Category Archives: sci-fi

Truth in fiction

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Mark Hayes

Good fiction, good science fiction in particular, explores truth. In the case of good science fiction it often explores an uncomfortable truth by taking a concept and building upon it an extreme example of where that truth might lead. Really … Continue reading →

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Indie Friday roundup

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Mark Hayes

You have probably never heard of #IndieFriday . There could be many reasons for this, perhaps you don’t religiously venerate hashtags, for example, though that would seem to be a heresy within the church of the internet…. Perhaps while interested … Continue reading →

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Narrative Complexities…

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Mark Hayes

As is perhaps to be expected when writing a series of novels narratives can become complex. While the central characters may well be there all the time, particularly in the case of a first person narrator, other come and go … Continue reading →

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A look back at Indie April

Posted on May 11, 2020 by Mark Hayes

Last month as you may be aware I threw the doors of the passing place wide open to a series of guest posts from indie writers of all kith and kin. The brief i gave them all was simple, write … Continue reading →

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The Subjectivity of Humour

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Mark Hayes

The problem with humour is it is subjective, occasionally some readers do not get a joke, because at the end of the day what one reader is amused by another may not be. My Hannibal Smyth books are somewhat satirical … Continue reading →

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A Tantalising Titillation of Tantamount

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Mark Hayes

Introduction by Mark Todays Indieapril post is an exert from the truly wonderful ‘Tales from Tantamount’ the fictional (we assume and hope in many ways) record of the town of Tantamount By Meredith Debonnaire. This exert is from the original … Continue reading →

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Writing around COVID

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Mark Hayes

The escapism of fiction is essential in our world right now, but for many authors COVID-19 has caused something of a headache. I’m not talking about the closure of bookshops and the postponement of events where we were intending to … Continue reading →

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POV matters… it does

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Mark Hayes

One of the writing issues we encounter most in the manuscripts we receive here at Sixth Element is POV (point of view). Whether from new writers or some of the most experienced published authors, it doesn’t matter… POV is still … Continue reading →

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Strange connections

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Mark Hayes

No Science Fiction writer ever changed the world… Or… perhaps they did, as a wonder through some strange connections on the internet will tell you… Star Trek: Voyager was not the best Star Trek franchise show ever, and was struggling … Continue reading →

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Why Your Day Job could be Good for Your Creativity

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Mark Hayes

We’re all familiar with the dilemma. “I’ve just had this great idea and I want to write it down immediately, but I’m stuck at work right now.” If you’re anything like me, when you think about your day job in … Continue reading →

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