It's probably the most common saying about writing there is; "good writing is re-writing". Actually writing the story is a large part of the battle, but it's your editing skills that will make the difference between a decent piece of work and an unreadable hotch-potch of words. As part of my day job, I write... Continue Reading →
It's probably a matter of when not if you get stuck with your writing. No matter how well planned your plot, or brilliantly defined your characters, you're almost guaranteed to hit a wall. These are temporary bumps, less alll-consuming than writers block, but no less frustrating. Why writing walls appear If you've planned your book... Continue Reading →
The characters in your books are the heart and soul of your story. As a writer you need spend time on them or your book won't have the same impact. There are plenty of novels out there where the characters are used as fleshy footballs, kicked around by the dominant plot. But I'm not going... Continue Reading →
I've recently finished the first edit of the first book in my Cauldron Trilogy. Well I say edit, in truth it's better catergorised as a pre-edit. The main idea was not to edit any of the actual text, but instead make notes on it as I read through. And I think it's a really great... Continue Reading →
Editing your writing is a long process. There's no magic wand for it, nor a whistle that blows when your done. But before you send it off, hit print, or self-publish, it's good to do one last sweep to make sure the basics don't let you down. Here's a checklist to help. Spelling Your built-in... Continue Reading →
It sounds simple. Writers write. It kind of goes with the territory. And if we didn't like, nay love, nay were obsessed by writing we wouldn't do it. But the things we can love we can also, at times, dislike, nay hate, nay want to hurl out of the window. But there's a train of... Continue Reading →
Every form of artwork comes with it's own set of critics. It's an odd sort of thing we humans have created - a group of people to decide what art is "good" or "bad", what's its "meaning" and where it should stand in comparison to other artwork and artists. There's nothing wrong with this, but... Continue Reading →
I've just finished the first draft of The Cauldron Trilogy (part one) - and it sucks. But that's okay because ALL first drafts suck. Every single one. And that's absolutely fine. Writing is re-writing. Take a look at the first/annotated drafts of some famous writers and you'll see first hand how much they changed and,... Continue Reading →
If there's one thing I like, one thing I really get a buzz from about writing, it's editing. That's not to say I don't find it painfully hard at times, But 'smithing' my text until I have the perfect sentence or paragraph or scene is just incredibly satisfying. So, here are my top 5 tips... Continue Reading →
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