Category: How To and Tips
How Not To Make A Book Launch Video
by Kathleen Whyman For as long as I’ve dreamed of being an author, I’ve also dreamed about the moment I first get to hold a copy of my book. The thrill of seeing my name on the cover of an actual book, filled with words that I wrote. The knowledge that a publisher thought those […]
Lazarus Remembered – The Partnership Between Author and Narrator
E J Harper Lazarus Remembered, a story told with words and music, is an immersive audiobook. My debut novel, it’s a contemporary family drama that explores the challenges within non-traditional family structures and how the pressure to conform to society’s expectations can tear lives apart. It features a soundtrack with thirteen original songs by my […]
Criticism Is My Best Friend
By Michele Kwasniewski I’d like to introduce you to one of my best friends. It could become one of your best friends, too, if you have an open mind, a firm grip on who you are and consider change an opportunity for growth. Please meet criticism. Constructive criticism is its full name. Feedback is its […]
Writing Comedy Collaboratively: How To Squeeze The Pips
Writing comedy collaboratively: how to squeeze the pips By Gail Aldwin As one of three women who write collaboratively as 3-She, I’ve learnt so much about comedy from my co-writers. We met at a workshop several years ago run by Juno Theatre based in Salisbury, an organisation dedicated to promoting women’s proactive involvement in theatre. […]
Creating an Audiobook – In Kathmandu
I am a fortunate woman. Our family and friends have mostly sidestepped the awful virus and I have managed to stay productive throughout lockdown whereas many of my writing friends have found it hard to focus. Perhaps living so many years as a nomadic expatriate has equipped me to face changes in circumstances? I have […]
Writing Loving before Loving: A Marriage in Black and White
If I had a nickel for each time a stranger has told me, “I know my life would be a bestseller!” I’d be wealthy. Sometimes they even offer their story, asking me to simply write it down. “My life has been so amazing, the book would write itself.” Well, not really. Books do not write […]
Creating the Backstory: A Delicate Art
Characters shouldn’t be simple. In a novel, the “good guys” can’t be saints, and the “bad guys” shouldn’t be wooden demons who do nothing but snarl and bite. The most relatable, admirable, and sympathetic characters require personality flaws and moments of weakness, and the less appealing ones should, sometimes, evoke compassion. In reality, humans are […]
Kris Bock: Bios Made Easy
Kris Bock: Bios Made Easy Writers need bios, for query letters, on websites, for conference brochures. If we are writers surely we can write about ourselves. Yet while coordinating writing conferences, I discovered that even published authors often write poor bios, whether through modesty, carelessness, or overwriting. Many bios are entertaining, but don’t do their […]
I Feel Qualified to Write About a Luxury Sports Car Despite Never Touching One By Audrey Burges
By Audrey Burges The Lamborghini felt the sun glancing off its sensuous curves and rolled languidly out of the garage. Its headlights were bright and perfectly symmetrical. They poked delicately through the black leather embracing its generously rounded front end, quivering slightly in the cold morning air. The gentle breeze tickled under its hood, making […]
The Challenge of Research in Lockdown
The Challenge of Research in Lockdown It’s been a difficult time for most writers to carry out the research during lockdown, but it’s particularly challenging for authors like me who write historical fiction. I started A Sister’s War, the third of The Victory Sisters trilogy, set in the Second World War in January last year, […]
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