I’ve always been a bit dubious about writing courses. Not because I don’t think you can learn to write – on the contrary, writing’s a craft, like any other – but because I have a deep-rooted fear of wasting time and money. I don’t want to spend time on ice-breakers, coffee breaks and introductions, when […]
Writing
Ten inspiring ideas to try instead of NaNoWriMo
As we hurtle through October towards November, writers’ thoughts turn to NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month. The NaNoWriMo challenge is to complete the first draft of a novel (a minimum of 50,000 words) in just thirty days, and fans of the annual event maintain it is perfect for bashing out early drafts, pushing through writer’s […]
Great opportunities don't pay the bills
The Gloucester Citizen is looking for a new columnist. It’s a nice gig: 350 words, once a week. Simple, regular work – the freelancer’s dream. Oh, but here’s the catch: there’s no pay. This won’t stop dozens – perhaps hundreds – of people spending time on carefully crafted ‘competition entries’, in the hope of winning […]
Changing perspective
I am midway through a rewrite of book one: a novel which, as yet, has no name. As part of the changes, I am rewriting the protagonist’s story from third person to first person, and have been amazed by the difference it makes. It is, of course, far more than simply amending ‘she said,’ to […]
J K Rowling has done women a disservice
The news that Robert Galbraith, author of The Cuckoo’s Calling, is actually J. K. Rowling, has overnight propelled the crime title from 5,076th position to the top of Amazon’s sales charts. Amazing what a name can do. I applaud Joanne Rowling, not just for her writing (chapter one of The Cuckoo’s Calling reads beautifully) but […]
Whatever happened to Emily Carlisle?
The more eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that I have changed my name. Most people have said nothing, but a lot have asked why, so I thought it was about time I explained the whole story. Here’s the thing: my name was never Emily Carlisle. In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t […]