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General Writing Tips
In this section you'll find general writing tips - on technique, on getting started, on overcoming writer's block, and more!
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Six Quick Tips on Technique
Marg McAlister
Here are six quick tips on technique. You'll find that they barely scratch the surface - they're more 'flags' to tell you what you need to look for. Every one of them should lead you to hundreds of articles telling you exactly how to achieve the effect you want in your work in progress. When you check your work against the list below, be honest about the need to brush up on any areas of weakness. . . . keep reading
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Getting a Novel Right Part 2 - Redrafting
Marg McAlister
At one time or another, you're bound to read through something you've written and realise with a dreadful sinking feeling that it Just Doesn't Work. The temptation is to ignore this knowledge and pretend it isn't so. Understandable enough. No-one wants to admit that months (or years) of hard work has just gone down the drain. . . . keep reading
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Getting a Novel Right Part 1 - Rewriting
Marg McAlister
When you finish your novel, resist the impulse to simply bundle the thing up and send it away with a kiss and a prayer. You should check your novel from several different angles: first, the obvious things like spelling, typographical errors and grammar, then the not-so-obvious things like characterisation, motivation, style, transitions and flashbacks. . . . keep reading
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Using Microsoft OneNote
for Writing Research and Notes
Marg McAlister
How Microsoft OneNote can help any writer stay organised: take notes, drag pictures and website clippings around, and even capture emails to send to your notes folder. Whether you're researching a family history, chasing up details for a forensic thriller, or writing a novel... this program will be a real boon. . . . keep reading
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The Many Pitfalls of a Novel Novelist
Steve Martin
A time-honored sage once said 'there is at least one good book in all of us' or words to that effect. However I must have dozed off during the explanation of how to go about extracting that 'one good one' from within. For reasons still unclear I decided to follow that piece of wisdom and venture down my own path of extraction. No-one mentioned the pitfalls hidden along the way... . . . keep reading
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Muscling Up on the Power of Association
- and a few exercises to go with it...
Robyn Haynes and Marg McAlister
Here's a list of words representing objects that you see around the house. Your job is to apply all of the words on the list to four different categories: Music, Food, Travel and Play. Write down the first associated word or phrase that comes to mind for each one on the list. If nothing at all comes to mind, put a dash. . . . keep reading
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Write a Story Ending That Will Satisfy Readers
Marg McAlister
Story endings are hard to write -- often much harder than beginnings. Any author who wants to be published must understand how to write a book with a powerful ending. It's important to know two things: one, what will disappoint readers (and editors) and two, what works well. The following four 'duds' are amongst the biggest offenders in endings that will disappoint... . . . keep reading
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Review of Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred Version 10
There were several reasons prompting my decision to try speech recognition software. One was that I had a large number of writing projects happening at the moment. Another was that at work I was working on projects that involve sitting at the computer for long stretches of time. All in all I was spending a lot of time at computers and using programs that involve entering text... . . . keep reading
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Where Do You Get Your Ideas? Part 2
Vashti Farrer
Part 2 of 'Getting Ideas': Sources for writing all around us, and the possibilities are endless. All we have to do is keep our eyes and ears open and ask Who? Why? How? What if? And then what happened? till we end up with a really good yarn. . . . keep reading
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Where Do You Get Your Ideas? Part 1
Vashti Farrer
Over the years, I've been asked "Where do you get your ideas?" more than any other question, and the answer is always the same - ideas are all around us, we only have to be receptive to them. No two artists painting the same still life will produce identical pictures. Each will bring his unique vision to his canvas and the same can be said of writers. . . . keep reading
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Writing a Short Book Blurb
Marg McAlister
Writing a short book blurb is not only fun, but great practice for writing promotional copy of any kind. This article gives you simple steps to follow to write a book blurb, and gives examples of both fiction and non-fiction back cover blurbs. You'll also find some useful links to websites with further information. . . . keep reading
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Cruising Through Your Writing Career
To be able to cruise smoothly in your career and personal life, you have to adjust your perspective. Achieving success in your career enables you to live your life to the fullest, not the other way around. Doing a good job at work while creating a valuable life outside work is worth the effort. Here are some tips for balancing the career and life scales... . . . keep reading
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Q&A on Doing a Writing Course -
A Writing Tutor Speaks
Ann Harth, our columnist on running a home-based writing business, wears several different hats as a writer. One of her income streams comes from being a tutor for a large distance education company. Ann interacts with writers on a daily basis, so I asked her if she'd answer a few questions about doing a course, from her perspective as a tutor. Here are her answers... . . . keep reading
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Creative Space
Lynn McPherson
As writers, it's important, if not imperative, that we come up with something original. Even if the idea or the story is not new, the way we say it or present it must have it's own unique quality or else we risk it being dismissed as "boring" or "the same old thing". So, how do we create something different or new? How do we say what we need to say, but in an original way? . . . keep reading
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Go With The Flow
Marg McAlister
Cast your mind back to those early schoolroom lessons in writing. The basic advice was probably this: "Every piece of writing has a beginning, middle, and an end." Your job as a writer is to let readers know what is going on in the beginning, to fill in all the details in the middle, and then wrap it up satisfactorily at the end. It's a simple plan - and effective. Unfortunately, many writers seem to lose the plot (literally!) once they start to write. . . . keep reading
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Ann Harth
