Browsing Archive: April, 2014

Awkward Characters

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, April 27, 2014, In : FantasyFiction 
Discord's Apprentice was steaming along nicely this week, but then it got hijacked by one of the characters. I don't know where she came from and I'm not at all sure she should be allowed to stay. What's more, I'm not even sure whose side she's on. Now, she's painted herself into a corner, and I can't see yet how to get her out.
    No doubt, I shall have to backtrack. It could be that if I try thinking myself into another character, I'll find a more logical way for the story to progress. It c...
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Simply Complicated

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, April 20, 2014, In : Linguistics 
With regard to writing sentences, Mark Twain said: "At times he [the author] may indulge himself with a long one, but he will make sure there are no folds in it, no vaguenesses, no parenthetical interruptions in its view as a whole; when he has done with it, it won't be a sea-serpent with half its arches under the water; it will be a torchlight procession."
    As soon as I read that I felt an urge to check my sentences. Have I indulged in parenthetical loops? Do I use lots of subordinate clau...
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Tangerine Dreams

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Sunday, April 13, 2014, In : Coming Soon 
The world is orange at the moment. I'm not talking about telephones or TVs, but Jaffa Books. The publisher has a new anthology coming soon, which I've mentioned before, called 'Legendary'. I've got a story in it, so I was allowed a sneak preview of the book, and I have to say I'm honoured to be among such fine company. All the stories are retellings of myths, legends or fairytales given a new perspective. They demonstrate that the originals were far more than mere bedtime stories for children...
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Poet of the Day

Posted by K. S. Dearsley on Monday, April 7, 2014, In : Inspiration 
The literary world is currently celebrating the centenary of William Stafford. This remarkable man wrote a poem every day for more than four decades, including the day he died. Even if a proportion of his prodigious output was duds, his discipline meant that over his life he published more than 22,000 poems in 65 volumes of poetry and prose. 
I'd be happy if I could keep up that regime for even a year. That would be 365 poems instead of my usual handful. As it is, I struggle to create a tweet...
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About Me


My writing career began as a freelance feature writer for the local press, businesses and organisations. Now a prize-winning playwright and short story writer, my work has appeared in numerous publications on both sides of the Atlantic. I write as K. S. Dearsley because it saves having to keep repeating my forename, and specialise in fantasy and other speculative genres.

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