Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Picture shows woman writing on laptop

Photo courtesy of Jessica Bell

Do you sit down at the keyboard and just write, a vague idea of the characters and their story swirling around in your head? Do you just throw stuff at the characters and see what happens? Then you’re a pantser* who writes by the seat of […]

A writer's progress, or 'Do not despair'

2012 PR shot

It’s ten years since I started thrusting books on the world and I’d like to I share some expurgated diary extracts and experiences with you.

But first, a word of motivation… You know how they say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something? If you take a […]

Helping to track the timeline of a story

Writing the first book of my Roma Nova stories, I found I needed to develop a tracking system not only of the action but also of its timing.

It’s so easy when engrossed in producing any story, let alone a thriller, to inadvertently get events in the wrong sequence or introduce a character to another […]