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 […]

Site-splitting

So, split the atom time. Well, as I’ve created two blogs out of one, it’s more a case of splitting the byte.

Being an author today means developing entrepreneurial skills, especially marketing ones. I’m not talking about selling – although that’s ultra important – but about making people aware of your book’s, or books’, existence. […]

Using your reader report

This is one for the writers, but readers might be interested in a vital part of the process that goes to producing a story. I say producing, because like a piece of pottery, a story starts as a heap of dull, wet mud. Writing the first draft is like throwing that heap on to the […]

Writers' resolutions? Er, no...

No, I’m not making resolutions for 2015; they are easily made and easily broken. It’s a bit like dieting – it never works.

So what’s a writer to do? I have a few recommendations…

Have your vision and write your story – tap, tap, tap. Make a beautiful world or an ugly one – it […]