Do you find yourself over-explaining emotions or situations in your writing? In both this blog and my next subscriber-only Monday Writing Motivation mailer, I look into the power of restraint [...]
Ever feel like your story’s missing that special something? Yes, sure, it’s good, but not quite great? Well, you might be overlooking a powerful tool in your writing toolkit: thematic [...]
Let’s fantasise for a moment. You’ve finished your book, you’ve secured an agent (you only had to write thirty-seven emails to do so), and they’ve managed to place your manuscript […]
Show, don’t tell. It’s one of the most oft-repeated pieces of writing advice, yet it is frequently misunderstood. To paraphrase Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, “Don’t [...]
I’ve sometimes stressed how important it is, in creating the world of story, to use accurate details. Accuracy is really important because it lends credibility even to situations that are, […]
If you’ve been trying to write, you will no doubt have been challenged to adhere to the holy trinity of writing advice: write what you know, find your voice and show rather than tell. The first [...]
“He was drinking brandy, pouring double mouthfuls into a glass that had somehow survived from his grandfather’s time, the glass tinged green and bubbled with the air of the old […]
Two workshops in two towns – as removed as winter is from summer All About Writing split itself in two this past week to offer writing advice on different continents […]
The instant we meet people, we start computing. We take in cues, without even realising it, and come to conclusions. Some of these we’ll adjust with time. Others we’ll confirm. […]