How to enjoy a productive writing life

Photo of Alison Morton writing at her desk

Writing as a life choice isn’t easy. It’s actually a bit mad. But those who have the urge just can’t stop.

However, everybody will give you advice and I suppose I’m doing the same here. 🙂

Not advice about punctuation, dialogue or how to set the scene or bring characters to life – that’s craft […]

Lorna Fergusson – Tapping into Sensory Memory in France

Absolutely delighted to have Lorna Fergusson back on the blog after a 10 year absence! Apart from being a skilled and evocative writer, she’s a writing coach, editor and speaker. Her work includes The Chase and An Oxford Vengeance.

She runs Fictionfire Literary Consultancy and has taught on various Oxford University writing programmes since […]

Helen Hollick on Romans, Devon and the supernatural

Delighted to welcome Helen back to the blog today to talk about a very different aspect of the past – the supernatural. She and her daughter Kathy have written a fascinating book about on that very subject. More below!

Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen might not see ghosts […]

Minding your language – foreign and cursing

Republished As a language nerd, certified translator and writer of fiction (and in a previous existence of proposals, reports, corporate documentation, advertising and PR copy), I’ve always been interested in the power of words. Tone, style and formality as important as context.

Although multi-lingual, I write in my mother-tongue English, but when writing a story […]

J G Harlond and fantasising historically...

Today, I’m delighted to welcome J G (Jane) Harlond to the blog to tell us about writing historical fantasy stories.

Secret agents, skulduggery, and sea voyages… Creator of the infamous Ludo da Portovenere, J.G. Harlond writes page-turning historical crime novels set during the 17th Century and the Second World War. Each story weaves […]