I'd like to introduce a new weekly feature on the blog. Quote of the Week is going to be exactly what it sounds like: a favourite quote from something I've been reading, whether it's profound, funny, beautiful or memorable. This week I've been ill. And when I'm ill, I read children's books. So my first … Continue reading Quote of the Week: A.A.Milne
"This is the worst journey ever!" the driver declared, after we'd been pretty much stationary in traffic for two hours. "Is it really though? At least we're not walking to Mordor. That would be worse," I attempted to instil some optimism to the car atmosphere. "Nope, that definitely wouldn't be as bad as this." And … Continue reading Terrible TripAdvisor Reviews from Fiction
Do you need a bitter black coffee or a syrup-sweet cup of froth to get your writing back on track?
We all know there's no greater authority on winning at relationships than Jane Austen. So when it comes to Valentine's Day, we could all do with learning a thing or two from her characters. I studied her works at great length to extract these valuable lessons, so I hope you find them useful. If you're … Continue reading The Jane Austen Guide to Valentine’s Day
Part of a writer's magic is to take something seemingly ordinary and make it interesting. But every author and every story will do this in a slightly different way. With the right context or character quirks, a writer can make something of the most mundane exchange. Take, for example, a short conversation about one of … Continue reading Authorial Voice (some beloved writers complain about the weather)
NaNoWriMo is approaching fast, and even if you aren't taking part, you can probably expect frenzied social media updates from your friends and contacts who are taking on the challenge this year. If you need some help making sense of it all, I like to think of it as a lot like the plot of The Lord … Continue reading NaNoWriMo Explained as The Lord of the Rings
I decided to do something a bit different today. I've seen a lot of posts following the '17 things you should NEVER say to a...' format. Now, the part of my brain that overthinks EVERYTHING wonders if I'm seeing a bit of subtext here: 'we (the named group in this post) are just so misunderstood. And … Continue reading 10 Great Things to Say to a Writer
