Word Count

Word Count 27: The ChatGPT-assisted issue, featuring more rejection, Top Gun: Maverick, The Last Graduate and, of course, ChatGPT itself

December 6, 2022

Hi there, It’s a bit parky round these parts right now. Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey, in fact. The urge to work from actually-in-bed is strong, though I fear that my back wouldn’t like it very much, and it would be a bit tricky to do conference calls.  Suw’s News: […]

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Word Count 26: Win The Year In Space, Neil Gaiman on The Sandman, an easy way to find comps, The Island of Missing Trees, A Deadly Education and cat caves

November 29, 2022

Hi there, This week, I made a commitment to some friends to finish rewriting my six-part TV series script, Tag, by 31 January 2023, and now I’m making the same promise to you. The 31st happens to be a Tuesday, so if I don’t announce in that morning’s newsletter that I’ve finished, you should feel […]

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Word Count 25: Inconvenience, Locus Magazine, handling rejection, Tor open to pitches, She-Hulk finale and more!

November 22, 2022

Hi there, As the weather turns cold and wet here in the UK, we are stocking up on hot water bottles and getting all our blankets out of storage. This house would be really cosy if we could afford to have the heating on all the time, but just like everyone else, we’re rationing it […]

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Word Count 24: Hurricanes, the six-hour scene, using ecology to build worlds, writing tools, comparison is the thief of joy, a note about Twitter, and Stella!

November 15, 2022

Hi there, Last week, my husband Kevin and I spent some time with his cousins in Fort Myers, Florida, which was hit badly by category 4 Hurricane Ian at the end of September. The extensive damage is still evident in the heaps of debris waiting to be picked up, the piles of boats along the […]

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Word Count 23: Freelancing, unreadable books, poisoned books, books under the hammer, and drafting at speed

November 8, 2022

Hi there, It’s grey and wet here at Word Count HQ, and we’ve just learnt that the flat roof on our back dormers needs replacing. We’re renting for the moment so it’s not our problem, but it is going to be a pain in the arse. Thankfully the leak isn’t significant, no need for bowls […]

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Word Count 22: Clarke Award winner, Science Fiction at the Science Museum, The Martian and Project Hail Mary, and science fiction vs science in fiction

November 1, 2022

Hi there, Welcome to this week’s Word Count! It’s been a delightfully science fictiony week which has taken me right back to my reading roots and reinvigorated my love of SF. Event: The Clarke Award 2022 I grew up on science fiction, graduating at some point in my early teens from Nancy Drew to my […]

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Word Count 21: Gates of Balawat update, anagnorisis in film endings, and The Midnight Library

October 25, 2022

Hi there, Whilst Ada Lovelace Day itself is over, I still have some last bits of admin to do to tidy everything up. Soon, one way or another, I’ll be having a change of career. I have no idea what that’s going to look like yet, mind you. I’ve already started doing basic prep for […]

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Word Count 20: Ri Fiction Lab, making ideas happen, BBC Writers’ Room Open Call

October 18, 2022

Hi there, It’s Tuesday morning and I’m slightly regretting saying that I’d be back to my normal weekly routine from this week. Ada Lovelace Day went very well last Tuesday and I got all my post-event admin done by lunchtime on Friday at which point I stuck the Out of Office on and kicked back. […]

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Word Count 19: Script submitted, a slight greenish tint to that light over there, and snuggly kittens

October 11, 2022

Hi there, Today is Ada Lovelace Day and I’ve been up to my eyeballs in work, so this newsletter is another short one. Back to normal next week though! Suw’s news 1: Thank you for submitting your script! Despite the vast amounts of prep required for Ada Lovelace Day, I managed to rewrite my pilot script […]

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Word Count 18: Script rewrite progress, The Last Hours and The Turn of Midnight, why “microhistories” rock, and What Are You Laughing At?

September 27, 2022

Hi there, This time of year is always flat out. Ada Lovelace Day is just two weeks away, and I have a ton of final preparations still to do. This, of course, is going to be the last year that my summer is dominated by ALD, and I can’t say that I’m sad. It’s been […]

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Word Count 17: Do you have your stories straight? How to take notes, and Copurrnicus featured on My Cat’s Tail

September 13, 2022

Hi there, Summer is drawing to a close and finally we have rain. We’ve also had our first BBQ of the summer and started to let Copurrnicus explore the garden a little. I’m sure that he and I will have a lot of conversations about my inability to stop it raining in future. Suw’s news […]

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Word Count 16: Script editing, giving feedback, Scriptnotes’ VFX deep dive

August 30, 2022

Hi there, Welcome to this week’s Word Count! I’ve decided to shift this newsletter to a fortnightly schedule in the run up to the final Ada Lovelace Day (and if you like science and tech, get your free tickets here). Much as I love writing this newsletter, I need to make sure that I get […]

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Word Count 15: Recuperation, The Cut, The Appeal, design in screenwriting, John M Ford and Cici’s kittens

August 23, 2022

Hi there, Last week, I took everyone’s advice and did as much of nothing as I possibly could. My four Pfizer jabs, (the US offered a second booster to the over-50s just before I left), have stood me in good stead and my experience of Covid has been no worse than a bad cold, although […]

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Word Count 14: The one where Suw has Covid

August 16, 2022

Hi there, Well, today sucks. I’m writing this Sunday morning because I just tested positive for Covid and I might not feel up to it later. My temperature is also creeping up, so I also have a fever to look forward to later today. When it’s 33C outside. And already 29c in our bedroom. This […]

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Word Count 13: Change of career on the way, Hayley McKenzie on scripts and story editing, how WiPs make you more productive, and the very, very pregnant Cici

August 9, 2022

Hi there, It’s been another week of unpacking, sorting, putting things into storage and, because we clearly do not have enough stuff, visiting my Mum and picking up some of my late Dad’s belongings. You know, the usual stuff you inherit, like a vintage oscilloscope. I have absolutely no idea how it works or what I’m […]

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