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    Writing courses, free resources and webinars, and developmental editing Writing courses, free resources and webinars, and developmental editing
    • Home
    • About
      • About
      • Facilitators
      • Testimonials
      • Contact
      • How to enrol
    • Courses
      • Venice Writing Retreat
      • Creative Writing Course
      • Stow-on-the-Wold Writing Weekend
      • A memoir weekend and a writing retreat in the Karoo
    • Shop
    • Free resources
      • Free offerings for writers
      • Downloadable writing resources
    • Blog
    • Community Hub

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    Tag Archives for: "how to write a first draft"
     Writing Secrets: The pleasure of taking things more slowly
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    By Jo-Anne Richards
    In Jo-Anne Richard's blog, Tips for Writers
    Posted October 23, 2019

    Writing Secrets: The pleasure of taking things more slowly

    In our mentoring programme, we have a number of writers who are either just beginning, in the middle, finishing a first draft or working on a second. I asked a couple of them to share with you [...]

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    ✍️NEW ON THE BLOG: Building a Community & Bran ✍️NEW ON THE BLOG: Building a Community & Brand Around Your Writing ✍️ Key takeaways from the London Book Fair 2025 panel. Huge thanks to @rosiekellett @paruledits @emmagannonuk Georgia Henry from @pitchagencyco for the great session 📝Community is more valuable than audience: Quality connections matter more than follower counts, with platforms like Substack fostering genuine engagement rather than superficial follows. 📝Focus on sustainability: Choose platforms and strategies you can maintain consistently rather than spreading yourself too thin across multiple channels. 📝Balance online and offline engagement: Create intimate in-person gatherings (like retreats or supper clubs) alongside your digital presence for more meaningful connections. 📝Social media can be valuable but only if you enjoy it: Georgia Henry emphasised that if you're not enjoying a platform, it's not worth forcing yourself to use it. 📝Authenticity is essential: Rosie Kellett noted that her most popular content comes from genuine vulnerability, while Emma Gannon advised writers to "follow your gut" and do what feels right rather than following trends. #WritingCommunity #AuthorBranding #WritersOfInstagram #AuthorPlatform #LBF25
    ✍️ WRITING TIP: "There was a loud crash that ✍️ WRITING TIP: "There was a loud crash that echoed through the empty hallway." Better: "A loud crash echoed through the empty hallway." Eliminate unnecessary "there was/is" constructions to make your writing more direct and powerful. Learn more sentence-crafting techniques in our Strong Sentences, Stronger Stories webinar. Link in bio to watch the full replay! #WritingCommunity #WritingTips
    View from the office. View from the office.
    ✍️ WRITING MASTERCLASS: The Power of Sentence ✍️ WRITING MASTERCLASS: The Power of Sentence Structure A mini-lesson from Jo-Anne Richards on crafting stronger sentences. Swipe through for practical tips on improving your prose. Language is the foundation of good writing. Here's a common issue I see with many writers: the overuse of sentence fragments. While fragments can be powerful when used deliberately, they often weaken your prose when overused. Let's look at an example: "The nail bent. He hissed. Straightened. Angled his body. Aimed his hammer at the next nail." Notice how the choppy fragments create a repetitive pattern? Now compare with this: "He straightened. Angling his body, he aimed the hammer..." The second version varies sentence structure, creating natural flow while maintaining impact. Remember: Like screaming, sentence fragments lose their force if they're overused. Use them with intention for maximum effect. Want to learn more? Join our free writing webinar Strong Sentences, Stronger Stories. Link in bio! . . . #WritingCommunity #WritingTips #AmWriting #WritersOfInstagram #AuthorTips #WritingAdvice #WritingCraft #CreativeWriting #AuthorsOfInstagram #WritingMotivation #WritingLesson #WritingInspiration #WritingSkills
    ✍️ Transform your real-world insights into pow ✍️ Transform your real-world insights into powerful scenes with these writing tips from Richard Beynon. Swipe for practical techniques to elevate your storytelling. #WritingCommunity #WritingTips #AmWriting
    🔍 Struggling to plot your murder mystery? Lear 🔍 Struggling to plot your murder mystery? Learn how focusing on your antagonist can transform your story.Here are some practical tips and a targeted writing exercise. . . . WritingCommunity #WritingTips #MysteryWriter #AmWriting #WritersOfInstagram
    📝 The Writer's Dual Consciousness Ever caught 📝 The Writer's Dual Consciousness Ever caught yourself living a moment while simultaneously crafting it into a story? You're not alone. This week we're exploring how writers navigate being both inside and outside their stories. Writing Tips * When you’re experiencing a moment that feels “story-worthy,” resist the immediate urge to mentally frame it as a scene. Instead, stay present in the experience first, then later set aside dedicated time to reflect on it as a writer. This helps maintain the authenticity of both the experience and your eventual writing. * Keep a “dual perspective” journal where you record events twice: first as you experienced them in the moment, and then from your more analytical writer’s perspective. This practice helps you understand how your observing mind transforms raw experience into narrative. * When writing about personal experiences, explicitly acknowledge both your participating and observing selves. Try writing the same scene twice – once from deep within the experience, and once from a more distant, observational viewpoint. This can add richness and depth to your narrative. Writing Exercise Choose a significant memory from your past. Write about it twice in 15-minute sessions: First, write it as if you’re reliving it in the present moment, focusing purely on immediate sensations and emotions. Then, write it again as if you’re watching it happen to someone else, noting patterns and meanings that weren’t apparent in the moment. Compare the two versions – what different truths emerge from each perspective? . . . #MondayWritingMotivation #memoirwriting #writingprocess #writingtips #writingcommunity #amwriting
    The many jobs that the setting of your story can d The many jobs that the setting of your story can do Tip 14/14 Sensory immersion Detailed descriptions of place engage readers' senses, making the story more vivid and immersive. Authors like Proust excel at this. Here’s a passage from his magnus opus: In Search of Lost Time: "The Swanns’ drawing-room was a room such as one no longer sees today, lofty and spacious, of the kind which expressed a certain social status, and which must have been kept in repair at a considerable cost. An odour of old furniture, of curtains saturated with dust and perfumes, of tapestry permeated with the emanations of winter fires, brought to mind the tranquil dignity of aristocratic households where life is led in seclusion, amid family relics. Against the walls the large, empty armchairs, covered in silk, upholstered with light green damask and embroidered with multi-coloured flowers, were stationed in front of the fireplace, forming a kind of solemn tribunal. The flames crackled and sent reflections flickering up to the ceiling, where the ceiling-rose cast shadows like the petals of some enormous flower opening slowly to reveal itself." Detail, remember, is what the living blood of narrative fiction. Engage as many of the reader’s sense and plunge them into your setting, and your story. . . . #SensoryImmersion #Detail #StorytellingTips #StorySettings
    Writing Wisdom from Venice 16/16 Writing with rest Writing Wisdom from Venice 16/16 Writing with restraint is about holding back, not telling your reader too much. But restraint also means we should try to write more obliquely. It’s a form of showing, rather than telling. Give us the evidence – the details which we need to interpret – but don’t actually do the interpreting. Let your reader do that. Show the smoke, let us infer the fire. #WritingRetreat #VeniceWritersRetreat #Creativity #AmWriting
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    NEWS & TIPS
    • Building a Community and Brand Around Your Writing
      Building a Community and Brand Around Your Writing
    • Strong Sentences, Stronger Stories: Craft Your Way to Powerful Prose
      Strong Sentences, Stronger Stories: Craft Your Way to Powerful Prose
    • The foundation of good writing: the sentence
      The foundation of good writing: the sentence
    • The Challenge of Choosing a Book Title
      The Challenge of Choosing a Book Title
    • That Magical Moment: Holding Your First Book
      That Magical Moment: Holding Your First Book
    • From Life to Page: Why Your Social Skills Are Your Secret Weapon
      From Life to Page: Why Your Social Skills Are Your Secret Weapon
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