#WordWeavers 30/9: Which author, from any time, would you want as a mentor? Someone who does real-world historical fiction *really* well. Hilary Mantel or Robert Harris. Can't choose. #writing #histfic #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 30/9: Were you able to accomplish your goals this month? Yes. 73k words on my way to an 80k target. More importantly, I know what most of the remaining 7k is going to be about. If I'm ready for Beta readers in 30 days I'm on schedule #writing #histfic #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#PennedPossibilities 798 — On average, how long are your writing sessions? When I'm writing new material, about half an hour longer than the inspiration lasts. When I'm editing, it can go on all day. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub - 28 Sept. Have you ever added to a work after it was ‘finished’? As my #histfic is unpublished, I don't regard any of it as "finished". I feel entirely free to add to and edit it. Even if it is otherwise complete. #writing #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub 27/9: How do you support your fellow writers? By buying their books and through mutual exchange of services as alpha or beta readers. #books #writing #histfic #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#PennedPossibilities 796 — Have you had to cut anything significant from your WIP? (Either for plot, cleanliness, redundancy, over explanation, or pace and literary effect.) If I cut it, then it probably wasn't significant. I edit for focus and clarity #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

New in the Misfit blog. How is it that the foreign-ness of England's medieval rulers has been so downplayed, when making fun of foreigners is such a venerable English tradition? unexpectedangles.wordpress.com/2025/09/22/k... #culture #histfic #writing #history #England #Anglo-Saxon

#WritersCoffeeClub - 25 September. How many works do you have in progress at a time? I'm in the middle of writing a 14th-century #histfic trilogy, so... three. There are also occasional blog posts but I don't count those. #writing #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub 24. How do you handle asides? Parentheses, em-dashes, commas? All of the above - because they're there. TBH, my first drafts are often too fond of over-long sentences, so my rewrites often involve bringing in more full stops. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub 23/9: How ‘self-reliant’ are you as a writer? Almost entirely. I can't afford paid help. I do use beta readers, and I subscribe to a writing group, but otherwise I'm pretty much out here on my own. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #WriteSky

New in the Misfit blog. How is it that the foreign-ness of England's medieval rulers has been so downplayed, when making fun of foreigners is such a venerable English tradition? unexpectedangles.wordpress.com/2025/09/22/k... #culture #histfic #writing #history #England #Anglo-Saxon

#WritersCoffeeClub - What have you discovered about yourself through your writing? A deep interest in history. I will happily watch entire series from "The Great Courses" if they cover medieval history. That and a need to write every day, even if it's just a few words. #writing #histfic #writesky

#WordWeavers Day 20: How does society think about nature and its protection? Not much. 14th-century society hasn't yet made an impact on the environment. In fact, as with most of human history, its the other way round, with the Little Ice Age causing a European famine in 1315. #writing #histfic

#WritersCoffeeClub Sept 20. How might your work be seen as a criticism of the present moment? Volume 2 is set in an England in which educated people are bilingual and much more consciously European. Of course the 14th-century had downsides too... #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub 19. Talk about how you've fixed a mistake in your work. An alpha reader recently noticed that I mentioned Jesuit teachers (16th c) in a story set in the first half of the 14th-century. Luckily all I had to do was to substitute the word "monks". #writing #histfic #writesky

#ScribesAndMakers Sep 18: If you write novels, do you strive to have your chapters a consistent length? No. I do have an ideal length of 1500 to 2k words for a chapter, but the story dictates that some will be shorter or longer. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub Sep 18: Have you written something blasphemous? Tell us about it. I'm currently writing #histfic set in the 14th-century, a time when the Holy Inquisition was deeply concerned about blasphemy, heresy and other deviant behaviour. But I don't think I've written anything blasphemous

#WritersCoffeeClub Sep 17: Should modern writers worry about proving their work is not generated by an LLM? No. I write in MSWord, and it helpfully stores a whole library of "previous versions" of my manuscript. If anyone ever wants to see it, I have a full audit trail. #writing #histfic

#ScribesAndMakers 15. How's your creativity going? Need help/critique? I passed a milestone today. 70k words on the draft of my novel "The Blood Cross". My target is 80k, so it's now within reach. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#ScribesAndMakers - 16 Sept. Which part of your work makes you unique/different from anyone else? I write "real-world" historical fiction, without magic or fantasy. I'm not unique in doing this, but I'm still surprised at how "different" it makes me. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#WordWeavers 16/9: Share a snippet with a colour in it. Content Warning ⚠️ Colours *and* smells! This is from Chapter 1 of book 1 of my "Cruz Espada" #histfic trilogy. The tanneries are still there to this day. Apparently they don't smell quite so bad now. #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 16 September. What was the hardest writerly lesson for you to learn? Or unlearn? Good novels aren't just written. They're re-written. Often several times. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub Sep 15: How do your immediate surroundings influence your work? Hard to tell. I only ever write at home, so I can't compare it to anywhere else. But ideas for writing can come to me at any time and anywhere. Particularly when I'm walking. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers Sep 14: Does any kind of spirituality play a role in your story? I'm currently writing #histfic set in 14th century Europe. The Church plays a big role in the stories, but spirituality a much smaller one. Superstition tends to be more prevalent than spirituality. #writing #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub Sep 14: Why do you write in the form you do (poem, short story, novel, etc)? I'd like to think that the story defines the form. It may also be that I don't have the skills to be a good short story writer. I'm certainly not a poet #Writing #histfic #writingcommunity #Writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub Sep 13 - Talk about the joy writing has brought you. Writing, even if it is just a few paragraphs or time spent editing, is a wonderfully cumulative activity, and slowly, a manuscript emerges. #writing #histfic #writesky

#ScribesAndMakers 9 Sept: Do you like music with unusual time signatures? Yes. If you can find it, watch the full video of Fred Astaire dancing to "Putting on the Ritz". Nearly 5 minutes of magic: m.my.mail.ru/mail/275ugra...

#WritersCoffeeClub 9. What incorrect assumptions might a reader make about you? Ideally - that I've been writing beautifully crafted and successful novels my whole life. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub 9/8. What about the current writing milieu do you wish was different? Today's milieu seems to have writers and publishers chasing "trends". Depressing when what you're writing isn't trendy and also unhelpful to creativity. #writing #histfic #books #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub 7 September. How much does your writing occupy your thoughts away from the keyboard? Right now, quite a lot. Getting from first draft to a manuscript that is remotely ready for querying takes at least a year. Luckily, I enjoy most of what I have to do. #writing #histfic

#WritersCoffeeClub September 6 Do you write daily? Why or why not? That's my aim. Some days are better than others, but one of the best things about writing is that it is cumulative. I'll get to the 80 or 90k words even if it's just a few words at a time. #histfic #WritingCommunity #WriteSky

#ScribesAndMakers 5. What would be a major accomplishment on your current project if you could complete it this month? 75k words on the WIP would be a major accomplishment. One word at a time. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub 4 September. How do you handle nudity or sex in your writing? Subtly, graphically, not at all? Few people read #histfic for graphic descriptions of sexual acts. But sex happened, and where it is part of the story it needs to be written about. Subtly, but passionately. #writing

#ScribesAndMakers Sep 2: What creative activities are you hoping to work on this month? I aim to get "The Blood Cross" manuscript to the point where I can send it to some beta - readers. It's a challenging ambition as rn I'm still working with alpha readers . #writing #histfic #WritingCommunity

#WordWeavers 9/1 Introduce your writing to a stranger with 5 words. Just real-world historical fiction. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub 2/9: Describe your aesthetic. Mine is "Historical Fiction that might actually have happened." So "no" to magical or fantasy characters, and "yes" to consistency with the known historical record. I call it "hard histfic". #books #writing #histfic #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 1: What’s the most number of revisions you’ve gone through for a work? Lost count long ago. I write out the story first and then add dialogue, scenery, and other details, then it goes to alpha readers, more rewrites, then beta readers... #writing #histfic #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 31 Aug ConLangs? (Constructed Language) Ever been tempted to invent one for your writing? No. I write #histfic and I find the real world has more than enough languages for my writing needs. Some of them are new to me. Sabir / Lingua Franca for example. #writing #histfic #writesky

#WritersCoffeeClub & #ScribesAndMakers 31. How was this month for you, writing-wise? Generally, it went well. I had set a target of 70k words for the WIP, after hitting 60k at the end of July. I got to 68,325. "Close, but no cigar." #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” ~Ray Bradbury Keep reading, friends. 📚

#WordWeavers 28/8: Do you create unique character names, or use "real world" names? I write #histfic,so I use "real-world" names. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 27. How traditional is your writing? Which tradition? I write traditional #histfic with a few twists. No magic or fantasy elements, but lots of superstitions. Most of my characters aren't British, and even the English ones speak French. 14th-century rules. #writing #writesky

#WordWeavers Aug 27: Do you attend a literary discussion group in person or online? I'm a paying member of an online writers club and one or two friends are published authors, but for me, writing is an essentially solitary pursuit. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writesky

#WordWeavers 8/25. Do particular kinds of animals show up in your #writing? Which are you more likely to include or neglect? Horses, sheep in the WIP. It's 14th-century. People use horses and entire economies depend on wool. There's a cryptic falcon in my debut novel. #histfic #writesky #trilogy

#WritersCoffeeClub 24Aug—Have you ever written a work that was a retelling of another work? It seems the first fairytale was about a smith who was tempted by an evil spirit. In "The Plague Angel" I retold my version of that tale. Fairies are devious... bit.ly/3HPuZO9 #writing #histfic #writesky

#writerscoffeeclub 23/8 Do you tend towards writing personal or universal cataclysms? Why? My current WIP pivots on the arrival of plague in the middle of the 14th-century. It was both a universal and a personal cataclysm for millions of people. Why? So many stories to tell. #writing #histfic

#WritersCoffeeClub 22/8: Talk about an affirming experience you've had amongst your writing peers. The best has probably been the feedback I've had from alpha and beta readers. And yes - a new call for beta readers will be going out this autumn. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #WriteSky

#WordWeavers 8/21: Do you prefer writing stories with ensemble casts or with an intimate set of characters? Both my manuscripts are written around an ensemble of characters, and both have the same hero. The characters emerged from the story and setting, so it seemed natural. #writing #histfic

#ScribesAndMakers 21/08: What cliche best sums up your creative life? "He keeps trying."