Writing Secrets: Endings should never whimper
“The last paragraph, in which you tell what the story is about, is almost always best left out.” This was Irwin Shaw’s advice to young writers, and I think of […]
Monday Motivation: How to access the secret life of characters
If I were to give you a writing exercise challenging you to describe yourself, how would you go about it? What sort of information would you give? Well, of course […]
How to fight your way out of a writer’s block: Free, live webinar
Douglas Adams, whose star shines brighter today than ever, is famous among writing and publishing communities for declaring that he “loved the sound of deadlines whooshing by”. In short, he […]
All About Writing August Jamboree: Free courses and webinars
Roll up, roll up, for the All About Writing August jamboree. We’re celebrating you, our writing community, next month, by giving you a week filled to the brim with free […]
Writing Secrets: Writing isn’t for sissies – get used to it
We recently had the unenviable task of advising someone that a manuscript needed to be rethought. It’s devastating advice. Believe me, I know. I’ve had to face that level of […]
Monday Motivation: Writer’s block – and how to manage it
Some wear it as a badge of honour because it seems to affirm their identity as writers. For others it is a curse that keeps them from fulfilling the mandate […]
Writing Secrets: Beware the narrator who knows too much
I tend to advise new writers against using the god-like omniscient point of view when they start writing. Using a distant narrator who comments on all the characters, and can […]
Monday Motivation: Writing hones a key life skill
One of the little-regarded spin-off advantages that writers enjoy, is that, through their writing, and through the stories they fabulate, they exercise a skill essential to us all, writers and [...]
Writing Secrets: Every little sentence is sacred
When you become a writer, every sentence should be sacred to you. I give this advice a great deal in our mentoring programme. Pay attention to each word you use: […]
July newsletter: Help for your writing is just a click away
How to fight your way out of a writer’s block: Free, live webinar Douglas Adams, whose star shines brighter today than ever, is famous among writing and publishing communities for […]
Monday Motivation: Like all foundations, it must be concealed
In 1953, a writer submitted a dog-eared manuscript to Faber and Faber. It was the seventh publisher he’d approached and he was not optimistic that it would be taken up. […]
Writing Secrets: How to judge your own writing
We don’t always have another willing eye to judge our writing dispassionately. It’s a big ask. Your friends will hate you for it, and your partner is usually the wrong […]
