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Author Interview: Clare O’Dea
Clare O’Dea I am thrilled to welcome this week to my blog Clare O’Dea. She is an Irish author, journalist and translator living and working in Switzerland. Her first book, The Naked Swiss: A Nation...
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7 prompts for writers #3: characterisation
Another Place, sculpture by Anthony Gormley I find the idea for a character in a story can come from anywhere. It might be someone glimpsed on the street or a snatch of conversation overheard or from a...
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Author Interview: Maggie James
This week I am delighted to invite fellow writer, Maggie James to my blog. Living in Bristol, she writes psychological suspense novels. Her first book, His Kidnapper’s Shoes, was completed in 2011 and...
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7 prompts for wrtiers #4: voice
Another Place by Antony Gormley Voice is an interesting aspect to writing – at least I find it so. I think of it in two ways. First, there is the writer’s voice. The often difficult-to pin-down...
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Author Interviews: Renita D’Silva
I am thrilled to be inviting Renita D’Silva to my blog. I very much enjoyed her novel A Mother’s Secret (https://goo.gl/i2ZVaQ) and I hope you will you enjoy this interview with her. Renita D’Silva...
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A writing life: crowdfunding a book publication
I am very happy to welcome to my blog, Catherine Evans (no relation!) who has chosen to crowdfund the publication of her novel via the publisher Unbound (see: https://unbound.com/books/the-wrongun)....
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7 prompts for writers #5: building characters
Keen-eyed readers of this blog will notice that this is the third post in my ‘7 prompts for writers…’ strand which is about characterisation. Some of you might be wondering why I keep coming back to...
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Author Interview: Jared A Carnie
Welcome to Jared A. Carnie for this week’s Author Interview. Jared A. Carnie has written ever since he was little. His writing has appeared in various zines, journals and anthologies. He won a Northern...
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7 Prompts for Writers #6: plot
OK, by now you are writing regularly and exploring voice and characterisation (see previous 7 Prompts for Writers posts). At some point, if you are writing prose, (though there is some argument...
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Author Interview: Lynne Blackwell
Welcome to Lynne Blackwell to my blog. Lynne writes crime fiction/domestic noir. After a stint in the Special Constabulary, Lynne began her nurse training, working mainly in acute general and...
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7 Prompts for Writers #7: Poetry
Poets and readers of poetry will spend endless amounts of time arguing about what is poetry. For some, a poem is not a poem unless it rhymes and sticks to a strict rhythmic pattern. I happen to...
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Writing the therapeutic journey #1: a part of my story
Anniversaries are interesting things. As human beings we seem fascinated by them. I suppose they give a focal point for remembering, for reflection, for noticing the years are passing (on their...
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Writing the therapeutic journey #2: where are we headed?
‘Writing isn’t really to do with sitting at the desk at all,’ said the late, much-lamented, Helen Dunmore in a Guardian interview in 2016. She was talking about writers connecting with the world in...
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Writing the therapeutic journey #3: how to get going
Let’s be clear, I am not talking about writing which aims at an outcome, for example results in something to share such as a poem, a story, a novel, a piece of drama. This is another branch-line which...
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Writing the therapeutic journey #4: where’s the evidence?
I have prefaced much of the previous posts with ‘I believe’. This belief comes from my own experience, from working with others through writing, and from reading and studying what others say about...
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Writing the therapeutic journey #5: Creating a Safe Space
Welcome back to my occasional series on Creative Writing for Wellbeing. Given it’s been a while since I posted, I would urge those who have not already done so, to read the previous posts in the...
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Writing the therapeutic journey #6: reflecting as we go
These blog posts are about exploring creative writing as a support for our mental health and our over-all wellbeing. The first aspect to this is to have the impulse to write, the second is to get words...
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Writing the therapeutic journey #7: Point of View
These blog posts are about exploring creative writing as a support for our mental health and our over-all wellbeing. With some practice and a fair wind, you are writing more freely and uncovering some...
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The Strange Case of the Disappearing Twin
In my last post in this series, I suggested ways in which to become more reflexive about ourselves and how we interact with the world through interrogating our creative writing with reflexive...
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The Strange Case of the Disappearing Twin Part Two
The Strange Case of the Disappearing Twin. What crafting a crime novel told me about myself. Back with the final part… If you missed the first part, click here: https://goo.gl/Fu8BYR In 2012,...
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