Inside the Fiction Factory
Works in Progress I write novels and short stories, science fiction and near future cyber thrillers for want of a genre. The Kill Chain (Due to be published by Darkstroke Publishing in summer 2022)Security expert Jacob Anderson lands his dream job with a cyber defence firm just as a government contract is signed. Then film … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 11
Short stories I’ve written a few short stories and self-published them on Amazon. I’ve many more in draft, still waiting to be finished up. My focus has been on novels and with my goal of writing at least one novel a year, the short stories tend to take a backseat. On two occasions, a short … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 10
William Gibson next to Dan Brown I’ve presented around a hundred lectures on cyber security throughout the last year, while attending a variety of security conferences, roundtables and fireside chats. I like to use my bookcases as my background when doing remote sessions and these have proved popular with delegates. I always take audience questions … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 9
Spelling Garry When I was preparing my debut novel, The Copernicus Coercion for publication, the decision over whether to use GJ Scobie or Garry J Scobie came up for debate. I settled on GJ Scobie and still wonder whether I made the right decision. Working on-line all day, I often see my name spelt incorrectly … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 8
The NASA approach to writing I love a good pun and make no apology for it. One of my favourites is, I’m going to use the NASA approach to writing this novel and plan it. I have written in freefall (another space reference) and each morning just carried on writing without a plan, in the … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 7
Drafts I was thinking the other day about how many drafts I have written per novel. It seems there is no set number, but I have worked myself into a routine. The first draft is all about determining if I actually have a story. This draft is only ever read by me and the scenes … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 6
Writing in the company of strangers Pre-pandemic I did most of my writing on trains and in cafes. I have a study, and I do use it, but the majority of my work was done while commuting to and from work. Journey time one way was around fifty minutes and I would arrive a bit … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 5
Writer’s Block I’ve been fortunate never to have experienced this. I recognise that some writers do, but it is something I haven’t had to deal with. I have days when I can’t be bothered. I have days when I can spend a couple of hours and only manage a few sentences, but I don’t stress … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 4
Keep on keeping on Another piece of writing advice you may come across is to keep going; don’t stop writing; don’t give up. Easy advice to give, but a lot harder to carry out in practice. As I have noted elsewhere, by the time I was offered a publishing contract, I had written twelve novels. … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 3
Reading A regular piece of advice that crops up is, if you want to write, you have to read. You will have no argument from me on that. For me it’s been crucial in learning how to write. I can see what other authors have done and use their expertise to inform my own work. … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 2
The Kill Chain. A cybercrime thriller. 