Writing – Page 2 – Lee J. Russell, Author

Change of style for showing inner thoughts in my writing…

‘PAIN’ – noun: that terrible feeling you get when you decide to abandon the method you were taught about 40 years ago for formatting inner voice in fiction! I’ve just made the choice to adopt one of the modern styles: no quote marks, italicised text with a tag. Heck – this means I’ve now gotContinue reading “Change of style for showing inner thoughts in my writing…”

Approaches to writing Effectively and Efficiently…

In my latest vlog I talk about how to write Efficiently and Effectively using a combination of: – Plotting (not “pantsing’) – Mind-mapping in “FreeMind” – The 7-Point Story Structure – A writing tool like yWriter5 – Dictating a first draft using the “Dictanote” Chrome app – Editing with SmartEdit, Hemingway and editMinion Take aContinue reading “Approaches to writing Effectively and Efficiently…”

MS Word – text to speech…

A productivity/editing tip – did you know that recent versions of MS Word have the ability to read your text back to you? I am finding that an excellent way to catch missing words, repeated words, gender mistakes as I edit etc. It also has the huge benefit of helping to catch plain boring bitsContinue reading “MS Word – text to speech…”

Sci-FI author Ray Bradbury talking about love…

I just stumbled upon this wonderful quote about love from legendary sc-fi author Ray Bradbury… “The only thing you’re ever going to own in your life is your work… we belong only by doing, and we owned [things] only by doing, and we loved only by doing… if you want an interpretation of life andContinue reading “Sci-FI author Ray Bradbury talking about love…”

First Alpha-reader feedback about “Evil Eye”…

I’m just getting the first feedback from my Alpha-readers about ‘Evil Eye’. One lady told me today that it is well written, fun and moves along at a good pace, with an obvious link for a Book 2, which she would also like to read – “You should feel proud of yourself,” she said –Continue reading “First Alpha-reader feedback about “Evil Eye”…”

Using a digital voice recorder and YouTube to automatically convert your spoken word into text…

My latest author vlog is now up on my YouTube channel – today I explain how you can use a digital voice recorder and YouTube to automatically convert your spoken word into text – take a look at https://youtu.be/DZnVoV3Qt0c The DVR I’m using is a Sony ICD PX370. The lavalier lapel mic is an unbrandedContinue reading “Using a digital voice recorder and YouTube to automatically convert your spoken word into text…”

I’ve now printed the first 4 alpha copies of ‘Evil Eye – A Lissa Blackwood Thriller’…

Back in August I announced that I had finished the first draft of ‘Evil Eye’, and like all writers I immediately started work on improving that copy. ‘Evil Eye’ is my third novel and I’m getting used to that process of polishing and embellishing my work, but this time around I was thrown by someContinue reading “I’ve now printed the first 4 alpha copies of ‘Evil Eye – A Lissa Blackwood Thriller’…”

The 10 Rules of Writing Large Casts of Characters…

I’ve just read a good article about “The 10 Rules of Writing Large Casts of Characters” by K.M. Weiland on https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/large-casts-of-characters/ This always seems to trip me up and I found this to be a helpful summary of some things to think about – it’s worth taking a look at… #authorlee #amwriting

Latest vlog about “Evil Eye – A Lissa Blackwood Thriller”…

I’ve just shared a new vlog about ‘Evil Eye – A Lissa Blackwood Thriller’ on YouTube – take a look at https://youtu.be/JnADVherxXg In the vlog I talk about 2 large changes that I’m making to the story. Firstly I’m removing the references to Brexit – the plot of this book isn’t driven by that andContinue reading “Latest vlog about “Evil Eye – A Lissa Blackwood Thriller”…”

My latest vlog about “Evil Eye” is now on my YouTube channel…

I just posted a new vlog about ‘Evil Eye – A Lissa Blackwood Thriller’ on my YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/NJZKVxQbRls In this vlog I talk a bit about the Political-Economic-Social background to the story, share some of my inspirations for Lissa Blackwood and my hopes for finding an agent to help sell the series ofContinue reading “My latest vlog about “Evil Eye” is now on my YouTube channel…”