Is it possible to publish too soon? Of course it is, and with the ease of KDP, it’s happening too often. I’ve been monitoring various Facebook groups, and one of the questions that keeps coming up among new writers is “How do I get published?” WHOA! Hold your horses! Trying to get published before you’ve […]
creative writing
How do you regain your focus to finish a project?
As fun, and as liberating, as writing fragments can be, there comes a point where you have to focus to finish your writing project. Even if you feel like you’ve hit a wall. Especially if you feel like you’ve hit a wall. If you abandon every story you start, then all you’ll ever have are […]
How do you actually use writing advice?
Writing advice is pretty much everywhere in these glorious days of Google. Even before the advent of the internet, you could guarantee being able to find manuals that would provide you with all manner of writing advice. I even made a list of my favourite how-to books for writers. But given it’s now available in […]
How to use your dialogue to show, not tell
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 […]
How do you cope with rejection as a writer?
There are few things guaranteed in life, but if you’re a writer, then at some point or other, you’re sure to encounter rejection. No matter what you’re submitting, sooner or later, you’ll get some form of reply saying “Thanks, but no thanks.” It’s hard, I know, but it’s something every writer goes through. Picture the scene. You’ve […]
#FridayFlash – For Whom The Bell Tolls
The death bell tolls in the town, long and low as it rumbles around the old market square. It’s the third time that it’s tolled today. It tolls so often here. I sometimes joke that you can tell the time by it. Dawn, noon, and sundown, without fail. Not many people laugh at my joke, and I […]
