Becca Edney

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Becca Edney

Goodreads Author


Born
The United States
Twitter

Genre

Influences

Member Since
June 2016


Becca currently lives in Cambridge, England, though her first steps and her undergraduate degree were both taken in Virginia, USA. She still considers herself to have a foot on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

She has a particular interest in history, fantasy, and action-adventure, as well as the obsessive dissection of story structure and craft. That mostly takes place on her blog.

When not writing her own books or reading other people's, she also enjoys photography, historical re-enactment (especially renaissance fencing), and Dungeons and Dragons.
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Becca Edney Writer's block sucks and I hate it, but unfortunately it is a reality.

I find there are two types of writer's block, and I try to deal with them in dif…more
Writer's block sucks and I hate it, but unfortunately it is a reality.

I find there are two types of writer's block, and I try to deal with them in different ways. The first is 'The Hump', which is just an inability to get started. That's usually fine. The second is 'Actual Block', which is much worse.

The Hump is much more frequent, and I suspect is to do with perfectionism and short attention span, which combine to produce a situation where I stare at my work, am unsure where to start, and instead go and browse the internet for half an hour. This then gets worse and worse as I feel more frustrated with myself until I can't write a thing.

Fortunately, The Hump does respond to forcing, which is why I call it that - I just have to get over the hump at the beginning, and then I can write all evening. So I deal with this one by starting to write regardless of what I think of what I'm writing. This is why I find NaNoWriMo a hugely effective way to get a first draft!

Actual Block is much harder, and is generally because I'm burned out in some way. It generally manifests as staring at a blank document until I suspect drops of blood have formed on my forehead with not a single word of narrative going through my head. In this case, forcing it does not help, and the only cure is to take a couple of days to - as one of my friends once put it - put something new in my brain. Read a new book, watch some movies, just take a break and come back fresh.

I love writing, so I always go back pretty fast!(less)
Becca Edney 1) First drafts always suck; don't worry about it. NaNoWriMo is a great place to start
2) Read a lot in your genre and anything related to it (if writi…more
1) First drafts always suck; don't worry about it. NaNoWriMo is a great place to start
2) Read a lot in your genre and anything related to it (if writing fantasy, read history etc.)
3) Play with tropes
4) Ask people you trust for criticism and listen to them
5) Keep writing. Keep pushing yourself, keep working, keep learning, keep writing.(less)
Average rating: 4.6 · 20 ratings · 7 reviews · 5 distinct works
Bladedancer's Heirs (Swordm...

4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions
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The Chorochronos Archives

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4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions
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Professor Feiff's Compleat ...

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings3 editions
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Lim the Swift

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions
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Border Crossing (Swordmaste...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating2 editions
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New anthology!

I'm delighted to announce that one of my short stories has been accepted to - and published in - a new anthology: The Chorochronos Archives!

It's a fun collection of time-travel and alternative-history short stories and you should check it out (and particularly let me know what you think of I Did But Dream). Read more of this blog post »
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Published on April 11, 2021 05:23 Tags: publication
The First Kingdom...
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Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler
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St. Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters
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St. Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters is another medieval murder mystery from the Cadfael Series. I've read it several times, but I always enjoy it, especially Emma, the main female character. She ends up at the centre of a love triangle which, unusually ...more
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The Materials and Techniques of Medieval Painting by Daniel V. Thompson
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J.R.R. Tolkien
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien
“War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

J.R.R. Tolkien
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Barack Obama
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
Barack Obama

Susan Cain
“Introverts, in contrast, may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pajamas. They prefer to devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family. They listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. They tend to dislike conflict. Many have a horror of small talk, but enjoy deep discussions.”
Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

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