US vs UK Spelling

I remember the first time I realized the UK spelling of the word “centre”.

“That has to be a mistake,” I said to my classmate. After all, no self-respecting word would ever allow itself to be spelt like that.

The UK spelling for other words like favour, rumour, and harbour I could understand, but centre Continue Reading →

Using Profanity in Writing

“#*&@!”

It finally happened, that point in every writer’s life when they must pause and decide if profanity should appear in their writing.

Profanity, swear words, curse words, words with meanings that change depending on the context, used in anger or ecstasy or just plain rudeness. Words a little stronger than bitch or ass, although depending on your opinion they might fall under the category.

Originally I had decided not to, as books I enjoy like Warhammer and the Hobbit don’t, and I was aiming for something similar. But then one of my characters experienced a situation where it just felt natural to say it. According to my editor Jesse, I need to make clear that the novel writes like this from the start so my audience would be aware.

It makes sense. Awesome novels like Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law trilogy, and George Martin’s now infamous Song of Ice and Fire series […]

Getting Back a Routine During the Pandemic

Image courtesy of blackzheep at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It’s been a rough couple months. When the virus finally arrived in my country Trinidad and Tobago in March, just like the rest of the world, our government responded by shutting everything down and closing the borders.

This really broke my routine, and a routine is what keeps me working, doing all the projects and hobbies while drudging through the sludge of life.

So an average weekday usually involves an early morning commute to the office. A good breakfast came before work started. There’d be some gym/endurance training somewhere in there, and writing would be around 5-7pm before heading back home. If I’m lucky, some writing could even get done after 11pm when my son’s asleep (hopefully). The following day everything repeats. Friday evenings might see a visit to the local watering hole to decompress, and weekends involve some manner of chore/physical labour. Then we […]

Criteria for the Perfect Writing Space

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve sat to write at home and ended up with nothing.

I get to my chair or couch, crack my knuckles and put fingers to keyboard, only to end up watching television and falling asleep.

Then I wake up about 1 in the morning, curse when I remember I have to work the next day, run to the bedroom so fast that I almost trip over the couch, then wake up the next morning feeling guilty about not writing anything.

I usually promise myself I’ll get some writing done when I get back home, only to repeat the same process all over again, tripping over couch and all.

Now this wouldn’t be a problem if I could wake up 6am, all refreshed and ready to hit the day, and start writing.

But I […]

The Most Reliable Place a Writer Can Research Factual Information

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles go at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It’s a typical scenario.

You’ve got an amazing concept to explain or an awesome fiction story to tell.

So you start writing down the details. The words are flowing great, and the sentences are pouring out.

You feel as though you know exactly what you’re talking about. After all, you’ve thought about it so much that you’ve pretty much lived it.

And you know that when you’re finish and it’s ready to be shared with the world, everyone will love it.

Then suddenly, you hit an “unsure fact” obstacle. Your fingers skid across the keys. That inspirational tune playing in your mind comes to a scratching halt. It’s like slamming your F1 car straight into a wall.

Now you’re unsure about that last sentence you just typed because you just don’t know if it’s possible.

You’re wondering something like, what gear […]