This week I had a whole day — yes, a whole day — to spend on research for the next book. I did some walking around town, mooning around the garden, lounging on the sofa making notes on my main character, but what took up the bulk of my time was looking up information onContinue reading “Google Histories and Survival Strategies”
Category Archives: Writing Fiction
Imagining a Brave New World
I am currently at that very exciting but very daunting stage of planning a new novel. I’m using the word ‘new’ in the loosest sense, because it’s actually going to be based on a novel I wrote about five years ago. It was rejected by publishers at the time and of course with the benefitContinue reading “Imagining a Brave New World”
The Glitter of the Grade
It’s that time of year again. The shops are full, the fairy lights are going up, and my students are handing in their submissions before going home for the holidays. For the next couple of weeks writing may be low on the list of priorities, but when we come back in January, thoughts often turnContinue reading “The Glitter of the Grade”
When The Cupboards Are Full…
There is an element of feast or famine to the writer’s life that can make even the most resilient lose faith. Particularly for novelists, there will be many years of writing with blind hope keeping them going and determination that not only will they finish the masterpiece, it will also be published and read byContinue reading “When The Cupboards Are Full…”
Rule Follower or Rule Breaker?
Many reports of Elmore Leonard’s recent death included mention of his 10 Rules for Writing. This list is something I often use as part of a classroom discussion on differing approaches to writing, but it also brings up thoughts on rules, ie, to follow or not to follow. For some people this is exactly whatContinue reading “Rule Follower or Rule Breaker?”
A Satnav For Life
The last few months I’ve found myself wishing for some kind of device that will tell me the right path to take, some sort of satnav for life, if you like. Whatever you want to do career-wise there will be decisions to make, moments where the path ahead forks with no way of knowing whichContinue reading “A Satnav For Life”
The Genius of Voice
Have you ever read a book where not very much happens, there isn’t any particular narrative drive or mystery or puzzle to be solved, but regardless you still find yourself desperate to know what’s going to happen next? This often results in trying to explain the wonders of the book to a fellow reader, butContinue reading “The Genius of Voice”
How to Live a Writer’s Life
Now, I realise the title of this post is a bold statement because let’s face it, finding the best way to live a writer’s life is the Holy Grail of all writerly quests. It’s one of the reasons I started writing this blog in fact, after having no end of sleepless nights trying to juggleContinue reading “How to Live a Writer’s Life”
How to Survive The Lifelong Learning Curve
It is a well known fact that writing is a long and slow process. Writers have to be determined and resilient, as well as innovative and flexible, which is quite a high wire act to pull off over a long period of time. You would hope that after writing five novels, three radio plays andContinue reading “How to Survive The Lifelong Learning Curve”
Sally Gander 