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Video Lessons on Writing

Blog Posts on Writing

Who’s causing trouble in your story?

What! You ask. Why trouble? Why would I need anyone to do this in a book? Have you ever heard that books are driven by conflict? This...

Memoir writing - 5 characters you need in your cast

Even though you may be the 'main character' in a memoir, this book is not just about you. Even non-fiction needs other characters. And...

A decade of no writing... then this

I had no name. No attachments. No family. No form. No purpose. I was a floating, formless, light being. Totally at peace in the vast,...

The 4 Questions Every Author Should Ask

It’s a romantic idea ... to ‘write a book’. It gives us a purpose and something to do. It gives us somewhere to pour our time into. It is...

Find your novel's genre (and sub-genre). Don't start until you are clear

Choosing a genre is the starting point in all fiction writing. I cannot stress this enough. Please do not start your book until you are...

The types of scenes your book needs

Books are loooooong and so many can be really boring. As an author that is your problem to solve, and it often means you need to engage...

How to Write About Yourself

Writing about yourself is an exercise in both honesty and storytelling. You are narrating your own life or experience, but you are also...

Rainmakers, Initiation and Climate Change

If Einstein was right, and a problem cannot be solved using the mindset that created it, perhaps we should be discussing our climate...

How to Build a Book (hint... scene by scene)

Writing a non-fiction story is like cracking a safe. It seems impossible at the beginning, but once you're in, you're in.’ Rich Cohen ...

The real work of writing

We write and write and write, and then someone asks the dreaded question… ‘so what is your book about?’ What happens? You stammer and...

Finding your book's golden thread

"We are all part of the old stories; whether we know the stories or not, the old stories know about us." Leslie Marmon Silko Below in...

My Greek Writing Adventure - Not Shirley Valentine but close!

As I faced the prospect of retrenchment a year ago, I spent some time with my friend Google, searching his pages for direction to my...

A writing retreat on a lesbian island? It shouldn't happen to a lawyer

Write your Book' the post read. 'Join us on a writing retreat on the beautiful Greek Island of Lesvos’. I had in fact written a book,...

Ten lessons from self-publishing romance novels

Francine Beaton writes romance novels. We asked to help us out by sharing some of the lessons she has learned. As a self-publishing...

Books that shine a light

What books have been important to you in your life? Which books do you keep on your shelf, no matter how many times you move and box and...

What publishers are looking for in 2022

People are devouring books in lockdown and stories that capture imaginations are rising. We did a talk recently on what books are being...

5 reasons you are not writing right now

We are all stuck at home. Life is slower and smaller. Is this not the place all writers want to find? A quiet, empty place to allow the...

How to write a memoir

Writing your own story is sometimes not an option - it is something you have to do. I'd Iike you to do it well. These tips are to take...

How to send your book to publishers and agents

If you have done all the long and hard work writing and polishing your book, it’s time to press play. If you want to get a publishing...

Closing a decade of no writing

I have come to believe that life offers us some heroic stories that can form and shape us into better people. The bad news is, seldom are...

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