Habits, surely, are some of the most effective tools on a writer’s belt. I’ve written before about getting into a writing routine; of establishing times where you do nothing but write. Habits around objects may be just as important. Read more…
I want to talk for a bit about developing well developed characters. I’ve mentioned back-story before, but not in this context. I’m of the opinion that the most important part of a character is their history. It informs their reactions to current events, and in contemporary story-telling, sometimes a character’s reactions are all you’ve got to describe the character. Read more…
A few weeks ago I blogged about my new method of organising my web-based reading. I find it difficult enough to find time to read, but I make a point of it because reading is so essential. But there is so much more to read now! there are literally thousands of blogs out there, and each posts once a week or more. So, I am now organised, and I said I’d update you, so here I am. Read more…
Whilst reading On Writing, I noted that Stephen King likes listening to music as he does his writing. I will sometimes do the same when on the train, but that’s just to drown out some knob talking too loud on his phone. Does listening to music help you concentrate? Read more…
This week I’m pointing you in the direction of another site. Inspired by Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, the Guardian newspaper, here in the UK has published an article called Ten rules for writing fiction. In the post are writing dos and don’ts from no less than 28 other authors! Read more…
You join me at the end of a poor week for writing. Well, for my writing, anyway. I previously blogged about a break, asking if it’s a good idea. Well, despite my intentions it seems I’ve had a break anyway. Read more…
So you’ve finished something (woohoo!). The other week I wrote briefly about giving yourself a reward. Maybe having a break from writing could be that reward. Read more…
So you’ve got an idea for a story. Writing it should be a simple matter of starting at the beginning and going through to the end, just as you’d read it, right? Well, maybe. But there is an alternative.
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This is a very tricky thing I find. Mainly it has to do with confidence in your voice, and belief in what you’re writing, but I usually find myself asking if what I’m seeing is being translated. And of course, this all has to do with description. Read more…
I’ve just written a blog post on my iPod touch. I liked it so much, I’m doing it again now! It used to be that if you wanted to write in an obscure place, you had to rely on having a note book to hand. Now there are quite a few options.
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