We all have a comfort zone in life - and in our writing. And people often talk about pushing outside of it. But with writing, people (as in readers) are pretty accepting of the comfort zone. We don't mind that Stephen King has found his groove in horror, or that Jane Austen only wrote romantic... Continue Reading →
What’s your Literary Caffeine?
It’s one thing to get inspired to write, it’s a whole other ball game to keep it going. When you’re ploughing through the re-writes and fighting away the demons of doubt, it can be tempting to just go watch YouTube videos instead. It's at these times you need a shot of literary caffeine. Creative stimulants... Continue Reading →
The Long and Short of It – Don’t Get Hung Up on the Word Count
There are many lengths of fiction out there. Poems can be merely a line, flash fiction and short stories no more than a page. It's unfortunate that in terms of fiction, shorter length works have often been overlooked. An unspoken rule that bigger is better. That weightier tomes must obviously be more meaningful, deeper in... Continue Reading →
A Simple Fix For Writer’s Block
We all struggle with writer's block from time to time. It's the worst feeling, wanting to writ but feeling like the creativity has been sucked out of you. There are no easy answers. Sometimes you have to wait it out. Sometimes you can force yourself through it. But one neat trick to try is this... Continue Reading →
My Notebook Collection Is Taking Over The World
Ok, that title's an exaggeration, it's only taking over the floor of my spare bedroom. But my collection has grown considerably since I first put this post up in 2013. Back then it looked like this: And fitted on my dining table. Today it looks like this: And I had to lay it on the... Continue Reading →
Jane Austen’s Grave, Winchester, UK
Jane Austen is one of my favourite writers, and one of the most popular female authors who ever lived. Her classic works like "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility" were successes in her lifetime and have been adapted and re-worked ever since. My admiration of her doesn't just stem from her witty social romances... Continue Reading →
The Perfect Gift? How About Your Writing?
Have you ever made a gift of your writing? Perhaps the idea's never crossed your mind. I mean, you love to write and you do it all the time - but give it as a present? But think about it. If you knitted or painted, or crafted jewellery, you'd probably give people the fruits of... Continue Reading →
9 Tools Every Writer Needs
To start writing you need three things; something to write on, something to write with, and an idea. But that makes it sound easy, and writing is not easy (fun, fulfilling, wonderful yes. Easy? Hell no). So frankly there's nothing wrong with using anything you can to help you out. Read on for nine of... Continue Reading →
Visiting Alice Liddells Grave
Any fan of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ will know that its eponymous heroine is based on a real person. Alice Liddell was the fourth child in the Liddell family. They were friends with Charles Dodgson AKA Lewis Carroll and it was on a boating trip that he whipped up the tale of Alice and the White... Continue Reading →
An Explanation of the Continuous Necessity
You writeso that when you fall,your descent will be arrested,by a silver net of wordstied in knotsonto the walls. And you ask,are they strong enough,tough enough, tall enough,what if they just breakso that you crash intothe floor? So you writeand on you tie themknots with bowsand knots with snarls,knots with no one else around them,knots... Continue Reading →
Wordland 