I wouldn’t have dared tell myself I was going to write Comedy until I wrote it. Working on my first novel, as I became more comfortable in the story-telling, humour became an inherent part of the mix. Initially, I didn’t think about trying to make readers smile. I saw it as a way to make the writing more enjoyable … Continue reading The Funny Thing is… Writing Comedy

I was thinking recently about what to post on Instagram. There are some great sites, full of all things bookish and beautiful. Unarguably photogenic moments, captured all over the world. Typewriters surrounded by fresh blossoms. Inspiring quotes in exquisite fonts. Slogan coffee cups and notebooks. But, scrolling through Instagram got me thinking, that’s not what … Continue reading Writing: What it Looks Like

Whether you’re improvising at home, or jetting off to pastures new, book your ticket on these literary adventures, for instant Sun, Sea, and…Text. Call Me by Your Name - André Aciman American-Italian, Elio, recounts the long, desirous days of summer 1987, when he shared ‘instant affinities’ with doctoral student, Oliver, a guest at his parents’ Tuscan villa. … Continue reading A Page in the Sun

  Full-time employee by day, aspiring novelist by night? Then you’ve come to the right article, my friend! That’s how every author who ever nabbed a publishing deal started out. Yup, even your absolute favourites. I’m talking the real heavyweights. Charles Dickens? Factory worker. Douglas Adams cleaned chicken sheds. JD Salinger became Entertainment Director onboard a … Continue reading Real Life v Fiction

The number one question put to any novelist: Where do you get your ideas? Dipping the nib in the old brainbox, is the honest, if uninspiring, answer. There’s a myth that novelists possess some kind of inky alchemy. The truth is, novels start developing either one of two ways. They’re either driven by plot, or … Continue reading Imagination in Ink

Think about your favourite books and, sure enough, it’s your favourite characters who take centre stage. For all the most original, fascinating plot twists, without a strong reaction to indelible characters, would we really care to turn (or scroll) the pages alongside them? Characters are at the heart of your story and the engine behind … Continue reading Creating Characters – The Real Storytellers

For most of us, it’s a condition easily treatable with a quick sip of honey and lemon or the kind offer of a Strepsil. Finding your voice sounds like some kind of pompous affliction writers complain about to somehow validate literary prowess. While the whole issue of Voice sounds horribly pretentious, it actually comes down … Continue reading Finding Your Voice as a Writer

Ah! The Muse. That lovely, literary sprite who flutters helpfully around our shoulders, filling our eager, little minds with wonderful ideas and standalone characters, which appear out of the blue, in glorious, black ink! Except, it doesn’t quite work that way, does it? And, believe me, if it did, there would be a lot more people … Continue reading Music as The Muse