell of a story."
Previously I received some other great reviews. The first one I'll post is from NicTei, a mad American author who always puts himself down. I'll have to settle the score with him and leave him a review. Anyway, here's what he had to say:
"Well, I read everything you've got up so far, and let me tell you, it's a great read. That being said, there were some interesting spelling errors that made me reread sentences until I figured out what was supposed to be said.
However, the errors were minor, like a late space (i.e. 'them an' instead of 'the man') or common errors caused by your fingers developing minds of their own while still on the keyboard (i.e. 'teh' instead of 'the').
In conclusion, I found this to be a refreshing read, though I can't say that it's one of the only good things on Bebo. I've lead a sheltered life on the Bebo Authors feature, and have really only read stunning books by the likes of Chinaren and Andy Walker, among others. However, this reaches pretty close to the top of the list, and I'll likely be back if you post anything new.
Keep writing!"
A very friendly review from NicTei. And not too harsh. One of the reviewers who understands a typo when he sees one!
The third of the reviews I'm posting is from China Ren. Yes, the self-praising author I complained about earlier. Here's China Ren's extensive review:
"It's not bad. The theme is possibly a little hackneyed, but what can you do?
As I say below, you need to put more colour into the story. Put some time and work into describing the characters and the world. Take it a little slower in parts as well. There's a bit of a rushed feel here and there.
There are various places in the story that I think could do with a re-work of punctuation. EG:
- She was Emily Quigley. And she was a thief -
I think this should be one sentence with a comma. (And it’s not ‘good’ English to start a sentence with ‘and’ of course, though I understand you are doing it here for impact).
You should try and make sure you use contractions where applicable too. Eg:
- They had received
–“They’d received”
There’s also a lot of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’, though this does improve a bit over the course of the tale. Here’s an example:
- Brock was at his car when a white van pulled up beside him. He got ready for a fight; it was just a plain white van, and in the front two men in black. –
You need to try and put more ‘life’ into the descriptions. For example, maybe the above could read something like:The sound of tyres skidding on the road brought Brock out of his reverie. A serious looking white van screeched to a halt nearby, forcing him to dive out of the way. He just had time to glimpse a couple of shapes in the front, men dressed all in black, before the rear doors flew open with a crash…
Sorry, there’s simply not enough room on Bebo to do a really full review. If you post on Tomecity.com I’ll try and do a more detailed crit there."
It's not hard to see why I got so annoyed with him, is it? He tells me how to write it for crying out loud!
Geneticide - Getting the Info #2
Time for installment number two! I had an epiphany the other night. I had just finished watching The Phantom of the Opera and realised that Geneticide was not dark enough. Sure, Number One puts the lives of many in the balance, and he's essentially a dark soul, but I'm not happy with him. He could be crueler. And furthermore, there needs to be a darkness outside of him, one that outs "mutants" in danger.
My thoughts - not-so-short stories about characters, mutants I might add, and the dangers they face for being the way they are. One is a blogger, though he never writes it. Another is an unqualified doctor. The third is about a killer and two private detectives bent on taking him down. The fourth is a golem, an iron soldier, a cloud of dust and more. Vague descriptions? that's what I'm aiming for. I will not be revealing the abilities of these characters. Nor will I be revealing their names.
So that's one step to creating a darker Geneticide. And obviously I will be making the villains more evil. I'm going to drop some of the earlier dramatics, go into more depth on my descriptions, and hopefully come out with something that contains the heroics of X-Men, the care of Heroes and the madness of my own mind. A good end result!
Be aware, there will be a re-write!
My thoughts - not-so-short stories about characters, mutants I might add, and the dangers they face for being the way they are. One is a blogger, though he never writes it. Another is an unqualified doctor. The third is about a killer and two private detectives bent on taking him down. The fourth is a golem, an iron soldier, a cloud of dust and more. Vague descriptions? that's what I'm aiming for. I will not be revealing the abilities of these characters. Nor will I be revealing their names.
So that's one step to creating a darker Geneticide. And obviously I will be making the villains more evil. I'm going to drop some of the earlier dramatics, go into more depth on my descriptions, and hopefully come out with something that contains the heroics of X-Men, the care of Heroes and the madness of my own mind. A good end result!
Be aware, there will be a re-write!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Forever Story for Autistic Children
On the 30th of June, 2008 Nick Hornby wrote:
“For the first nineteen years of his life, Johnny Razor wasn’t Johnny Razor at all. He was Malcolm Weatherly, and he was born in Mile End Underground station on the night of 17th September 1940.”
These are the opening 35 words of The Forever Story.
It is a concept which encourages people to contribute to the world’s longest collectively-written story. The more people who join in, the longer the story will be, and the more money will be raised for children who find it hard to join in; children with Autism.
For every single contribution to the story via our website, £1 will be donated to Treehouse. We want to reach our donation target of £50,000 and to do that we’d like people to have the opportunity to write alongside some of the world’s most well-known and respected writers.
What we need from you? Just 35 or so words to continue our community-driven epic. The result of which will be more donations to Treehouse .
If you would like to join The Forever Story to help write the longest ever story and do no-end of good, go to: http://www.theforeverstory.co.uk
Taken from:
I myself have entered a passage for The Forever Story (I like supporting charity, sue me).
"The pair decended the stairs, cautiously and slowly. Each step lit up underneath them, fading to a dim glow when they stepped off. Further into the darkness they went; curiosity drove Malcolm on."
Yes, I misspelled descended. My badness, as they say. I realised after I'd posted it that I'd made the mistake. Oh well, there are worse spelling mistakes made throughout the story.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Review - Death's Shadow
About the bookDeath's Shadow
is the seventh book in Darren Shan's Demonata series, where we enter once again the eyes of Bec. In a newly formed body, Bec finds herself 1600 years in her worlds future. When the world becomes threatened by a powerful demon known as Shadow, Bec and her gang must travel through the universe of the Demonata to a ship in the middle of the ocean, thanks to Kernel's ability. Following the usual epic fight, the reader is left perplexed as to what will happen next - we have no idea who lives or dies, how many lies have been told by Shadow, and whether or not certain things perceived in the eyes of Bec really did occur (I'm being as vague as possible with the details so as not to spoil the plot)Verdict
Death's Shadow is in keeping with the rest of the Demonata series for its blood, gore and suspense. While we leave the mind of the most common protagonist, Grubbs, to explore the renewed Bec, we are not let down for the usual humour in the narrative. As Bec has the mind of Bill-E, she acts very similar to the way he and Grubbs used to act. This gives the reader an air of familiarity, all the while leaving many questions unanswered. A great read and a must for lovers of the series.
Did Death's Shadow meet up to the standards of the other books in the series?
The simple answer - yes. And not only that, it has set us up for a sequel where we hope to get some more answers. I cannot fault Shan for anything he did... besides confuse his audience about some details.
Most like?
It's a series novel... what do you think?
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Honest Reviews, Honest Awards
Honest the Book Reviewer took Bebo Authors by storm. Honest, impartial reviews are offered to give authors a chance to improve on their own work. She has already provided the service to many authors, and has a long list lined up currently. Her hard work and dedication are what make her so unique on Bebo, and she doesn't just review, oh no. She runs a group called Honest Book Awards that help further to promote her name and give writers the praise, recognition and esteem they deserve.
Honest has had the awards going for just over a month now. She has, since then, awarded 10 Honest Awards, some being Members' Choice Awards, and an additional 2 Super Shorts - awards that are given to commend short stories of merit. Every bit of feedback she has received has been appreciative, regardless of what she said in the review. This is largely down to two reasons. One is that the author requested the review, so he/she should not be unhappy when they receive it. Beggars can't be choosers and all that jazz. The second contributing factor is that for once, a review on Bebo is telling authors how to improve, not what the reviewer thinks the author wants to hear or simply telling the author off.
I myself have applied for an Honest review... still on the waiting list that hasn't shifted in a week or so... or more. Still, Honest must have some excuse lined up!
And guess what, that's not all! Honest Book Award Competition aims to help authors improve a certain skill, from what i've interpretted. This time around, Honest has decided on a setting. I've entered a place known as the Crystal Wood... though I don't think I'll win. Ellie Dyer has better fitted into the rules. Hopefully Honest won't be too harsh in her judging.
Honest has had the awards going for just over a month now. She has, since then, awarded 10 Honest Awards, some being Members' Choice Awards, and an additional 2 Super Shorts - awards that are given to commend short stories of merit. Every bit of feedback she has received has been appreciative, regardless of what she said in the review. This is largely down to two reasons. One is that the author requested the review, so he/she should not be unhappy when they receive it. Beggars can't be choosers and all that jazz. The second contributing factor is that for once, a review on Bebo is telling authors how to improve, not what the reviewer thinks the author wants to hear or simply telling the author off.
I myself have applied for an Honest review... still on the waiting list that hasn't shifted in a week or so... or more. Still, Honest must have some excuse lined up!
And guess what, that's not all! Honest Book Award Competition aims to help authors improve a certain skill, from what i've interpretted. This time around, Honest has decided on a setting. I've entered a place known as the Crystal Wood... though I don't think I'll win. Ellie Dyer has better fitted into the rules. Hopefully Honest won't be too harsh in her judging.
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