
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
‘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…
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.
They say freelancing is a feast or famine business. Over the last ten weeks or so I’ve really learned what that actually means.
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,…
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…
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…