Tag Archives: Writing advice

How to Sell Your Book in a Few Words by Colin Brush

Posted on 21 July 2020 by

This is the beginning of a series of weekly how-to posts by Colin Brush. Follow this blog to get all the instalments. ‘If you think you have a book evolving, now is the time to write the flap copy – … Continue reading →

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Handy Habits by Ben Jeapes

Posted on 7 July 2020 by

Will it sound unbearably smug if I say that lockdown hasn’t really affected me? Apart from getting a new computer. Otherwise normal service has continued pretty well without interruption. I don’t want it to sound smug, because I know people … Continue reading →

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Make Me Care by Sue Thomason

Posted on 26 May 2020 by

First posted 9th May 2017 Writer, I have just picked up your novel, and I’m reading the opening pages. I’ve opened the door of the mind-transporter; here comes my first glimpse of a whole new world. It looks good, and … Continue reading →

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That Difficult Second Novel by Jacey Bedford

Posted on 31 March 2020 by

First published on Jacey Bedford’s blog This blog post was written in November 2013, after I got my first three book deal from DAW, but before any of my books had been published. My first book, Empire of Dust, was … Continue reading →

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Writing: Art or Craft? by David Gullen

Posted on 25 February 2020 by

I remember a conversation in my first writing group from many years ago about whether or not writing could be taught. Some people thought no, that writing alone in all the fields of human endeavour, was somehow special and the … Continue reading →

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Transparent Head Syndrome by Jim Anderson

Posted on 3 December 2019 by

First published on multijimbo, 2nd November 2019 I first learned about transparent head syndrome during a critique session at the Milford Science Fiction Writers Conference, though it is with some significant regret that I cannot remember who first used the … Continue reading →

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Write What Someone Knows by Ben Jeapes

Posted on 26 November 2019 by

First posted on the Milford blog inMarch 2017 “Bad books on writing tell you to “WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW”, a solemn and totally false adage that is the reason there exist so many mediocre novels about English professors contemplating adultery.” … Continue reading →

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Mind The Gap: Communicating Information to Your Audience by Sam Tovey

Posted on 12 November 2019 by

As a writer, it can be frustrating to learn that the story in your head is not the same as the story your audience is reading on the page. Whether it’s a plot point, some description, a character motivation, or … Continue reading →

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Inspiration, by Nancy Jane Moore

Posted on 20 August 2019 by

Last fall, I saw that Locus was hosting a one-day master writing workshop in Oakland, California (where I live), with Kim Stanley Robinson and said to myself, “Hmm. Maybe I should do that.” And then didn’t do anything about it, … Continue reading →

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Writing Tip: Using Wordle to highlight overused words – by Jacey Bedford

Posted on 19 February 2019 by

Wordle used to be a web-based utility, a web toy that allowed you to paste in a piece of writing to make a word cloud. The more frequently a word appeared in your text, the bigger it appeared in the … Continue reading →

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