Damien Walter

Mainstream-o-phobia

Or…please let me back into the ghetto! There is a growing idea in the SFF world that the mainstream is the place to be. This excellent article by Robert J Sawyer explains why so I won’t bother repeating. This seems like a good move to me, although I think more ‘fantastic’ work, epic fantasy forContinue reading “Mainstream-o-phobia”

Dog With Two Heads

The scene I’m working on just doesn’t want to come to heel. I can’t quite pin down what’s making the characters tick. Sometimes that’s good, it means that the characters have some depth – conflicting motivations that make them want two things and they can’t have both. But sometimes its bad and means the charactersContinue reading “Dog With Two Heads”

Helos – Week One

Week One comes to a close and I have made my word count – just. Final total is 2512. I’d like to have gotten to 3-4k and I’m pretty sure I could on a good week. A win is a win though and I’m happy to have got a solid chunk of Helos (That’s theContinue reading “Helos – Week One”

Yay!

After yesterday’s big fat zero on the word count I’ve managed both 500 new words today and to re-edit the whole scene I’m working on. That feels much better.

Count Progress

No progress on the word count today – too much work, too little sleep. That 609 quite pitiful at the moment. Hey-ho, tomorrow is another day.

My Name Is Damien, I Write Fanfic

I have two events this evening and, much as I’m looking forward to them, I’m also a bit bummed out about them. I’ve been working all day, now I’m going to work all evening. Work seems to be stretching out before like an endless chasm, exacerbated by this weeks debt owed to the bank ofContinue reading “My Name Is Damien, I Write Fanfic”

First You Jump Off The Cliff…

…then you build your wings. Which is a quote by Ray Bradbury that I like very much. Today I took my leap from the cliff edge and started work on a new story. Over the weekend I thought over the two ideas I had written as outlines. I was still trying to decide between themContinue reading “First You Jump Off The Cliff…”

Pulp Idol

I’d really like to enter the SFX Magazine Pulp Idol contest but as my £300 lifetime earnings from fiction sales disqualify me from entering I’ll have to resist. I’ve got the perfect story as well. *sigh*

No Xbox ’till Xmas

I had the second in a series of mentoring meetings in early May, as part of the ongoing mentoring programme organised for me by the wonderful professional development people at NALD. The mentoring process has been quite influential over my pattern of work over the last few months. The first session highlighted a number ofContinue reading “No Xbox ’till Xmas”

Mundane SF

I like the Mundane SF movement and may well take up the call for stories recently issued on behalf of Interzone. However like any movement that takes itself (ever so slightly) too seriously its likely the Mundanistas are going to find themselves the butt of an increasing amount of humour. From the My Elves AreContinue reading “Mundane SF”

Iain M Banks Reading

Iain M Banks reading an exclusive extract from his as yet unpublished new novel in the Culture series at Alt.Fiction 2007 in Derby, UK.

Alt.Fiction Bulletin 2

Well, Alt Fiction has been and gone again. And it was really, really excellent. I managed to squeeze three sessions into the afternoon. First up was a discussion about the alternative fiction small press with Pete Crowther of PS Publishing, Christopher Teague of Pendragon Press, Andrew Hook from Elastic Press and one other I willContinue reading “Alt.Fiction Bulletin 2”