Writing (two) books during the pandemic
It’s a hell of a time to be an outdoor writer, isn’t it? Since the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off early this year, I have written not one but…
Tag: writing
Why I don’t use blue ink any more
In 2007, I made the first of several visits to the Alpine Club archives in London. I was conducting research for the novel that would eventually become The…
A new Commonplace Book
For many years I have kept quotes and snippets from everything I’ve read, adopting the ancient technique of the ‘commonplace book’ to facilitate later analysis and interpretation. Until…
Things I wish I’d known as a new writer
A few things you won’t learn on that creative writing course Of all the emails I receive each week, a small but growing number are from new writers…
A roundup of my published outdoor writing in November 2017
It’s been a busy month for outdoor writing. I’ve written a number of features for The Great Outdoors – skills pieces, interviews and more – an interview for…
NaNoWriMo week three: capitulation
After just over 25,000 words, I’m calling it quits on NaNoWriMo 2017. It was always going to be a tall order, if I’m honest – I noted before…
Social media for writers
‘Oh, you’ve written a book? You have to be on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Google+ … or you will never sell a single copy.’ Does that…
Why I’ll be attempting NaNoWriMo this year
For the fourth time in fifteen years, I’ll be attempting to write 50,000 words of fiction this November. Here’s why, and what I hope to achieve.
Pausing for breath
They say freelancing is a feast or famine business. Over the last ten weeks or so I’ve really learned what that actually means.
Ulysses 2.6 review
The best professional writing app for OS X and iOS – no, not Scrivener – just received a major new release. Here’s an overview of the new features,…
There will always be gatekeepers
When modern indie publishing took off, writers rejoiced that there were no longer any ‘gatekeepers’ – arbiters of quality perceived to stand between a writer and success. In…
Writing effective dialogue in fiction
As an editor, I’ve seen all kinds of dialogue in fiction: poor, excellent, and every possible grade in between. In this article I’m going to give you some…