Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone, He is risen! God bless, one and all, and have a great day!

Do you enjoy writing, or having written?

“Some writers enjoy writing, I am told. Not me. I enjoy having written.” ― George R.R. Martin.

I posted that quote on my Facebook Page on 13 March 2013, and invited comment.

I commented myself, that I find that I'm the complete opposite! I enjoy the process of creating whatever it is I happen to be creating, be it an application or module at work, or a book or story at home. I always feel a sense of emptiness when that project is finished, because there's nothing more to be done on it.

One of my fans, who is also a writer, responded to my comment that she enjoys receiving cheques. The writing, she says she does because it's her job, but her enjoyment comes from holding the finished product in her hands, and seeing the financial rewards come in from that work. I hope that I'm interpreting what she said correctly! I trust that she will correct me if I've misunderstood!

I think that the two of us are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but there must be some middle ground. So I'd like to open it up to a wider audience. If you're a writer, which one are you? Even if you're not a writer (I'm a computer programmer in my "day job"), can you relate to either—or maybe even both— of us?

I'd be really interested to find out!

Meet a Jerk, Get to Work, How to Write Villains and the Occasional Hero

I read this book last weekend, and I think that what I wrote about it on Goodreads says it all. Here's what I had to say about it:

I simply adored this little article!

I don't want to steal the author's thunder, but it's basically about observation. It's about watching and listening to real people in real situations around you and drawing your inspiration from them, specifically to write murder mysteries, but really it's applicable to any genre.

The article really gets the creative juices flowing. I might just consider writing a murder mystery at some point!

Seriously, if you want to write better characters, give this article a read. You can find it on Goodreads here. It's a free download on Amazon and a couple of other e-book retailers, so give it a Google.

While you're about it, do have a look at my short story, A Petition to Magic. Find it on Goodreads here. You'll find links to the book on Smashwords and Booktango, but it's available from other retailers as well. As above, Google it!

Crossword Puzzle Answers - March 2013

I know a few people who've been struggling to get this month's crossword puzzle completed by today. Nobody's given me the correct answers yet, though.

So, I figure it's time I put you all out of your misery. The answers to the March 2013 Crossword Puzzle!

March 2013

This crossword was created by Graham Downs with EclipseCrossword - www.eclipsecrossword.com

1   2   3 W I V E S 4 5       Z J I E E 6       7 8         S I D E S C E L X N   9             T T H U D R Y A       M I T 10 11   12     R H O B N E       13   14 E O O G A P 15           G O O X E R   16       T E N D Y 17           C O R N Y R   A 18   19   20 G U T S S       E U I       D R F 21       F E E T

Across Polygyny has many of these The first wife of Orion Etruscan goddess of the earth The 34th Discworld novel A shelf for heating Women's clothing store in the US It's sticky Omega Of a joke You have to have it to take something on Six of these under ground

Down Deceitfully crafty Annoy with trivial matters Political institution or body in a Republic Teenage girl's life is over if she gets one South African clothing store Style of heavyweight wrestling Crouched in fear Also Reggie Of a sound typically made by an owl Dog, with a puglike face It's considered rude to do this Imprisoned Type of natural surface Remove lumps from a powdery substance

This crossword puzzle was created by Graham Downs with EclipseCrossword. Try it today—it's free!

Crossword Puzzle - March 2013

The March 2013 Crossword is out! I'm really exciting about this one because I think it's on some levels going to be a lot more challenging, and on others a lot less, than the last two.

I hope you enjoy it! If you get all the answers, please tweet me a screenshot of the completed puzzle, or send a message to my Facebook Page with your answers. I will give a mention on this blog to the first person who gives me the correct answers.

Have fun!

This crossword was created by Graham Downs with EclipseCrossword - www.eclipsecrossword.com

1   2   3           4 5                 6       7 8                               9                                         10 11   12                       13   14             15                         16                 17                           18   19   20                                   21

Across Polygyny has many of these The first wife of Orion Etruscan goddess of the earth The 34th Discworld novel A shelf for heating Women's clothing store in the US It's sticky Omega Of a joke You have to have it to take something on Six of these under ground

Down Deceitfully crafty Annoy with trivial matters Political institution or body in a Republic Teenage girl's life is over if she gets one South African clothing store Style of heavyweight wrestling Crouched in fear Also Reggie Of a sound typically made by an owl Dog, with a puglike face It's considered rude to do this Imprisoned Type of natural surface Remove lumps from a powdery substance

This crossword puzzle was created by Graham Downs with EclipseCrossword. Try it today—it's free!