

Write a movie-style logline for your book
What is your book about? The dreaded question. The answer is most likely 'a HELL of a lot - do you have two hours?' People don't, so...
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What is a ghostwriter and why may you need one?
What is a ghost writer and why may you need one? And when should you actually write your own book? I'm just going to unpack that a...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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I stopped mucking about and finally wrote my book - Zoe Scholz
Zoë Scholtz, June 2020 Early in January 2020, it was a weekday, a day like any other. I was at the office minding my own business,...
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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...
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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...
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​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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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