The Art of Restraint in Writing
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 in [...]
Writing Secrets: Writing takes thought – so look beyond the obvious
Let’s look beyond the obvious in the old tenets of writing advice. We all know that “showing” is supposed to be better than “telling”. We know, for instance, that we should use all our senses [...]
Writing Secrets: How to show not tell with small details
It’s through the small details of a novel that we learn of the large issues, and from which we gain a sense of the world in which it takes place. You don’t need to explain to us, for example, the [...]
Writing Secrets: Who cares if you feel it – just make sure we do
There’s a distinction that writers need to make before they become great. It was a point I made in a university course I taught recently – and I think it came as something of a revelation. But [...]
Writing Secrets: The case for showing, rather than telling
There’s been a great deal of discord about showing and telling in recent years. It’s a truism of good writing that we should always show, rather than tell. Recently, though, there’s been a [...]
Writing Secrets: It’s often the case – solving one problem creates another
Here’s a conundrum. One of our mentoring participants tried to solve one problem and, in the process, created another. As I mentioned last week, you should try to avoid long, static [...]
Monday Motivation: Write around a key dramatic development
Here’s another lesson from No Country for Old Men… When last we spoke (!) I described Lewellyn Moss’s flight from the implacable hand of Fate, Anton Chigurh. He eventually shakes off his pursuer [...]
Writing Secrets: The silver thread between your character and you
Be aware of your connection to your character – that silver thread that attaches you to them – and you’ll write better. I believe this and I’ve seen it again and again. Consider this paragraph, [...]
Writing Secrets: We are what we notice
I read a manuscript recently in which the protagonist gazed out at the sun-filled park. Okay, fair enough, perhaps it gives us some sense of his world … but not much, let’s be honest. There was [...]
Monday Motivation: Politicians should learn a thing or two from writers
The skills and insights of creative writing have more applications in the “real” world than we sometimes realise. Politics, for instance, consists largely of opposing narratives. Different [...]
Writing Secrets: Don’t be too obvious
The best writing allows us to see, hear, feel and smell something – but (and it’s a big but) without being too obvious. Give us just enough details, but then allow us to put them together into a [...]
