You may choose to pen poetry about snowfall and roaring fires. All forms of creative writing are a valid way to let winter pass you by, opting for the consolation of words flowing while gales are blowing (ouch). What Is Stopping You/Me? Do we easily give ourselves permission to write…or do we continuously seek distractions and reasons why we cannot? Do we procrastinate or persevere? […]
Let me explain how I concluded this would be the PP topic for my next freewriting topic. Where We Are Now – What Next? The world stage seems dominated by pompous players. Surely we need a return to practical politicians…are we not, in fact, desperate for common sense and wholesome values? Recalibrating the Globe A recent edition of BBC One – The Repair Shop featured […]
Today’s writing prompt is my response to choosing the theme for my next novel. Which Novel – A Disclaimer At present, I am still seeking representation for the novel recently completed. And I’m told the best way to be using my time is to be writing the next novel, especially as I love it. However, I’m taking an artist break to think through the choices, […]
How Do Your Memories Feature In Your Writing? Please read my previous post on Auto/Biographical Writing in which I described a memory that is still important to me, and wrote a poem about my memory of following my grandmother into teaching. At what point might memory cross over into fiction, I’ve been wondering. We can never eliminate the expansive imagined material that our brains house. […]
This freewriting challenge has been prompted by a photo I took and recently featured on my Instagram page. I promised my followers I would post my piece on Later Writer, when written! Probably as a 20-minute freewrite. One Brick Less While being driven past this place, pausing for traffic lights or a crossroads, I noticed the missing brick at first. There are many possibilities but […]
How Many Words Make a Novel? Let us imagine you are about to begin planning or writing a novel…are you wondering how many words will be enough, and how many will be too much? What are the criteria for deciding the word count aim? The answers include publishing industry standards as well as decisions that are personal to your chosen story and/or genre. For once, […]
By now, the whole world has arrived in 2024. Many parts will hardly have noticed a difference, such is their current state of angst through manmade and natural disasters. My heart goes out to them, individuals, rescue workers, and leaders alike. Christmas Dinner itself took a change of direction back in 2022. My lovely husband spends too long feeding us both (with MS on board, […]
Let’s Think About Journaling – or Diary-Writing, Memoirs, Writing Practice The other day, I ripped apart my 2022 Diary, a beautiful book with a (reproduction) William Morris Strawberry Thief cover (like this). Why would I dispose of such a worthy item? Well, it is near the end of 2023, and my diary of last year was where I added snippets of prose, interesting words, notes […]
Let’s Think About Information – or Research for Fiction When writing non-fictionally – journalism, biography, travel, food, commentary etc – it is clear why research is needed. It provides the meat for the bones of your writing and keeps your topic relevant. Avoiding the tendency to waffle. When writing fictionally, it may be less obvious why research is required. Will it add anything to the […]