December 31, 2013
I went to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug last week. I'd love to give it five stars, but the truth is that the jury is still out, much as it was after the first film. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not read the book. Some things seem to have been changed/excluded for no good reason. Other things seem to have been added for the sake of it, and some of these were illogical. However, this is not the end of the story, and the final film might show that Peter Jackson's right and I'm wrong (after all, he is rather successful). I don't think I can say much more without massive spoilers, and I wouldn't want my opinion to prevent anyone else seeing and enjoying the film. Maybe another viewing is what's required.
Incidentally, I did one of those silly online quizzes to find out which species from Middle Earth I am. I could have been a wizard or an elf, but it turns out that I'm a hobbit. No surprises there then, and no, I don't have hairy toes. This is no doubt why I intend seeing in the new year by my own cosy fireside with a glass of something nice and a box of choccies.
I wish everyone a wonderful and prosperous 2014.
Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
December 22, 2013
If I wanted to watch a film that was the absolute opposite of
Gravity, I found it in
Philomena. There was not a 3D effect or explosion in the whole thing. What it did have were some fine performances and annoying reactions from the audience.
The problem was that many people clearly thought anything Steve Coogan says has to be funny. He not only appeared in the film but also wrote the script, which did have some witty lines and light moments. However, some people were clearly expecting
Philom... Continue reading...
Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
December 15, 2013
This week I was privileged to be invited to give a talk about being a writer to a school reading group of around 20 11-year-olds. I alternated between excitement and terror beforehand. It's a long time since I was 11, and I was unsure of the right level at which to pitch what I said. I was also conscious that most of my audience wouldn't have met an author before and might be expecting someone far more witty and glamorous than me. If I disappointed them, I might turn them off writing forever....
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
December 9, 2013
I'm not generally hugely impressed by 3D films. Either the 3D is used as a gimmick (Duck! There's a hammer flying out of the screen towards you!), which usually means that the script is weak, or you're so engrossed in the story that you don't notice them, so what's the point? However, I have discovered an exception: Gravity. Okay, the two stars (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) are capable of far more, and there wasn't much story, but the 3D effects really conveyed the strangeness of space,...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
December 1, 2013
I seem to have spent most of the past week uploading versions of
Discord's Child with its super-duper new cover, and letting everyone I can think of know about it. The reaction has been brilliant and I'm truly grateful to everyone who has taken the trouble to let me know their thoughts. I'm still tempted to keep looking at it, but it's really time I got on with some writing otherwise Ro will have grey hair before I finish her story. Sorry, guys, no more time to chat, I have a band of Iyessi a...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : FantasyFiction
November 26, 2013
At last I have a brilliant new cover for
Discord's Child, and I can't say loudly enough how thrilled I am with it. My own previous effort made the novel look amateurish.
The new design is the work of Katie Stewart at Magic Owl Design, and it's spot on. Despite being a pre-made, it features several important features of the story, and captures its atmosphere as if I'd given Katie a detailed brief. She was a joy to deal with, and I have no hesitation in recommending her services to anyone want...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
November 17, 2013
If you want to be taken seriously as a writer, you need to act like an author. That doesn't mean donning a cravat or reciting poetry in the pub when you've had a few. It means having the attitude of a writer. If you don't value what you do and believe it's a justifiable occupation, no one else is going to. Drop your writing every time someone wants a chat on the phone or wants your help with their pet project, and not only will you never finish it, but everyone will regard what you do as 'a n...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
November 3, 2013
Mud, mud, glorious mud... whatever Flanders and Swann sang about mud, it isn't all that glorious when your characters have been ankle deep in it for days only to get even more seriously bogged down in a city full of potential enemies. The trouble is, I thought I knew exactly how they were going to get out of this fix until I came to write it and realised that it simply wouldn't work. So much for plotting in advance! It looks as if I might have to backtrack, and get them all wading through the...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
October 27, 2013
With the clocks changing and the weather forecasters predicting floods and hurricane-strength winds tonight, perhaps this is a good time to prepare for a night indoors.
I could settle in front of the television to watch a film and call it research. Or I could read a book–ditto. Or I could sharpen my pencil, sort out a pad of paper and write about the storm. How will the wind sound? Will it whistle down the chimney? Will the rain rattle on the door trying to get in? Will the trees thrash abo...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
October 21, 2013
Why do writers procrastinate? Presumably we're all writers because we enjoy writing or derive some satisfaction from it (if not an income). Why is it, then, that most of us would rather bath the dog than settle down and get on with it?
My own delaying tactics include everything from sharpening the pencil, making coffee, remembering that the veggies for dinner need peeling and discovering that an essential piece of information requires an hour of research on the internet, to sorting out the co...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
