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Not sure how to fix a problem with your writing?
Our video technique tips might help!
Now, as well as reading tips in our weekly tipsheet, you can watch and listen too... it helps the facts to 'stick'.
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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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What Can Your Reader SEE?
Marg McAlister
Here's a tip: when you're editing your book, spend some time going through it simply imagining what the reader will be 'seeing' for each scene you write. You might find that doing this for even half a dozen scenes will give you a whole new way of looking at your book. You may realise, with a sense of shock, that your character is doing entirely too much thinking and not enough acting. . . . keep reading
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Robert McKee Part 1: Why Stories Don't Sell...
and How to Write One That Will
Wendy Nichols
Robert McKee claims we have lost the art of writing great stories. Our current stories are predictable and offer no real insights into the characters. But - and here's the good news - if you can tell a great story, it's a sellers' market. The best raconteurs, he claims, grab your attention, then twist and turn you emotionally, ending with a smashing climax... . . . keep reading
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Shock Tactics: How Disaster Kicked Second-Draft Avoidance Syndrome into Touch
Viv Adams
Perhaps you also suffer from SDAS. Maybe you even suppress it beneath the joy of having finished the first draft of that "damn book". I did this for nearly four years before acknowledging my affliction. Perhaps as a writer who writes by the seat of my pants, rather like a steeple chase jockey racing full-tilt but with no idea where the jumps or finish line are, I'm more prone to this dis-ease than writers who are planners. . . . keep reading
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Setting - Why It Can Make Or Break Your Story
Marg McAlister
If you don't truly understand the relevance of your setting, then you're not going to do it justice in your book. And if the READER can't see the relevance of what you've written, they're not going to spend time on it. (That breeze you can feel has been created by the reader flipping through the pages to find something more interesting to read.) Relevance means that the setting is so integral to your story that it can't be extracted without affecting the whole flow and meaning of the story. . . . keep reading
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10 Problems with Story Endings
Marg McAlister
Here's a subject that is bound to generate plenty of discussion in any group of writers: "What kind of endings do you hate?" We've all been there. We've read a book engages us all the way through... until we get to the end. Unbelievably, the author has let us down. Let's examine 10 causes of 'reader deflation' at the end of a book...
. . . keep reading
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Creating Your Fiction World
Marg McAlister
If you're like most people who read fiction, you hope for characters that engage you and a plot that intrigues you. These are the core elements of any novel. However, you need to be able to add colour and life to every part of your story world. If you don't know how to do this, your plot is just a scaffold, and your characters more like ghosts than living people. . . . keep reading
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"My Top Writing Tip"
Writing4Success Club Members
Here's a selection of "Top Writing Tips" from the members of the Writig4Success Club. The tips here range from thoughts on technique to simply battling through when you're wondering if you'll ever get published. I'd be surprised if you didn't find something here that will work for you!
. . . keep reading
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The Opening Hook
...and the Follow-Up!
Marg McAlister
When I read a first chapter, I'm hoping to become involved from the very first sentence, or at least by the end of the first page. Sometimes that does happen; particularly when the writer is entering a competition designed for that purpose! All too often, though, the writer fails to involve me. Here are some problems I have noticed. . . . keep reading
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Critique Sheet
Rowena Cory Daniells
Here's a sample critique sheet provided by Rowena Cory Daniells. Remember, a critique is someone else's opinion. Take what you need from it and improve your work. . . . keep reading
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Author Intrusion - Brackets
Marg McAlister
"Author intrusion" is what happens when the writer accidentally breaks the "story spell" for the reader, by reminding them that they are reading. Usually it happens because the author feels a strong need to pass along some extra information - and doesn't think twice about butting into the narrative to do so. . . . keep reading
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Ann Harth
