Category Archives: Pet Peeve

It gets my goat!

What on earth are Random House playing at?

Surely they must be mistaken: an e-book priced higher than both the hardback and paperback versions?

Posted in On writing, Pet Peeve, Publishers, The Industry, Writers in action | Leave a comment

Philistines on the march

VWC member Ellen Hanns is 17 years old and a writer of great talent. Quite reasonably, when seeking support she does not just rely on the old farts at VWC – and one of the other places she goes is … Continue reading

Posted in Analysis, Pet Peeve, The hard slog | 3 Comments

Author seeks mugs to write her work, shock horror!!!

I have a role on the Verulam Writers’ Circle committee – I am known as a webmaster. This is, I’m afraid, a tad overstated. Ian Cundell is THE webmaster, I merely answer e-mails and provide a few graphics and suggestions. … Continue reading

Posted in Journalism, Pet Peeve, The hard slog, Writers in action | 1 Comment

“Which Battle of Britain?”

… said the shop girl to Ronald Tooke, World War Two RAF veteran See more here

Posted in Pet Peeve, The hard slog | Leave a comment

Oh, sod off

It is because we don’t have one of these that English is the global language. In the English language, the rules are, as often as not, more honor’d in the breach than the observance.

Posted in Analysis, Pet Peeve | 1 Comment

5 things that Science Fiction and Fantasy could do without

1. False moral quandaries. The ability of SFF to distort reality and then claim to be addressing real-world issues is rarely raised, but it can lead to false morals being drawn. Say our hero uses a spell to kill all … Continue reading

Posted in Analysis, Pet Peeve, Technique | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Rage Against the Xmas Factor Spoiler Campaign

People who know me might not be surprised to find that I have an opinion on this! You can read it at the Musicbrick website.

Posted in Film & TV biz, Film and broadcast, Film and TV scriptwriting, Life, don't talk to me about life, Passing fancies, Pet Peeve, Radio | 10 Comments

Words Count

Well, my last post seems to have been a conversation stopper … let’s see what this does. Recently my daughter went on a residential school trip on the Isle of Wight. They took part in may activities, including one that … Continue reading

Posted in Pet Peeve | 3 Comments

Meaningless?

I love the way that advertisers play with language, especially those who promote unhealthy stuff as if it were the best thing for you to eat. This week’s prize goes to WALKERS SENSATIONS, who proudly announce on their packets … … Continue reading

Posted in Life, don't talk to me about life, Passing fancies, Pet Peeve | Leave a comment

Oh great. Just great.

So what brain dead halfwit thought this would be a good idea? Fantasy author to write ‘new’ Asimov novels

Posted in Analysis, Pet Peeve | 1 Comment