Story Stuff: L is For Likable vs Livable
Sometimes I hear gripes from critique partners or beta readers that one of my characters isn’t likable (I won’t say which characters because I don’t want to poison the well, in case any of you want to...
View Article3 Things to Do When You Can’t Use Your Favorite Writing Style
As long-time readers of this site probably know, I’ve been dabbling with longer writing projects over the past year or so. Well, after an attempt at writing a sci-fi horror thriller novel failed at...
View ArticleWriting for Others–Writing for Yourself
Writers are often asked if they write for themselves or for others. In some ways, it’s a meaningless question: most authors wouldn’t have chosen such an uncertain profession if they didn’t obtain...
View Article7 Writing Rules For Fiction
Overwhelmed by fiction-writing advice? Me too, and I’m an editor as well as a writer. Everyone and anyone who has a blog or website seems to be keen on throwing in their penny’s worth. A lot of it is...
View ArticleWhy Choose Indie Publishing?
With the release of my debut novel, Mist Falcon, I’ve been asked why I decided to indie publish. Inherent in the undertone of this question lies a second question, perhaps more to the point: was my...
View ArticleWhat is Your Character’s Fatal Flaw?
If you look at great characters in literature, they each have a flaw which drives the plot forward. I strongly believe that one of the most important pieces of advice for writing a character is to give...
View ArticleTop 10 Things You Need to Consider If You Want to Write Comedy
I’ve been asked numerous times (less than 3) on how do I get in the mood to write comedy. Only on rare occasions (more than 390 times a year) do these answers haunt the back of my mind. This is not a...
View ArticleHow Writing a Novel is Like Raising an Unruly Child
Maybe you’re not so keen on the story you’re writing. Or maybe you’ve finished your novel already (stranger things have happened). Or maybe you’re so sick of your characters that you’ve written them...
View ArticleHow to Research a Location You Haven’t Actually Been To
So far I’ve been able to visit most of the locations I’ve used in my books. My settings range from Edinburgh to the south coast of France, and they are all within easy reach for me. But sometimes it’s...
View Article10 Things Every Nervous Writer Should Know
1. More writers are nervous about writing, querying, publishing, etc. than you think. We just don’t talk about it enough. 2. Fearing failure is normal and OK, as long as you’re also willing to face...
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