Insights | Alison Morton Author

That inspiration thing...

Fortuna, Capitoline Museum, Rome (Author photo)

“What inspires you?” is a question I’m frequently asked in many guest posts, in podcast interviews, or at conferences.

The people asking are usually lovely – genuinely interested and keen to hear the answer. Perhaps they are writers themselves, or wish to make a connection on an […]

Villains and writers –The author is not the character

Conflict is the lifeblood of any fiction whether it’s between characters, between a character and their conscience, between the character and their environment. Obstacles abound, fate seems inexorable, bad characters never seem to give up.

Character is shown via actions and dialogue which shine a light on their values and motivations. Caius Tellus in my […]

The terror of writing

You stare at the stodgy sentences. You can’t think what words to write next. You are starting to bore yourself. Your characters are boring each other. Nobody will want to read this drivel.

And so it goes round and round in your head.

You’ve written ten novels or none. You’ve won prizes or you’re just […]

How to get through the fog of 2022 into 2023

Let’s face it – 2022 has been a weird year.

Coming out of the strict Covid regulations and try to recover a ‘normal’ (ha-ha!) book life, I planned a busy year. And so it turned out:

On 3 January, I published my husband’s fantastic book File of Facts about using personal organisers. (He is […]

Coins - Clearing up confusion as history moves on

The new 50 pence piece and the commemorative crown

New commemorative coins featuring the portrait of King Charles have been revealed by the Royal Mint; a crown and a 50p coin which will be available within weeks. These coins will be sold to collectors by the Royal Mint from this next week. The […]