Top ten novels set in the workplace.
After a year of virtual working, do you feel more than ready to get back to the real workplace? Hold that thought for just a second. Can you remember what it was actually like? The commute? Getting dressed up (or dressed down)? Those weird people you work with - are...
Writing courses – there’s never been a better time to enrol – extracts from June newsletter
I'm sure most writers, when they start out, get themselves onto a course. I certainly did. In fact when I first swapped over from writing as an employee to writing as a freelancer, I joined the Writers Bureau in Manchester, a correspondence course advertised in...
Top Ten Enormous books which are worth the investment.
I don't know about you, but I often hesitate before picking up an enormous book, even if I know it has a fabulous reputation and friends are urging me to read it. Even though I am a quick and voracious reader, it's quite an investment, isn't it? So in this blog I'm...
Smart writing. How to use your writing time effectively – extracts from May newsletter
As I mentioned last month, i'm finishing off a novel which has been on the go for quite a while, and part of me wonders if I could've written it more quickly. So here are some tips I've gathered from thinking about my own mistakes, and it all comes down to using the...
Top Ten Unputdownable reads. Books you will have to devour in one sitting.
I've just finished a book which I literally could not stop reading. This was a bit inconvenient as I started reading it fairly late at night, but sometimes that is just how it goes. Write off the next day through lack of sleep, wander around in a daze, in awe of a...
Editing tips and writing help – extracts from April newsletter
April: Editing tips. I'm nearing the end of yet another draft of a middle grade novel which I've been writing for.... oh at least three centuries it feels like. (Actually I've just checked and I started my first ever draft of this in 2017.) I realise now that I prefer...
Top Ten Road Trip Books
There is a bit of a theme developing here with these blogs. A yearning to get back out into the world. Not surprising really. Anyway this month's blog is about Road Trips. Stories often involve a 'quest', and therefore there are many brilliant books which feature road...
Extracts from March newsletter: springing into action with your writing
I don't know about you but I'm beginning to feel a bit optimistic about the coming months, and that feeling always energises my writing. So this month I'm going to make some suggestions to help you expand your writing bandwidth. First off, if you are an unpublished...
Top Ten books to take you on a journey. Exotic settings, difficult quests.
A recent article in the Guardian by one of my favourite children's authors - Piers Torday - listed 10 children's books that will take kids on a journey. Magical stuff, but it got me thinking - which books could I recommend to transport you to amazing places? All books...
Getting your writing buddy fix – extracts from February newsletter
Getting your writing buddy fix. This time last year we were about to go into lockdown for the first time. Little did we know then how long this thing was going to take. One of the things we had to get used to was Zoom (or the infernal Microsoft equivalent.) Way back...