I have two writing mascots on my desk - Kit and Granddad. Kit is well, a kitten - not much imagination there I'll grant you. Granddad is a vicar troll doll I bought back when troll dolls were a thing, and gave to my Grandfather (a former vicar) for Christmas. After he died, the doll... Continue Reading →
I've been waiting to visit this one for ages. North of Oxford, in a busy suburb, is a small graveyard called Wolvercote Cemetery. It's an unlikely final resting place for arguably one of the most influential fantasy writers who ever lived but nevertheless, this is where you'll find J.R.R. Tolkien, and his wife Edith. There... Continue Reading →
Writing should be simple - pen, paper, write (or screen, keyboard, write). But like pretty much everything in life, we humans have tried to make it complicated. We've put up barriers that prospective writers have to vault over in order to be considered "proper" writers. And whilst I think there are some things you do... Continue Reading →
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 →
I already shared this on my Instagram (and if you didn't know I was on there, please pop over and see me), but for I love it so much I'm putting it on here too. Ta-da! I even tried a flat lay thing and everything. Also this is not what I usually share on Instagram,... 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 →
Storytelling is the backbone of being a writer, whether it's fiction or non-fiction. And there are many places to learn storytelling; books (obviously), but also art, music, films and TV. But there's another a genre you might have overlooked - video games. The computer games industry is a relative newcomer to the world of entertainment.... Continue Reading →
As a writer you have to fend off demands on your brain power - and find inspiration and tips wherever you can. In recent times this has been tricky. Staying in helps with writing. But mentally, we've maybe not been looking for distraction and escape. Enter on-demand content. There's the big daddy Netflix of course,... Continue Reading →
We're a step or two into January now and to help keep track of time as the days continue to merge into one, I've got a new calendar. This literary design is by illustrator Laura Crow (here's her shop on Not on the High Street) and features awesome drawings inspired by classic books. The black... Continue Reading →
