My good writing friend Shannon wrote a post recently that really resonated with me and what I see aspiring writers struggling with. Her post is good and I recommend you click the link and have a read before carrying on. There’s a great quote she uses from a superb writer and generally very nice man,… Read More A Brief Guide to Writing 7 – Feedback
or looking after your mental health as a writer “The days of the depressed writer… killing himself after burning all his manuscripts and considering himself a failure, are over – or they should be.” The Covid Pandemic seemingly brought grief and joy in equal measure albeit often with some getting the joy and others, unfortunately,… Read More A Brief Guide to Writing: 6 – The Writer and The Black Dog of Doom
I started this piece quite some considerable time ago. At the time, my novel was in the early stages with the publishers. It has been published over a year now, which tells you something about how long it takes for me to get a job done sometimes! By sheer fate, and the irony of the… Read More A Brief Guide to Writing: 5 – Mistakes, editing and you
“So, disagree with my reviews, by all means. This is also useful for those that fall upon these pages.” Recently, I had a lovely little comment on this site from ‘Jimmy’ who clearly didn’t like my reviews very much. I didn’t publish the comment because it was the usual vacuous insulting type which always assumes… Read More What is the point of book reviews?
22nd August, Daffodil Hotel The UK’s Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage has, apparently, been giving readings hosted by Wordsworth, Grasmere for at least two decades and the occasions are always a sell-out. As the man himself said to the audience, “I think some of you have been coming to my readings even longer than I have!”… Read More An Audience with Simon Armitage, Ambleside
In April I had the joy of being invited by my publishers (Histria Books) to come to the London Book Fair. I thought it would be helpful to put my thoughts down about the experience. Firstly I should say, as a Cumbrian author, it is always rather nice to find an excuse to stay in… Read More Thoughts About the London Book Fair
Well, so far in my journey to put you off writing, I’ve told you why you shouldn’t be a writer and then went on to tell you there’s no money in it. If you’re still here, well done. Clearly optimism in the face of reality is strong in you – you might just make it… Read More A Brief Guide to Writing: 4 – Budgeting income as a writer
In my previous article I did my best to put you off any fantasy of making a living from writing. If you’re still here, I take it you’ve engaged with that and you’re ready to find out what you can do as a writer (and if you missed it, read it first and then come… Read More A Brief Guide to Writing: 3 – Thinking like a writer
My brain is wired a little differently to most other brains of around my age. When thinking of writing a series to help and encourage writers, my first thought was ‘what can I say to really scare them off?’ So here I am starting my series of short guides by telling you why you shouldn’t… Read More A Brief Guide to Writing: 2 – Why you shouldn’t be a writer
I felt it was about time to put down in writing the various things I’ve learned, or found helpful, about this game we call ‘being a writer’. I remember, when I first started to train as a writer, that many of the writers I followed boasted of their credentials that they’d been commercially writing for… Read More A Brief Guide to Writing: 1 – Introduction
Write Out Loud 