Stephen King’s article, Imagery and the Third Eye, is an excellent reminder that we must describe enough for the reader to “see” a picture in their mind.
I’ve always believed that we shouldn’t describe everything. It’s never bothered me if a reader sees something different to what I saw when I wrote the story, as [...]

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A problem some writers have, is freeing their mind of restraints. Writing is a time to try new things. Just because you wouldn’t go mountain climbing, or scuba driving, or jump from a plane doesn’t mean your character wouldn’t do these things. Just because you wouldn’t murder someone, it doesn’t mean you [...]

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As a writer you should know your characters so well that if someone asked you a question about them, you would not show yourself up by not knowing the answer, or having to think about it for a few moments first. It doesn’t matter if you don’t use all the knowledge you have on [...]

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I wrote this for the Writers Email Group and thought I’d put it here too.
I don’t swear…no, that’s not right, I rarely swear. If I do, people know I’m seriously angry…and run. Yet I know lots and lots of people, including women (and children), who swear on a daily basis (no matter what [...]

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Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind is written large in his works.
~Virginia Woolf
Whilst looking for inspiration from those who have gone before us, I came across the above quote by Virginia Woolf. It reminded me of a discussion on my message board about [...]

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Writing a novel is not an easy thing to do. You have put time and effort into your planning stages and built your character profiles, now it’s time to… write! Remembering what was said in Beginnings and Endings, let’s take a look at the middle.

Constructing a Scene
Every scene in a story has both a verbal [...]

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Remember that your reader invests time and money into your story and it is important that your characters capture your reader’s attention, so that they will want to spend more time getting to know them. If the reader does not develop an interest or connection with the main characters from the beginning, chances are they [...]

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Multiple viewpoints are very useful in any novel! In the third person, several viewpoint’s allow the reader wider access to knowledge and events not necessarily involving each character in the story. In addition, changing the viewpoint will often increase the pace of the story and can be used to create mystery and tension.

It is acceptable [...]

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Why do you want to write? Is it to escape the world in which you live, to entertain other people, because you want to see your name on a shelf in a bookshop or simply because you enjoy the craft. Whatever the reason, if you want to write… write! However, take the time to work [...]

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