Insights | Alison Morton Author

Jill Marsh: Swiss inspiration, but not as you know it...

This week, I’m starting a series of English-speaking writers based in Europe and their ‘terroir’ – the place they live in. I’m delighted to welcome back JJ Marsh who shows us how Switzerland runs through her creative mind.

In her own words: As a journalist, teacher, actor, director and cultural trainer, Jill has lived and […]

Sounds and silence

Bringing in the senses to our writing adds a layer of richness and anchors the setting. It also grounds the character in that setting. It can emphasise an awkward gap in actions between characters, or provide a dialogue beat that isn’t “he said/she said”.

But what sounds could you bring in? Surely most people’s lives […]

Writing Challenge Day 30: Goal for the next month

The end. It’s the end of the challenge!

Yes, I feel a certain relief, but I’m also energised.

‘Next month’ takes us into the third week in November. I won’t be doing NaNoWriMo when people aim to churn out 50,000 words as I find it too organised, but I will be aiming to get 1,000-1,500 […]

Writing Challenge Day 29: Best accomplishment this month?

Hahaha! Actually, it will be finishing this challenge. 😉

Writing (nearly) daily posts interspersed with posts from some fabulous guests has really exercised my writing muscles. Writing short, hopefully sharp, pieces to a timetable means you gain focus and commitment. Long-form writing like novels can lead to a certain complacency so these blog posts have […]

Writing Challenge Day 21: My preferred genre

Crumbs, there are some interesting topics in this topic! The problem with this one is that essentially genres segment books into one thing or another, slicing away any possibility that a book may seep into another. 😱

Unpicking this…

Historical fiction is an umbrella for biography (Julian by Gore Vidal), adventure (Rafael Sabatini’s The Sea […]