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 […]
writing advice
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 […]
How Do You Restart Your Stuck Novel?
The ‘stuck novel’ comes to all of us at various times. You know what it’s like – you get an idea for a story and, full of the excitement of new plots, you feverishly start writing. For a few days, even weeks, it all seems great. You’re enjoying the story, it’s fun, and everything’s going […]
Why on earth would I be a writer?
Yesterday, my dear editor and exceptionally talented author Nerine Dorman wrote this post about why she writes. After an email conversation on the same topic, I wanted to add my own two cents to the conversation about why I would be a writer. I actually did my first creative writing course in 1999! Lord, that seems […]
Post-Christmas Grind: Getting Back into Your Writing Routine
No matter how good your intentions, sticking to a well-honed writing routine over Christmas is virtually impossible. Putting aside all of the time commitments involved in buying and wrapping presents, visiting friends and family, and preparing all that food, even if you do manage to sneak in some writing time, you’ll no doubt be met […]
How to Write Something New
There would appear to be three major ‘versus’ debates going on in publishing these days. You’ve got Self-publishing versus Traditional Models, there’s Work for Free versus Alternate Income Stream, and Pants versus Plotting. I’m not going into the first two, but the third is one with which I’ve wrestled for some time. The key pros […]
