Those who subscribe to my newsletter will have received one tool I use to create a memorable character. But how can we deep dive into our characters so the reader will keep turning the pages? 1. Look at the fictional characters you love and ask yourself why Writers are readers. Which fictional characters are memorable …
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On the 24th of September 1974, premature twins Guy and Sarah were born. By the 30th of September, both were buried. Guy lived for one day. Sarah, for ten hours. I never knew them because I wouldn’t be born for another nine years, but they are still my brother and sister. What does this have …
Balancing Show and Tell Writers often hear the advice we should show, not tell, in our writing. I like to strike a healthy balance between the two. But how can we show our characters more effectively? Let’s take two examples: ‘Get out,’ he said angrily. The first example is a classic example of a tell. …
All right, I’ll admit it. I am totally guilty of setting myself a reading challenge on Goodreads. This year, I’ve lowered the bar to eighteen. In previous years, I aimed for fifty-two; a book a week. I achieved it (once, I think). Last year, I didn’t. I noticed my anxiety surge because it was November, …
April heralds the first Camp NaNoWriMo for 2023, and I’m giving it a miss. Why? Because, personally, NaNoWriMo never works for me. The Deadline I’m not against deadlines. I enjoy the adrenaline buzz those short periods of stress can propel me to achieve. Except, it doesn’t work like that with my writing methods, and combined …
What is Polarity? Polarity is something with two poles with many degrees of separation between them. One pole cannot exist without the other. Duality holds a similar meaning, but instead of being seen as the poles of one thing, each is its own separate entity. Let’s take the example of good and evil. Duality sees …
Ah, June! The sun has made a comeback. What better than to read a murder mystery set in the baking hot Egyptian desert while sunbathing on the beach! Amelia Peabody is a guilty pleasure read. But come on, every book comes with a dose of Egyptology and a feminist Indiana Jones mixed with murder, mystery, …
Books The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood The plot is well known, and considering the erosion of women’s rights in the USA, reality draws some worryingly similar parallels to the novel. However, I could not get into it. First, the lack of quotation marks makes deciphering what is and isn’t dialogue a chore, and it …
Audiobooks The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien (read by Andy Serkis) There is no point in me harping on about this brilliant novel. However, I will talk about the narration of this audiobook version. During the Covid lockdown, Andy Serkis streamed a live reading of The Hobbit for charity, which I tuned into. …