I sometimes feel a bit uncomfortable when people ask me to give advice to other writers. Though I’ve worked hard on my style over the years, and I think I’m a fairly good storyteller, I’ve never been on a bestsellers list or won any kind of major prize. So for this month’s ten top tips I’ve dug up a collection of gems from some really successful wordsmiths. Now, these tips are all guaranteed good, any one of them will make a better writer of you. Even so, they won’t write your book for you – you’ll still have to do that yourself. They may help keep your spirits up along the way though. So, enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »

How did we ever survive without the internet? Just twenty years ago, it was a new-fangled ‘thing’ for programmers and academics. Folk like us only got to play with it occasionally. And when we did, it was stunningly unimpressive.

Now though, I lose track of the number of times I log on every day. What will the weather be like? Check online. Fancy hearing that old LP from 1987? It’s on Youtube. Want to know who acted with John Wayne in ‘Stagecoach?’ Google it. What a fantastic resource. Read the rest of this entry »

How long does it take to write a story? Well … how long have you got? I am SO bad at getting things finished. I’ve even got the first draft of a story about computers taking over domestic life that I wrote long-hand nearly twenty years ago, sat on a shelf in a dusty old notebook. I never proofed it, never worked it up to a second draft, never even got round to typing it into my laptop. It’s still relevant, and still works. So why haven’t I done anything with it? I don’t know. I’ve been busy. Read the rest of this entry »

The results of the Writers Bureau’s 2014 Short Story Competition were announced last week. Glenda Cooper – 1^st prize, bagged herself  a very tasty £500 (which isn’t to be sniffed at). Her story ‘Kissing Him Goodbye’ is on the website, one of the four winning pieces; all well worth reading, if you’ve not been there already. Read the rest of this entry »

Right, listen. I’ve got to get this off my chest – writing is no simple thing. Read the rest of this entry »