The weather: cliché or clever? Here’s some hints about deciding what to do with meteorological conditions in your fiction writing.
Tag Archives: Writing
How much should I write?
One of the most frequently asked questions is: how long should my book be? This week, we’ll look at length (keep the jokes to yourself!).
My self-publishing journey: part one
This is going to be a little different from my normal blog posts. An occasional series of blogs, charting my journey to self-publishing. This isn’t my first self-publishing adventure: I first published in 2016. But now, having done lots of editorial training, I’m going back and re-releasing my first book.
Genre: Does it matter?
Genre is a lovely way for your local bookshop, library or internet retailer to classify and sort books. But as a writer, does genre really matter? Does worrying about genre mean you will pigeonhole yourself?
Suddenly, the editor deleted my words
A client recently asked me if I ever have an opinion on certain words. I don’t. Words are there to communicate a message – to tell a story. I do not sit with a dictionary ticking off the words I love and scratching out the words I hate.
Except one.
A Very Sweary Dictionary
When I’m editing or proofreading, I’ll use a variety of tools and reference materials in order to get things right. Along with spelling, one of the biggest things to watch for is hyphenation, closing up or opening up of words.
On LGBTQ+ editing: Characters
This is the first in a mini-series of posts looking LGBTQ+ fiction editing. By LGBTQ+ fiction, I mean any fiction that features LGBTQ+ characters. From erotica to science fiction, stopping off at romance, fantasy and historical. No genre should now be without LGBTQ+ representation.
Self-publishing skills: Writing with grit and determination
It’s said that everyone has a book in them. And that’s probably true. More than one, possibly. We dream, we imagine, we say “what if?” and play out lots of scenarios in our heads.
Fact in fiction
Just because the characters and the story have come from your imagination, there is still a place for fact in fiction. Getting that right is key – and is also just one of a number of things that your editor will be checking.
Emails, tweets, texts …
Emails, texts, tweets and status updates. They are everywhere in our lives and so, increasingly, they are finding their way into novels.
But exactly how do you show this emails, texts, tweets and the like in your own writing?
