I absolutely love first drafts. They’re my favourite part of the whole writing process. I love exploring a story for the very first time, getting to know new characters and discovering unexpected surprises throughout the book. But first drafts are hard. I don’t know about you, but most of my time is spent sitting there, staring at the blinking cursor, trying to think...

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Photo credit With NaNoWriMo coming up in a bit over a week, I feel it’s time again to talk NaNo strategy. NaNo is a behemoth of an event, and it really pays to go into it with a game plan. It’s especially important if, like me, you’re going to be a busy writer this November. So here is my guide to setting yourself...

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Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot on the subject of growing as a writer. Mostly prompted by some excellent books on writing that I’ve been reading. There’s such a lot that we writers could be doing to get better at our craft. Everything from taking classes and going to conferences to buying and devouring as many writing craft books as possible. And while...

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We all know bloggers who are so distinctive that even when they’re posting on another blog you know exactly who they are and where they’re from. They have a strong voice that identifies them instantly. And they’re unique. Cait@Paper Fury’s voice is completely different from that of Liz@Out Of Coffee Out Of Mind. Their blogging voice is so strong that it is impossible...

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There are plenty of reasons why writers don’t like to share their work. Negative feedback, or just plain being ignored are two of the biggest worries. But a lot of writers are also concerned about having their ideas stolen. And it is a perfectly legitimate fear. We writers work hard to find and develop our ideas into workable plots. Our ideas are very...

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What is this? A writing update? It has been rather a while since I posted one of these. Seeing as this month is Camp NaNoWriMo and I’m doing rather a lot of writing (well, editing) at the moment, I thought that this might be the perfect time to post an update on what I’m doing writing-wise, how I’m doing, and what I’m planning...

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A while ago (read, nearly two years ago) I wrote a post listing three reasons writers should commit to writing regularly. Having rediscovered said post today, I thought, well, I know of a few more reasons why we should all be writing regularly, maybe this post needs a second part. So that’s what I’m doing today, writing a part two. So, here we...

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I’ve been away for the past five days, visiting family, and while I’ve been away, I’ve been doing a whole bunch of things I’ve never tried before. Things like off-roading in a 4x4, or flying for the first time. Some of these things I really enjoyed, and others, quite frankly, made me more than a little nervous. And it got me thinking about writing...

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I’ve been writing for quite a long time. I’ve written 20-ish manuscripts, and I’ve even been to university to study writing. But that’s not to say that I’m particularly good at writing. In fact, for the amount of time I’ve been writing for, I have failed quite spectacularly more times than I would really care to admit to. Except that today I’m actually...

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As writers, we’re constantly having to come up with ideas, brainstorm solutions, and think our way out of problems in highly creative ways. And if you blog as well, like many of us do, that’s an added creative outlet. Which is awesome. But sometimes it can be really, really exhausting. For most people, there eventually comes a time when the well runs dry...

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Sequels are awesome. A continuation of an awesome book or movie that allows you to spend more time with the character you love in a world you adore? Sign me up please! There’s something amazing about being able to really sink into a world through multiple instalments, getting to know the people, the places, and the struggles better. Well-written sequels compliment and extend...

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It may be the end of the month, but there’s still time for me to join in with this month’s Beautiful People link up, hosted by the ever amazing Cait@Paper Fury and Sky@FurtherUp And Further In (gold star me for leaving it so very late in the month). I’m currently editing my Snow White/superhero retelling, so I’ll be answering the questions for the...

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Occasionally, in my musical discoveries, I’ll stumble across a piece that then becomes my theme tune for the next few weeks. It’ll be that piece that I always have open, and I’ll listen to it about 6,774,221 before I finally move on. This week’s Writing Music is one of those pieces. Now, I’ve never actually seen A Goofy Movie, but I did find...

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Wow, it’s been quite a while since I wrote any kind of an update post. Not since Camp NaNo I think actually. And, as everything’s been rather quiet on the blog for the past couple of weeks, it’s probably time to write a goodly update post to explain everything that’s been happening for me in the past couple of weeks in all important...

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I’m editing Snow at the moment, which means that I’m feeling rather vulnerable as I face the awfulness that is my own writing (I swear editing read-throughs are one of the hardest parts of writing). Which means that this is obviously the perfect time for me to be participating in this month’s Snazzy Snippets link-up, hosted by the amazing Alyssa@The Devil Orders Takeout...

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I’m editing again at the moment, so of course I’m thinking a lot about the editing process. Mine is evolving all the time as I try new things and as each new book has different needs. For example, in the past, whenever I’ve edited a draft, I’ve edited it straight through, just like how I do when I write them, fixing whatever major...

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Non-writers are amazing people. They can be super supportive, even if they don’t quite get what you’re doing, interested in everything you’re up to, and happy to dissect books/characters/plots all day. Or they can say the most annoying things writers ever have to endure in a casual conversation. I think every writer has their own list of comments non-writers make to them on...

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Recently, I’ve been thinking about the advice writers are most often given. Things like ‘show don’t tell’ or ‘don’t use adverbs’. Advice which in and of itself is a great starting point. But there’s so much more to this advice than just these hackneyed phrases they get boiled down to. So today I thought I might unpack one such statement. And, having just...

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