I’m not talking about what we can’t see that’s right in front of us. About when we are tired and over-worked. Our mind is on a different course and we just don’t see the missing comma, the grocer’s apostrophe, or the homonym. I’m talking about being emotionally involved in our writing. About being so close […]
Essential in cricket, land ownership and relationships. Not so noticeable in the books we read. But knowing what is in, and what is out, is how you write a good book. Writing a book is not about pouring everything you know onto the page. It’s about telling your reader what they need to know. That
Being in the flow of writing is wonderful. The words rush to our fingertips, barely able to keep up as our brain hurls instructions. That’s why the first draft must never be the last. Book deals and writers’ reputations have been lost when an unedited manuscript has been sent out into the world. Some writers
Even 200 words a day will move your book on in a way that 0 words a day won’t. But you (and only you) know when you want to move your book on.
Snails don’t stay in one place Read More »
Specialized vocabulary. Used appropriately, it will enrich your writing. In writing my current murder mystery, I’m galloping to the stable door and home but in the editing process, I’ve found it necessary to introduce a new twist. The new scene needs horses. It’s half a century since I rode (Devon farm tracks on borrowed field
The International Language of Horse Read More »
Tim Cahill in Sense of Place, a collection of interviews with travel writers put together by Michael Shapiro, said this: Whether you are writing, or preparing a journey to a new country, it helps to have a good idea of what your quest is. 🌍 What are you going to try to do?🌍 What are
What’s your Quest? Read More »
Allow your voice to be heard. Only that way will you make a connection between your mind and someone else’s. You have a unique perspective and your book is important. So keep writing, with passion and authenticity.
Writing is an act of bravery Read More »
Do you start, and inexplicably stop? Let me offer this thought. The symptoms of the struggle to write are things like staring at a blank page. Not wanting to get up for that 5.30 am writing slot (Eurgh. Whoever thought that was a good idea?). Resistance, showing up in the form of doing anything but
Do you ever struggle to write? Read More »
At the second edit stage of my work, this is how I deal with the depressing ‘rule’: Kill your darlings. I come to an expertly crafted sentence that makes me gasp with pride. Then I let a tiny whisper of doubt come forward. Does it truly fit the flow? Not really? No need for murder by Delete. I cut out the
Show your darlings kindness Read More »
Tolkein, as a young man falling in love with language, liked the euphonious sound of the words cellar door and because of that, when he wrote the Silmarillion in middle-age, he called one of the principal characters ‘Selador’. If a character’s name doesn’t jump out at me as soon as I’ve shaped a character, I
Choosing characters’ names Read More »