As many of you will know, I recently enjoyed a stint as the editor of Chapter & Verse magazine. Unfortunately, due to other time commitments, I have had to step down. Selecting winning submissions from the many stories and poems received every quarter not only gave me the opportunity to read voices from different parts of the world, at different stages of their writing career, but also valuable experience of being on the receiving end of the submission process. Read the rest of this entry »

As usual, thanks to Emily for last week’s blog. She’s absolutely right – one of our most frequently asked questions is, ‘What can I write about?’ After a long day it’s easy to be unsympathetic and think – well you want to be a writer, so surely your brain should be bursting with ideas. But it isn’t that easy. Most people suffer at one time or another from the inability to find a suitable topic. Read the rest of this entry »

Something all of our students seem to struggle with at some stage in their course is finding an idea for something worth writing about. It’s one of the questions I must get asked at least ten times a day, and as a fledgling writer myself I can completely sympathise. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to Shelley for her tips on entering our Short Story Competition. They are wise words and anyone who ignores them is just wasting their entry fee – and no-one can afford to do that in these cash-strapped times. Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you who don’t already know, The Writers Bureau Short Story Competition 2012 is accepting entries, and they are coming in thick and fast. The closing date is not until June, but the sooner you get yours written the better. Why? Because it gives you plenty of time to revise and edit it to perfection. If you’ve not even thought of entering, why not have a go? And, to get you started here are some great tips for writing super short stories. Read the rest of this entry »