Tag Archives: amwriting

A Hint of Scarlet

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Then last night, or rather this morning while I was trying to make it back into last night, I had something of a break through. Scarlet started speaking to me, as she has previously only whispered. So perhaps, just perhaps, it is time. Continue reading →

Posted in #amwriting, amwriting, big questions, books, pagan, Passing Place, reads, writes, writing | Tagged #amwriting, amwriting, book, books, fiction, paganism, Passing Place, read, writer, writing | Leave a comment

The personalities of books

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Mark Hayes

I am passing the time working through an old WIP that stilted at 15k, but which I keep coming back to. Its a couple of years since I worked on it, and I have got to a section in which … Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, humour, reads, sci-fi, supernatural, writes, writing | Tagged amwriting, book-review, books, fantasy, fiction, reads, urbanfantasy, writing | Leave a comment

Supporting your local itinerant author

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Mark Hayes

I throw words into the wind and what them swirl around me and hope to catch them again, I am a writer, writing is what I do, occasionally quite well, it defines me in many ways and I believe through my writing I add to the zeitgeist of humanity in positive ways.

But I don’t always believe any of that to be true… Continue reading →

Posted in #amwriting, amwriting, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, reads, writes, writing | Tagged amwriting, books, creative-writing, fiction, writer, writers, writerslife, writing | 1 Comment

The End of the world is not the Ragnarök

Posted on September 20, 2024 by Mark Hayes

My axe is cold, frost crisscross’s the handle and the fingers that hold it, but the blade is sharp still and blood still flows in he that would wield it.
The Ragnarök is over, we are what remain Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, books, fiction, Harvey Duckman, indie, indie writers, pagan, reads, supernatural, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, amwriting, books, fiction, Harvey Duckman, Post Apocalypse School of Teesside, reading, reads, writer, writing | Leave a comment

Notebooks and Scribblings

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Hello. My name is Mark, I am a note-a-holic… Here’s some very random short scriblings (bare in mind these are not even first drafts, they are at best the equivalent of an artists sketch, trying to get an idea out for a first draft to follow, they are rough and ill-formed. Welcome to some of the odder bits of my mind… Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, opinion, reads, writes, writing | Tagged amwriting, reads, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

More words to music…

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Mark Hayes

When I write, I write to music. I have in fairness mentioned this before, but these posts seem surprisingly popular for what amounts to Mark’s favourite obscure bands and musicians, so what the hell here is another little collection of … Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, humour, indie, indiewriter, music, music, reads, writing, writing music | Tagged amwriting, amwritingsteampunk, music, writerslife, writing, writing music, writingcommunity | 2 Comments

Auguries

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Mark Hayes

A storm was coming, dark things on the horizon, a great gnashing of teeth, dogs and cats doing unnatural things together. That sort of thing, nothing specific, just general ominous stuff. But whatever was brewing it wasn’t the Earl Gray… Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, dreamlands, fantasy, fiction, horror, humour, indie, indie novels, indie writers, Lovecraft, novels, reads, rites, steampunk, supernatural, writing | Tagged amwriting, amwritingscifi, amwritingsteampunk, books, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

The rules of write #2

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Mark Hayes

I’m not a great fan of talking about characters in terms of ‘her/his truth’. Though it is a concept I understand, my problem with the concept is it is by nature restrictive. Which is to say that the concept states that I, a white upper working class British man in his early fifties, should not write about the experience of an African American soldier born in the early 1900’s in the southern states of the US, because I can not know, or speak for, that characters ‘truth…’ Continue reading →

Posted in #amwriting, amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, opinion, reads, writes, writing | Tagged amwriting, amwritingscifi, authors, bookblog, books, reads, writer, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

Another gimlet, please, Ivor. A Guest post from Will Nett

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Mark Hayes

William Nettleton is a fine name. Still a ‘Sir’ in front of it and it brings up images of a big game hunter in the 1800’s with an elephant gun nestled under one arm , smoking a pipe of suspicious … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, goodnews, humour, indie, indie novels, indie writers, opinion, reads | Tagged amreading, amwriting, biography, books, guestposts, humour, reads, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

Valuing the craft

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Mark Hayes

This is about the third time I have published this particular blog. I feel it remains relevant, indeed is more relevant with every revision of it. It is just an opinion, and just mine, it does however feel as important … Continue reading →