Category: How To and Tips
The Good The Bad and the Unsympathetic Character
The Good The Bad and the Unsympathetic Character Laura Elliot casts a wry, humorous eye over the creation of fictitious protagonists who are determined to be ‘bad.’ My local railway station is within walking distance from my home. Trains are my usual means of travel so I guess it’s not surprising that when it comes […]
On Making Writing a Process By Rachel Grosvenor
When people hear that I’m a writer, many ask what my process is. It’s a good question and a fair one, and is debated back and forth in writing groups, online, and wherever creatives dwell. Books have been written on it. Thousands of words have been flung into the air, debating the best process for […]
Of Sweet Spots and Near Misses
Of Sweet Spots and Near Misses From the time I started reading chapter books in elementary school, I have loved stories that go on for days. I knew I wanted to write them. The trouble was, I couldn’t think of any stories that were long enough to fill a book. I could think of intriguing […]
Writing Tough Stuff: Five Tips to Make it Easier
Writing Tough Stuff: Five Tips to Make it Easier Last summer and winter I tried (and tried) to write a short memoir essay about a short stint of living and working in a London pub during the late 1980s. The opening scene of the essay, in which, on my very first night there, I wake […]
Your Reader Needs You to Dive Deep By Melanie Dickerson
Your Reader Needs You to Dive Deep By Melanie Dickerson As a writer, don’t save anything, don’t pull any punches, and don’t protect yourself or hold back your emotions. If you want your reader to remember your book, to fall in love with your story and your characters, you must leave everything on the page. […]
Crafting Characters Who Make Your Readers Care By Shannon Hollinger
Crafting Characters Who Make Your Readers Care By Shannon Hollinger Think of a book that made you care, that had you so invested in the outcome that you wanted to cry or shout or throw things when events didn’t go the right way. When you think of that book, what is it that you remember? The […]
Writing a Novel for Adults: One YA Author’s Experience
Writing a Novel for Adults: One YA Author’s Experience A well-meaning friend called me recently to tell me how much he’d enjoyed DEADLY SETUP, my latest young adult novel. “You know,” he said, “you’re such a good writer that I bet you could write a book for adults someday.” My friend meant this as a […]
Inspiration to write Sisters of Wartime England
Inspiration is magic. I have always been fascinated by the achievements of women. Authors such as Jane Austen who wrote six novels in the early 19th century. Two hundred years later they are still giving millions of readers pleasure. Mary Shelley, at only eighteen, wrote Frankenstein. One of my favourite authors is 20th century novelist, […]
Writing Dialogue as two Authors
Writing dialogue as two authors: we have a unique approach to our writing as a team, writing in real time together, sharing narrative but never characters. When our characters interact, it’s really two individual authors having a fictional conversation, but how do we make it work? Ellie Curzon is the joint pen-name of writers Catherine […]
What Makes a Book “Unputdownable”?
WHAT MAKES A BOOK “UNPUTDOWNABLE?” These days, most people are addicted to their devices. I confess, I’m one of them. But I also love to read and have an ever-growing stack of books on my TBR table. So, what keeps me reading instead of checking my phone to see what new rabbit hole there is […]
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