Thomas Hardy was a world-renowned writer with deep connections to Dorset, although his books were set in the fictional county of Wessex, inhabited by the rural country folk he'd grown up with. And while his ashes may lie in Westminster Abbey's Poet's Corner, his heart lies (quite literally) in Dorset. Born 2 June 1840, Hardy... Continue Reading →
Misery - Writing can be dangerous Stories about writers often seem to end up on the precarious side of things. Writing, it's implied, is dangerous. "Misery" (by the man who loves writing about writers, Stephen King) follows a famous writer who's sick of his own creation (shout out to Arthur Conan Doyle) and kills her... Continue Reading →
Ok, so writers aren't this big homogenous group who all think and act the same way, but I'm fairly certain there will be something in this list that you (or the writer in your life) will recognise. Just remember, it's all in fun! 1) We don't always want to write This may sound shocking -... Continue Reading →
New Year's resolutions - love them or hate them, they come up every year. The idea of turning over a new leaf for a new year appeals to me as a writer, a fresh start using a very visible (if immaterial) line in the sand. Perhaps it's the idea of beginning at the beginning. So... Continue Reading →
Every year I like to do a list of Christmas gift ideas with a book, writing, or literary theme to help you decide what to get loved ones (or yourself). And each year it gets a bit harder to find new things. But I've got five Xmas gift ideas from inexpensive to the more pricey... Continue Reading →
So here we are at the end. If you've followed my previous posts on writing a book then I hope you've found them helpful. If you haven't you can find all the posts guiding you through the full process: Research Characters Plotting First draft Editing This post focuses on what to do once your book... Continue Reading →
Your plot is in place, your research is solid and your characters are ready to go. It's time to write the first draft. Writing is what you love so this part should be easy, right? Well not always. Read on for some advice on tackling your first draft. Accept your first draft will be rubbish... Continue Reading →
Are you a plotter or a 'pantser'? There's no right or wrong way to write a book, but it's probably more usual to plot out your book before you start writing. But there are writers who simply sit and go - flying by the seat of their pants hence 'pantsers'. Douglas Adams for example was... Continue Reading →
Hello there! So you've finished the first part of my blog series about writing a book. Great. Let's start on part 2 then. But as I mentioned in part one, research keeps going throughout the whole writing process - including character development. After all, you might not have a clear idea of all the research... Continue Reading →
Want to write a book and don't know where to start? Well, you're in the wrong place! No, but seriously, in this six-part series, I'm going to share some advice I've gleaned over my years as a writer. But, I'm not a writing expert and this is NOT a definitive 'How to write' guide -... Continue Reading →
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