Howard Aiken

Learned today that I've been turned down for a bursary to fund a mentored writing course which could have been life-changing.
I suppose it's best seen as just another rejection slip.

More to come, I'm sure.

#writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub AND #ScribesandMakers Day 28: How well did this short month go for you, in terms of writing?

I think I'm at last getting my head around self-editing. I'm cutting out filter-words in both my manuscripts. Small changes making a big difference.

#writing #histfic #writingcommunuty #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 27: Do you edit while you write?

Hardly at all on the first draft, but more and more on subsequent versions. Neither editing or #writing has a clearly defined endpoint. By the time the manuscript is close to final form, there'll be more editing than writing, but the writing never stops.

#histfic #writersofmsstodon #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 15/2: How big are your settings?

Volume 1 - (The Blood Cross) Europe and North Africa during the first half of the 14th century.

Volume 2 - (A Summoning of Angels) An abbey in Oxfordshire, England during 1348/9 and the arrival of the plague.

Volume 3 - ( WIP) Europe during the years after the plague.

#writing #histfic #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub 11: What time of day is most productive for you? Why?

My muse has no particular favourite time of day or place of work. She has recently woken me at 5am with suggestions for rewrites. She is not under my control. I wish she was.

#writing #histfic #writingcomminity #writersofmastodon

#writerscoffeeclub 02/09 Do you subscribe to "show, don't tell?"

Whether I do or not is beside the point. Literary agents demand it and I would stand no chance of ever being traditionally published if I didn't adapt my style to that imperative.

#writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub 3/2: What signature marks your work as definitively and effectively yours?

I write real-world historical fiction, no fantasy, no magic, no dragons. Just stories which might actually have happened.

#writing #histfic #writersofmastodon #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 1 Feb: How satisfied are you with your current writerly ‘voice’?

It is what it is. I'm currently writing #histfic and I think it suits that genre. In my #writing group I've tried alternative voices for different genres, and people have liked them. I'll stick with the one I have for now.

#writingcommunity #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub 30/1: This month, how did you successfully navigate a challenge or a sticky point in your writing?

I promised my beta readers I'd have a full manuscript for them by February.

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#WritersCoffeeClub 25 Jan: What comes first? Character, setting, plot. What comes next?

My first novel "A Summoning of Angels" began as an exploration of what might happen if I wrote the main character from Ray Bradbury's short story "Referent" into a medieval convent during the plague of 1348/9.

That manuscript then spawned a prequel "The Blood Cross" and I'm now working on a sequel.

More here: https://bit.ly/4afa6r6

#writing #histfic #writersofmastodon #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 18 Jan: Are you comfortable making your readers uncomfortable? How far will you go?

There are different degrees and areas of discomfort. I might go further in politically uncomfortable themes than sexually uncomfortable ones. Transgressive literature has limits, and if it makes *me* feel uncomfortable then I'm not going to write it.

#writing #histfic #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 17. "What’s frustrating you, writing-wise?"

The long slow climb of editing vol 1 to make it more "show" and less "tell".

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#WritersCoffeeClub 12 Jan. How do you get to know your characters before you start writing?

I invent them, so I know them. Some invent themselves as the work progresses. They all believe they are good people doing what needs to be done. Some of them are entirely wrong.

#writing #histfic #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub / #WritersTeaClub Jan 11: Name a poet who has influenced you.

Not sure I can. I'm a fan of Jacques Prevert, but I wouldn't claim that he has influenced my #writing. I used a translated extract of a poem by Catullus in volume 2, "A Summoning of Angels" but I can't imagine doing that again.

#histfic #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub 9/1: What’s your top tip for writing authentic dialogue?

Know that "authentic" doesn't mean "realistic". If you transcribed a real conversation into text it would not read well. Too many "ums" "errs" and unfinished sentences. Write dialogue people can read while remaining faithful to your characters.

#writing #histfic #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 4: Share a tool of your trade

MSOneNote, which I use as a universal repository for Internet links, jotted notes, pictures etc etc. It synchronises across phone, laptop and tablet so saves me a lot of time.

#writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 3. How do you come up with the titles for your works?

As a newbie, I've been told that any title I choose is likely to be re-written by my publisher, so I don't spend too long agonising over titles.

#writing #histfic #writersofmastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub 2/1: Talk about something you've retold.

The world's oldest fairy tale is about a smith and a fairy / demon / devil. I retell a version of the story in Vol 2 of the Cruz Espada Trilogy as 'The Smith and the Bog-fairy". It is available online here:
https://wp.me/p2HMUy-6F

#writing #histfic #writersofmastodon

#WordWeavers 1 Jan 2026: What are your wildest (writing-related) dreams for this year?

Ideally by the end of 2026 I'll have volume 3 of the Cruz Espada Trilogy written and ready for Beta readers at about 80k words. The wild part of the dream is finding a literary agent willing to take on a #histfic trilogy.

#writing #writersofmastodon #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 1/1: What's the greatest benefit you've taken from the writing community online?

The online community of writers has provided me with feedback, alpha and beta readers, links and referrals to useful writing resources and much more.

#writing #histfic #Writersofmastodon #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 25.12.30 How has your writing been this year? Any achievements/wins/lessons you want to celebrate?

Generally, I'm pleased. Most of 2025 has been about getting volume 1 of the trilogy written and then through alpha and beta readers. Volume 2 has needed some rewrites, but will probably go to beta readers in the spring. Volume 3 will get under way in January. Then at some point I have to find an agent with an interest in real-world #histfic *without* fantasy or dragons.

#writing