Category: Contemporary Women Writers
A Book Is Born
Shortly after retiring, I decided that my children and grandchildren should know a bit more about my life, just in case they ever wondered how I came to make some of the choices that had affected it. I began by writing the love story I was still living with the man who had become my […]
Creating Colour In Words
As a reader, I love to be transported into a world of imagination and my favourite modes of transportation are metaphors, similes and idioms. As a writer, these are also my favourite moments of creativity. I would much rather read about ‘the bruised sky’ than ‘the purple-grey sky’. Of course, the sky is not literally […]
Defending Chicklit
My name is Maxine Morrey and I write chicklit. There are those that may feel this should be stated whilst sat around in a circle with others who have the same words to utter, and upon each turn a welcome will be issued together with a polite round of applause for having the bravery to […]
Common Writing Mistakes: A Beginner’s Course
Just starting out writing? Want to make sure your work shines enough to grow a career? Here are some tips. To Market to Market, and Why You Should Not Write For It I know, I know. You go to a bookstore or read the bestseller lists and it seems like every novel has the word […]
Sick From Writing: The Side Effects Of Writing A Book
Author and journalist Carol Lee spent many years helping her god-daughter, Emma, in her battle with anorexia and bulimia. There’s much written about the effect of books on peoples’ lives, often inspirational, but these are the effects on readers. What about the effect on authors? When my god-daughter asked me to write about her struggle […]
How Objects Inspire Fiction
Just about anything can serve as inspiration for a work of fiction. Often, it’s a person, someone we knew, cared for, or had trouble with when we were younger. It can be a place, somewhere we hold dear, or couldn’t wait to escape. In my own work, a single scene has many times been the […]
Eight Ways To Read More, Even When You’re Deep Into Your Own Manuscript
Read often and widely: it’s the first commandment of writing. And as any writer committed to her craft knows, there’s no better instructor than the written word itself. Finding time to read, however, is a perpetual challenge when you spend much of your day trying to fill pages with your own thoughts (say nothing of […]
Fearless and Free: How Smart Women Pivot and Relaunch Their Careers
There is an expression – you write what you know. I say I’ve pivoted so much in my career, I’m pirouetting. “Fearless and Free: How Smart Women Pivot and Relaunch their Careers” was inspired by my own journey of trying to stay relevant as technology disrupted the workforce, blowing up certain industries — including my […]
Decluttering The Mind
Have you ever stopped, looked around and wondered how your home had become so…chaotic? So downright disorderly, even? A few weeks ago I finished my final book for the year. The last deadline was met with a certain feeling of jubilation, but then I had Christmas to contend with, and a much needed family holiday […]
Mary Quaile: Why Don’t We Know About Her?
I am from a working class Irish family in Manchester. My parents – like many who came over and settled here – brought with them an oral tradition, and when our extended family gathered together in our small living room, they told stories, sometimes sang and danced, and often argued!. When I started scribbling stories […]
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