A muse is similar to a witch’s familiar, which is usually associated with a black cat. The cat is a companion to the witch, but it doesn’t do the work of the old hag (although it can be a pair of extra eyes, which I suppose she could find helpful). A muse on [...]

Filed under: Editing & Rewrites, Planning, Style & Voice, Writing Habits, Writing for Children, Writing: | 1 Comment »

This is another topic that is inspired by Chris Baty’s No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days.
Chris said that after the first year of NaNoWriMo he discovered an urge to seriously write the next best seller. He quickly arranged for three months off work so that [...]

Filed under: My Writing:, Writing Habits, Writing: | 6 Comments »

On Friday night I actually started reading No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days.
Chris Baty, the author, is the founder of NaNoWriMo and starts off by telling us the history of the project. He wrote about the first year NaNo came into existence and how there [...]

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The last month has seen me increasingly busy over at Speculative Realm (which has now moved to its own website). The submissions are pouring in, which is great, but I’m seeing a pattern with the submissions which concerns me…yet also gives me (as a writer) hope.
I’m noticing that quite a few of the authors [...]

Filed under: Agents, Publishers & Assessors, Anthology Stories, My Writing:, Submission Process, Writing: | 4 Comments »

I’ve been plotting novels and short stories for some years now, but that doesn’t mean I think I know everything that needs to be known on the subject. Because of this, I continually borrow books from the library, or purchase them if they are being sold at the right price, to ensure I’m not [...]

Filed under: Characterisation, Editing & Rewrites, Planning, World Building, Writing for Children, Writing: | 7 Comments »

Not all your characters are important. They cannot all have the starring role, or even the supporting role, but they should be important in their own way to the story. With this in mind, how do we sort the characters into groups in order to find out who should be there and who [...]

Filed under: Characterisation, Planning, Writing: | 1 Comment »

Many writers keep a notebook handy just in case a brilliant, or even a not so brilliant, idea comes to them while shopping, sitting in the doctor’s surgery, having a coffee, or while doing the chores. Ideas can pop into our heads at any moment. Some writers carry a notebook at all [...]

Filed under: Planning, Writing: | 6 Comments »

by Lea Schizas
No, not conflict of interest…not conflict within your being…but conflict found in a story.
What exactly is conflict in a story? Simple…a problem/obstacle your main character needs to overcome by the end of the story. Think of it as your engine that drives your car forward. Without one your car remains idle, collecting dust [...]

Filed under: Books & Movies, Characterisation, Planning, Writing for Children, Writing: | No Comments »

Here are a couple of links for children’s markets. The first is for Children’s Book Publishers and the second is for Children’s Magazine Publishers.
Both the links lead to the same website, but I feel it’s important to link to both pages (or one might get overlooked).
Be sure to read the comments left [...]

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It seems the procedure for non-fiction isn’t the same as fiction.
With fiction, a writer spends many months writing, editing and proofing the manuscript until they get it to the best of their ability. Then they send out queries and hopefully receive a request to submit.
With non-fiction, a writer spends months [...]

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