Tag Archives: personaldevelopment

Creative writing groups: they’re many and varied. Find the right one for you.

Who here attends in-person creative writing groups? 🙋‍♀️ TL;DR – They’re so varied. If you try one and don’t like it, try others. Here are some reflections on the creative writing groups I’ve attended over the years. ⭐ A weekly group in a Leeds cafe after closing, perhaps a Thursday evening. Great. Nice atmosphere. GoodContinue reading “Creative writing groups: they’re many and varied. Find the right one for you.”

Notebooks for ‘ink’sight. The KWL evaluation method is a writer’s secret weapon.

Evaluation is a skill you need wherever you are in your writing career. Use one of your many notebooks to identify what you Know, what you Want to know, and – once you’ve looked up the answers to your questions – what you’ve Learnt. If you’ve evaluated that your storytelling craft could use some work,Continue reading “Notebooks for ‘ink’sight. The KWL evaluation method is a writer’s secret weapon.”

‘Show don’t tell’ is a useful rule of thumb. Here are some easy wins.

Struggling to express your characters’ emotions without telling? Let me help! Here’s a sneak peek into a no-stress method. 👉 Negative emotion ‘tells’ to avoid: He felt frustrated. 🚫 They looked uncomfortable. 🚫 She was sad. 🚫 👍 Better to ‘show’: He grabbed his coat and left. ✔ They fidgeted in their seats. ✔ SheContinue reading “‘Show don’t tell’ is a useful rule of thumb. Here are some easy wins.”

‘This was meant to be the year that I…’ Would I be right to assume you’re in a philosophical mood?

💭 “This was meant to be the year that I…” I’ve been thinking about an image. It shows a guy doing an about-turn. He’s mining for diamonds and he’s hunched over. He’s expended so much energy and he has no more reserves. But what he doesn’t realise is that there’s only a thin layer ofContinue reading “‘This was meant to be the year that I…’ Would I be right to assume you’re in a philosophical mood?”

Calling all aspiring or early-career SFF writers… Work on your story craft in 2024.

copy-of-calling-all-aspiring-or-earl-career-sff-writers Do you have a spare couple of hours free from the week beginning 29th January 2024? Join a small cohort of like-minded SFF writers for a self-paced, tutor-supported SFF storytelling course. Click here to secure your spot.

Cherry Edits: Editing and proofreading scores on the doors. 🔢

I’ve been proofreading and editing for several years now. Here’s a brief overview of how much experience I’ve had. The first five years (part-time): ◽ 49 projects ◽ 2,132,069 words Year six (full-time): ◽ 23 projects ◽ 1,356,360 words Total so far: ◽ 72 projects ◽ 3,488,429 words Thank you to all the authors whoContinue reading “Cherry Edits: Editing and proofreading scores on the doors. 🔢”

When words cross borders. Are we on the same page about literary translations? Considerations as a reader, an educator, and an editor.

Discover the world of literary translations and gain insights as a reader, educator, and editor. Explore considerations, cultural perspectives, and the importance of staying true to the author’s intention. Join the conversation on words crossing borders in this thought-provoking blog post.

It’s an indie life for me, but I have a healthy respect for traditional publishing.

I bang on about indie publishing because it aligns with my values. But that doesn’t mean I have a problem with traditional publishing. For instance, I like to know how things are done in traditional publishing to make sure my indie clients get a professional service from me, even though they’ve not gone the tradContinue reading “It’s an indie life for me, but I have a healthy respect for traditional publishing.”