As creative writers, we’re well acquainted with the more familiar websites for writing tips, from Writer’s Digest to Write to Done. There are however, hundreds of other websites offering equally good advice, many of which (in my opinion) offer more original insights than the top dogs. Here are ten of my current favourites to share!:…
Tag: #writingcraft
Should We Write What We Know?
After reading Andy Weir’s Artemis (2017), I revisited the maddening maxim that’s haunted me for years; the sentence written on the blackboard before the professor’s even turned around: Write what you know. Or even more confusingly: Don’t write what you know! The reason why Artemis stimulated this age-old debate is because; while I didn’t think…
10 Romantic Creative Writing Exercises to Beguile and Inspire
“Strangelove, strange highs and strange lowsStrangelove, that’s how my love goes”- Depeche Mode Writing about love and romantic relationships is not my forte; in fact I don’t think I’ve ever attempted it other than in horrible poems and fat-lettered diary entries from when I was twelve:) Due to a current project it’s something I need…
Characterisation in Jaws Part 2
Quint: “Mr. Hooper, I’m not talkin’ about pleasure boatin’ or daily sailin’, I’m talkin’ about workin’ for a livin’, I’m talking about sharkin’!” Welcome back to the Jaws universe and the second part of my characterisation study. I trust that you haven’t had any shark problems between then and now— I’ve been swimming in the…
Characterisation in Jaws Part 1
Ellen Brody: What am I gonna tell the kids? Martin Brody: Tell ’em I’m going fishing. Note*: The film Jaws was based on Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel of the same name. After re-watching Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975), I realised that forty-four years and all the films made since have done nothing to remove it from…
Epistolary! Lusty Lovers of Letter Writing
‘Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls’ -John Donne The epistolary style is defined as a story which unfolds through a series of letters and other documents, such as newspaper articles, diary entries; even emails and blog posts! It’s a topical subject for me as I’m currently reading Where or When (1993) by the late…
3 ways Shirley Jackson can help you improve as a writer.
‘You’ll have your milk from your cup of stars tonight when we get home. But just for now, just to be a very good little girl, will you take a little milk from this glass?’(1) *Note: this article is not intended to explore the author’s life or critique their works in detail. It is simply…
Using a Time Limit in Your Story.
‘Tick tock, tick tock’ After finishing the first novel in the Ringu trilogy by Koji Suzuki last week it was evident that I hadn’t read a book so quickly in a long time. For those of you who haven’t read it or seen the film (the Japanese or American version), the basic plot is that…