Writing skills | Alison Morton Author

Sorting out a boring paragraph...

I was editing my second book, a speculative fiction thriller (see previous post). I came upon one of those paragraphs I must have written at midnight after a very busy day with irregular meals and a lot of alcohol.

The characters made it from A to B, they had a conversation of two lines and […]

Conflicting advice and making your own decision

Conflicting advice is the very devil, especially if it’s given by different well-respected and hugely experienced writers. Especially when you’ve paid for it from a well-researched and carefully selected specialist or it comes via a highly professional writing organisation.

Like most newbie writers, I am passionate, energetic and in love with my story and characters. […]

The big print

Post-machete, post-rewrite of scenes, post-restructuring, I may possibly have kneaded the flabby dough of my master-work into some kind of presentable product. The plot has changed, the tension ramped up, the prose decimated and a sting in the tail (tale?) injected into the ending.

I’ve printed the whole thing out, double-spaced, ready for the tooth-comb. […]

How well do you know your character? Part Deux

Following my previous post with questions to help you to dig down into your characters, here are a few more:

20. Which schools did your character attend? 21. How did they do at school? 22. Did they have a nickname? 23. Did they go on to university? 24. What did they study? 25. Why did […]

Writing bootcamp at the Circle of Missé

Never having taken part in a creative writing course, I was excited, but a trifle anxious, when I was invited to join a ‘writing bootcamp’ at the Circle of Missé, a creative centre near my new home in France.

Lead by Annie Kirby, a renowned short-story writer who is also working on a full-length novel, […]