Tag: featured
To Be or Not to Be Agented, That is the Question
I never asked this question. Instead I asked how quickly I could get myself an agent. Unagented authors aren’t taken seriously, I reasoned. You can’t approach big houses without one and I wanted readers and a big contract. Getting an agent was the only way to achieve this goal. So I sent out queries, alphabetically, […]
Procrastination? Just an Unwelcome Visitor
Every day, around 4:00 p.m., I get this craving to write, like others yearn for a cup of tea or a chocolate biscuit. Sometimes I manage all three. Though usually just tea and choc. Some folks say it’s writers block – I call it procrastination. It walks in, shuts down my laptop, follows my every […]
How to Plan a Box-set
Late last year, I collaborated with six other members of the Alliance of Independent Authors to create a limited edition box set of novels. While collaborative efforts like this have been fairly common among genre fiction authors, we were not aware of another multi-author collection of contemporary novels. Why? The idea was simple. We wanted […]
A Day in the Life of a Writer
I would love to be able to say that I’m a full time writer, with an agent, PR officer and secretary to manage my career, organise promotion for me and type up stories I’ve dictated onto a voice recorder whilst sipping cocktail on a balcony (or reclining on a chaise longue Barbara Cartland style). However, […]
Planning the End or Ending the Plan?
Incredible what a tweet can do. On 18 April Barbara Bos of this esteemed site posted a quotation from Rose Tremain, “In the planning stage of a book, don’t plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.” I raised the query whether this was clever, or just poor […]
It’s Like Having An Alter Ego, But Harder
If you were to meet me on the good days, standing beside our minivans in the school parking lot, you’ll most likely see a woman wearing the uniform of an American suburban mother: boots zipped over jeans, hair that’s been flat-ironed too many times, dark sunglasses. On those good days, the ones where I behave […]
Finding My Voice
I lost my voice during my second year of college. And then I found it again after the plane crash. Wait. That’s not exactly right. I didn’t find it again until YEARS after the plane crash. And to be accurate, I didn’t “lose” anything. I put aside my voice in a valiant effort to pursue […]
Mindfulness and Writing
You are probably familiar with an image that has forged its way through social media. It outlines the creative process as follows: This is awesome This is tricky This is shit I am shit This might be ok This is awesome I am going to walk you through each stage of the process with useful […]
Seven Fiction Writing Rules
Overwhelmed by fiction-writing advice? Me too, and I’m an editor as well as a writer. Everyone and anyone who has a blog or website seems to be keen on throwing in their penny’s worth. A lot of it is genuinely good advice. But what works for them won’t necessarily be right for you. Want proof? […]
Reading Wuthering Heights With Juvenile Offenders
The idea that literature changes people’s lives is the premise of a program I facilitate through Fairfax County Public Library. It’s called Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL) and it’s run in partnership with Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court and Fairfax Library Foundation. I work with first time offenders and girls in a […]
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