Writing

Jul 714 min read

Writers Coping with ADHD

This time, I'm focusing on a very specific struggle: the ADHD writer.

Mar 246 min read

Worlds Build Plots: How Settings Create Page Turning Books

If your main characters are the cornerstone of your novel, then the world-building stands as the keystone locking in everything else...

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Mar 37 min read

Cardboard Characters Impede Plot

Of all the aspects of fiction writing, character creation is the cornerstone of any story. It allows for a focused exploration within the na

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Nov 26, 20238 min read

Transform Your Novel from Wimp to Warrior

Sometimes, it’s a better strategy to slow down, take measure of the landscape, and judge where your shots are best targeted.

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Jan 30, 20228 min read

The Problem With YOU.

It was a common opinion that you simply do not write in second person POV. No one really went into detail about why. It was one of those typ

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Mar 28, 20214 min read

The Secret of Using Story Goals to Maximum Effect.

Your story will have many problems that arise – Fred not having any peanut butter is a problem, but it’s not THE problem

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Jan 24, 20218 min read

World-building: More Than Just a Setting

Whereas a setting provides the physical environment for the scene, world building adds the abstract. It encompasses the setting while also

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Sep 28, 20207 min read

Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival Highlights

The industry panellists in the crime writing master class: Oli Munson, literary agent; Alex Saunders, Fiction Editor at Pan Macmillan; Vikki

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May 24, 20204 min read

Time Travel - What's Wrong With It?

I always go into a submission with an open mind, but lately, when time travel becomes the obvious subject matter, I find myself groaning...

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May 3, 20207 min read

Please, Make Something Happen!

Have something happen in your story. Seems obvious, yes? And yet, we receive so many stories at the mag where this is not the case.

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Feb 16, 20208 min read

Is it Ever OK to Stereotype Fiction?

But the other thing a stereotype does within a reader is to trigger their prejudices without them even realising it, and you can play on tha

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Dec 22, 20197 min read

Character Development: A Christmas Carol.

Without his characterisation such as it is, the ghosts would never have visited, meaning the plot would never have taken its first steps for

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Oct 27, 20196 min read

NaNo: The Ultimate Guide P3 - Keep Momentum Moving

Our preceding posts this month have emphasised the need for planning in order to succeed at reaching our 50k goal in November. But no...

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Oct 20, 20195 min read

Nano: The Ultimate Guide - P2 - Schedule

WriMo’s Ebbs and Flows NaNoWriMo tends to have its own pacing structure that many-a newbie unwittingly falls into. Here is an idea of...

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Oct 13, 20196 min read

NaNo: The Ultimate Guide

Success is All About Preparation If you are not familiar with NaNoWriMo, its name stands for National Novel Writing Month, or more...

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Sep 23, 20184 min read

Quick Writing Q & A + New Class!

What is the most important point to consider when writing a mystery? How do I create a three-dimensional character? What is the purpose of a

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Jun 11, 20188 min read

Is My Writing any Good?

It’s a question every writer asks themselves and yet it can be one of the most elusive answers to obtain. Why? Most of us can string a...

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Mar 18, 20186 min read

Creating Characters You Can Touch

If you haven't explored who your characters are, how do you know what decisions they will make? How will you know what markers to use? H

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Feb 4, 20186 min read

This is the End, My Friend...

Your climax is what your whole story should be building towards, and the conflict and tension should be rising up like a wave ready to crash

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Dec 17, 20173 min read

Creativity or Nativity? Making Time to Write.

Sticking to a writing routine at Christmas is probably the hardest thing. Well, who around here is busy, busy, busy? In all honesty,...

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