That legendary director and master storyteller Alfred Hitchcock is often quoted as saying “Drama is life with the dull bits cut out”. Believe it or not, but the same applies to your dialogue. In books, you don’t often get those small and polite but relatively pointless exchanges of “Hi, how are you?” “I’m okay, how […]
Writing Tips
Use Personality Quirks to Make Characters Pop
Think of someone you know. What’s the first thing that springs to mind? Chances are, it’s not what they do for a living. It’s probably not where they live or what colour their hair is. It’s probably a personality quirk. Something that makes them…them. Those little quirks, or foibles, are what takes a character from flat […]
7 Tips for Submission Success
Short fiction, be it flash fiction or longer ’short stories’, is a good way to learn dialogue, characterisation and structure. They are by no means “easy” to write, but they’re less daunting than a novel! Once you’ve amassed a few stories, you might want to get them published. Be aware there are hundreds, if not thousands, […]
My 500 Words a Day Challenge – Update 3
So how am I progressing with the 500 words a day challenge now it’s Day 26? As in update 2, I’ve been a bit sporadic around hitting 500 words a day. But whenever I have missed a day of writing, I’ve made it up the following day. On average I’ve written 543 words a day so […]
My 500 Words a Day Challenge – Update 2
I’ve talked about the delectable Tony Bengtsson on my blog before, and if you’re any kind of fan of folk music, Americana or country, then I highly recommend that you check him out. I went to see him play last Friday with the whole band, and found myself madly plotting the next two books in the […]
Why is it sometimes okay to fail?
Why on earth would it ever be okay to fail? Here’s a handy life reminder that you’re probably aware of, but probably not brilliant at putting into practice. It is perfectly okay to fail. You don’t have to be excellent at everything you do first time out. You are allowed, nay encouraged, to suck at stuff. […]
