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Creating a lovable main character
What do you remember about the books that you’ve read? Long after you’ve finished reading, what do you remember most? Not the glorious prose, not the description of the landscape, not even the…
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Is your book the right size?
Does size matter? Is there an ideal size to choose? Amazon KDP gives you a choice of book sizes – trim sizes and I’ve chosen 5.25 x 8 inches (13.34 x 20.32 cms).…
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3 ways to check the rhythm & flow of your writing
Whenever we read anything, we hear it in our minds. Even deaf people do this. We need an auditory representation of every word in order for the text to make sense. Imagine then…
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Every piece of prose should be a poem
Every piece of prose should be a poem. I’ve just reread the piece I wrote for my bookchat post in the Hastings Online Times this week and I don’t like the way it…
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Hey there 2020 – wait for me!
This is the first post of the new year. You’ll be thinking that I’ve dropped into a hole somewhere and gone to sleep – but no! Here I am waving hello. How are…
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Slow down, you move too fast
Are you racing around getting ready for Christmas? What I want to do is carry on proof-reading. I’ve only got as far as chapter 22 (out of 42). There’s no time. I’ve got…
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Blue sky or global disaster? Review of ‘Unsheltered’ by Barbara Kingsolver
Read it. This is a story for our times. The message of Unsheltered is like a piece of bright cloth draped over the plot horse. The bones of the horse stick out in…
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How do you know when a novel is finished?
Every time I dig in to go any deeper than proof-reading i.e. than minor corrections, then my story seems to have a life of its own. Characters say things they haven’t said before,…
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‘Encounter Between Two Worlds’ – Louise Illig-Mooncie
What do you think of reincarnation? Do we all have many lives? Louise is a German-born woman who has tried to come to terms with the horrors of the Holocaust. She believes that…
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