While I was standing in 40 degree shade (104 F), eating rose-water and pistachio baklava in a small town on the Albanian coast during August, I thought of you. I did, honestly. OK, a significant part of my conscious mind was on the fig ice-cream to follow, but I can multi-task. I thought of you […]
Rambles in Albania Read More »
I began to write a nonfiction book last November with enthusiasm. I knew what I wanted to write and exactly who I was writing for. It’s so niche, my book, I could tell you the names of the people who will glance at the cover. And then, over the winter, I lost my writing confidence.
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 »
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 »
I’ve been thinking about Time and how a few weeks can make all the difference. When I last wrote to you, it was mid-July. Since then, I have gained time across nine time zones and lost it when I returned to my starting point. I lost track of time completely in the other-world that is
How are you spending your dash? Read More »
A writer I love working with (if you’re reading this, you’ll know who you are) has been working on the Golden Thread of her story. It’s a concept of Jennie Nash’s, of Author Accelerator. Imagine that your manuscript is a tapestry with a pattern. The golden thread is your awareness of what your story is
Allow your voice to be heard. Only that way will you make a connection between your mind and others’. 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 »
I’m revising the second draft of my next book. It’s a cosy village mystery, set in an English village. (The one I grew up in.) Rewriting gives me the chance to weigh the value of each word. It can be exhausting, as Inner Judge gives me a hard time. It seems like everything that plays
Revising. Like panning for gold Read More »
When we throw ourselves into our work—our professional work, the daily work that pays the bills and feeds and clothes us—we sometimes feel our capacity for creativity has shrivelled up. Creativity means creating something that didn’t exist before. Some jobs allow for that. You might not be writing the first draft of a new ‘Gatsby’
Feel you’ve lost your creativity? Read More »
Writing a book is: 20% writing 80% thinking/questioning/troubleshooting/staring out of the window/testing ideas/waking up at 3 am to scribble illegible ideas on a bedside pad.
This fact will stop you in your tracks Read More »