Useful stuff | Alison Morton Author

Backing up your writing!

Frustrated businesswoman looking at her computer screen In dismay

Having slogged away for months and months researching and sweating creatively over my keyboard, I have finished a first draft of 107,000 words of a new novel and it’s gone for its first editorial pass. Hooray! But imagine the horror of losing all that work due to a digital disaster!

To prevent this, […]

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 […]

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 things I forget, but need

Viglen 1 desktop

Do you use some your applications, programs or software occasionally and then forget how to do them?

I’ve used a computer since 1989. Yes, there was personal computing then. We bought a Viglen Plus, 640K RAM and 30Mb hard drive storage and a 360K disk drive which took 5¼” floppy […]

How to whitelist with GMail

(Other email programs are available…)

GMail is a very accessible way of instantly creating an address and enjoys a high level of security. Its layout is clear and easy to navigate, especially when you’re searching for an old message.

(You can hear the ‘but’ coming…)

However, Gmail’s security sometimes works a bit too […]