Category Writing
If you struggle with story structure, theme, or bookending your work with definite character progression, then Blake Snyder’s screenwriting guide, Save the Cat! is a must-read. I started this book last week and I’ve re-read parts of it so many… Continue Reading →
What is it about fantasy fiction that tempts authors into creating prologues? I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because fantasy storylines so often depend on events long previous to the main action of the story. But readers (according to popular belief) skip prologues. They… Continue Reading →
Do I dare? Do I dare put dates and deadlines to what I’m trying to achieve, and have to acknowledge publicly when I miss or make those targets? Is my book, my weird Young Adult Arthurian Genderfluid Fantasy Coming Of… Continue Reading →
This week I need to make some writing progress: 10,000 words in a week. This is perfectly achievable given my prior history of writing 12,000 words in one day. But to be sure, I am setting myself no other targets…. Continue Reading →
Many How To Write-type books go on about creating for yourself a special writing space. Often these guides go on to add that this could be the kitchen table, a desk, a spot in a local cafe, and so on – but… Continue Reading →
My current novel is an adventure story so I always imagined it would climax with an epic battle. Only problem – I’ve never written a battle scene. I have written action but always small-scale, and always based around an emotional moment. I’ve never… Continue Reading →
In my attempts to outline my novel I did a lot of online reading as well as the books I’ve previously mentioned. Google will find you many sites which offer help with outlining a (fiction) book, but I’ve gathered 20 useful articles…. Continue Reading →
This week I have a mission – to finish the outline for my book. I’ve been working on it for a few weeks, by reading from some experts, plus actually drafting some outlines, mind maps and scene lists. I think it… Continue Reading →
I’ve followed Joanna Penn for a little while now and found her website and its writing resources very helpful. So the chance to hear her advice on publishing, specifically self publishing, at the SPS summit in June was too good… Continue Reading →
I recently attended several sessions of Chandler Bolt’s online writing conference, the Self Publishing Success Summit. All the sessions I watched were excellent, offering high quality advice from experienced authors. One session though, offered even more – the tutorial given… Continue Reading →