Writing skills | Alison Morton Author

Summer vacuum – the time of little writing

Updated and republished

Summer is here; lazy days, extra wine, days out with the family and friends, a holiday away. Mmm.

Alternatively, with the recent heatwaves, we may be cowering indoors and in our basements!

As writers, we have two scenarios before us:

The first:

You have a deadline looming, your fans are waiting, your […]

Balancing romance, social commentary and historical fiction

I’m delighted to welcome Clare Flynn back to the blog. She’s the author of eighteen historical novels and is about halfway through her nineteenth. published by Storm, Canelo and herself, her books have now been translated into three languages.

She lives on the south coast of England, in Sussex, where she can watch the […]

Minding your language – foreign and cursing

Republished As a language nerd, certified translator and writer of fiction (and in a previous existence of proposals, reports, corporate documentation, advertising and PR copy), I’ve always been interested in the power of words. Tone, style and formality as important as context.

Although multi-lingual, I write in my mother-tongue English, but when writing a story […]

J G Harlond and fantasising historically...

Today, I’m delighted to welcome J G (Jane) Harlond to the blog to tell us about writing historical fantasy stories.

Secret agents, skulduggery, and sea voyages… Creator of the infamous Ludo da Portovenere, J.G. Harlond writes page-turning historical crime novels set during the 17th Century and the Second World War. Each story weaves […]

The evolving writer

When I started this scribbling business in 2009, I sat down one morning in front of my computer and typed for ninety days.

As a professional translator, I knew I would have to edit anything I produced. I joined a writers’ group and survived the terror of reading my offering aloud for the first time […]