We have discussed the need to ‘write about what you know’, and ways to research your material. But the easiest research technique is one you almost certainly use every day – reading! Writers collect facts, stories, anecdotes, phrases and words like bowerbirds collect bright objects to decorate their nests. As we read, we trawl for […]
Give your character a Gift
Gifts are always freighted with emotion. This applies to the giver as well as to the recipient. And emotions are the lifeblood of your stories! So let’s explore the possibilities of gift giving. Look around and select an item that you were given as a gift, something which you love and treasure. Examine it closely, […]
To Plan or Not to Plan
That is the question, indeed. We have all heard how necessary it is to plan, how ‘to fail to plan is to plan to fail’. I am sure it is true in many situations, including some writing. But I also know, from experience, that planning can become the issue, rather than the story. Writers, especially […]
Feed the Muse
Writing is hard work. It eats up your time and your energy. It demands your attention at inconvenient moments– times when you should be sleeping, or working, or walking along a beach with your lover. Writing leaves you exhausted, and yet exhilarated; drained and yet bubbling with fresh ideas; thrilled to write THE END yet […]
Put your stories out there
Do you have a collection of stories, maybe even a novel or two, tucked away in a dark cupboard? If so, you are not alone; many would-be writers do. It seems to be an embarrassing secret, one that cannot be revealed because as soon as you tell your best friend that you are a closet […]