Finding creative focus during the Covid-19 lockdown has been tricky for many writers and creatives and I’m no exception. Like many of you, I’m working from home, following all the advice about social distancing and trying to stay motivated and sane in these scary times we’re currently living through. No news is good news ….
Category: Writing Tips/Advice
How to know when an idea is ‘THE IDEA’
As writers and creatives, the problem is rarely ‘I have no ideas’. It’s usually quite the opposite and we get inundated with the damn things. So how do we know which one is ‘THE IDEA’, the one that has the legs, the depth and the originality to be worthy of our valuable time? It’s a…
3 Ways Short Stories Will Improve Your Novel
Short stories can help improve your writing and freshen things up when you’re bogged down in a novel. In my last post I talked about the need to ‘reset’ and ‘rewrite your attitude’ when things get tough during a longer project, and taking a break to write something short can be a great way to…
How Hosting a Podcast Has Changed My Writing Life
Hosting a podcast is changing my writing life. I know, I know. We’ve been here before. Me talking all excited and motivated. Telling you about how I’ll be blogging every week. But this time I mean it. Honest. Wipe that smirk off your face and get with the programme, will you? I’m trying to be…
Parker and why we love an anti-hero
Richard Stark’s Parker novels offer the perfect anti-hero and inspired my own protagonist.
Stuck on your WIP? Skip to the end . . .
Stuck on your WIP? Things getting a little like wading through treacle? My advice? Skip to the end! That’s exactly what I’ve been doing after a long spell of procrastination and self-doubt. http://67.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltslooUuel1r5ceufo1_500.gif Last time I gave you any kind of update, I was still in the honeymoon period of writing my second novel. 25,000…
Finishing my First Draft – The End of The Beginning
“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” – Winston Churchill, 1942. Let’s skip forward a few decades. Wednesday May 29th, 2015. The day I finally typed ‘The End’ on the manuscript of the first draft of…
The Novel Dilemma – When should you quit your WIP?
I have a dilemma and I need your advice. I have a 79,000 word WIP and I think I’m on the verge of abandoning it for the foreseeable future. Here’s why: In November 2012, as part of Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month), I wrote almost 56,000 words of my novel, Let Sleeping Gods Lie. In…
Why you should be listening to podcasts – grabbing inspiration on the move.
Podcasts are a great way to multi-task – getting advice on writing from shows like Writing Excuses, listening to the musings of comedians like Bill Burr or getting hooked on true crime stories like the brilliant Serial. I’ve been listening to podcasts for several years and as of last December, I’ve even begun to…
No one said it would be easy . . .
This will be a short post as I still intend to do a “Review of the Year/Looking Forward” type piece to kick off January, but yes, I feel I have neglected the Kelly’s Eye blog of late – my last real post being way back in July. July?! I blinked and now I’m staring down…