Writing skills | Alison Morton Author

Seasonally adjusted writing

Seasons drive our behaviour whether we like it or not. We no longer live in caves, but in heated and insulated houses with curtains, double-glazing and electric light which weather-proof our lives But am I the only person who tends to ‘hibernate’ in winter and virtually live outside in summer?

When we write, we must […]

That glorious feeling of ending it all

Perhaps you thought that when you typed ‘The End’ (if you do), you’d finished writing your novel. Well, sadly not. It’s like being pregnant and not realising you have a good twenty years ahead of you dealing with the result. Slightly less drastic with a book, but it’s still your creation, your baby, and it […]

Travel broadens the writer’s mind

Flying from Paris to Montréal (pronounced in the Francophone world as ‘Mon_roy_al’) was full of brain-fodder for me as a writer! Over the seven hours, my other half and I watched films, ate slightly strange food and thought about the next few weeks of our Big Trip. But best of all was chatting to two […]

Guidelines for a determined writer

I belong to a local writers’ circle and yesterday it was my turn to lead the session. We have a lively discussion which resulted in more ideas. Here’s a potted version…

1. Know what you really want Not what other people, e.g. family, spouses and friends think you want, nor what you think you should […]

The strangeness, and freedom, of writing a trilogy

My writing desk at Lumb Bank

When I started my first novel, INCEPTIO, I had no idea what I was doing. Writing was an impulse, a reaction to a dire film and thinking I could produce something better. But not even halfway through the first draft, I realised I had a far bigger […]