Thoughts about writing during this strange time I keep going through periods of wildly fluctuating productivity with my writing. Or maybe that’s not strictly true. My output might stay the same, but a chapter can take me half an hour to edit or a whole morning. And writing feels easy, the ideas flow, or itContinue reading “Sustain”
Category Archives: Writing
Start
Why I began writing – the origin story I always wanted to be a writer. Books were my refuge when I was small. Authors like Jacqueline Wilson, Roald Dahl, and Jill Murphy were my heroes. My writing tastes diversified as I grew, diving into Malorie Blackman, Louise Rennison, and Jane Austen. I read widely andContinue reading “Start”
Habit
How do we make writing a habit? A lot of you will have experienced that wave of creativity when you first start writing. Suddenly, something clicks and you’re away. It may last for only an hour, or a few days. Mine lasted for the whole of the first draft of my first book. I wasContinue reading “Habit”
Failure
How you feel about failure will affect your writing Nobody likes failure. No one is pleased when something they’d dreamt about doesn’t go how they’d planned. We don’t like it on a small scale (that poem that just will not come together in the way we want), and we especially don’t like it on largerContinue reading “Failure”
Comparison
Don’t let comparison titles steal your joy There is a lot of talk about using comparison titles in query letters to agents and it can feel like a minefield. How do you find the right things to compare your book to and why go to all that effort? The main reason – they are aContinue reading “Comparison”
Partner
What is a critique partner? A critique partner is someone who gives detailed feedback on your writing. Unlike beta readers, these are people you swap stories with. There is a bigger element of give-and-take in this relationship, and it is one I have found incredibly valuable. To give more of an insight into what aContinue reading “Partner”
Words
The writing of a first draft I have just finished writing the first draft of a story. I feel like doing a jig. For anyone who has ever completed a first draft – you know what I’m talking about. For those of you who haven’t YET – it is well worth all the hours putContinue reading “Words”
Letter 2
One way to structure a query letter There are many different ways to write a query letter. The one thing to ALWAYS remember is to follow agency guidelines. If they tell you to shuffle everything around, then do it! But most agencies aren’t very specific about the actual structure of the query letter you sendContinue reading “Letter 2”
Letter 1
Top tips on writing a query letter from someone who made many mistakes I am not going to share my first query letter with you. Nope. No way. That thing was a hot mess. I will, however, share my final query letter with you. I still maintain that it’s a little messy, but thankfully notContinue reading “Letter 1”
Lonely
Loneliness was the predominate emotion I carried during my time querying. Of course there were the crushing blows when an agent who was perfect passed on my submission, and the highs when my full manuscript was requested, but most of the time… I felt alone. It felt kinda shameful to get rejected, especially so consistently.Continue reading “Lonely”
