Myths are great. We all know them, yet we’re constantly re-interpreting and re-imagining them in the fiction we create. Writers should steal from the best, so why not take inspiration from the stories that have survived for centuries? Look in any bookshop (especially the YA section) and you’ll find plenty of fairy tale retellings, and... Continue Reading →
Hoo boy. I’ve not updated this series in a while. July, in fact. And stuff has changed again since then. Pyromancer’s felt pretty dead for a little while, and I’ve had doubts about whether or not to use it for my dissertation. I’ve just felt utterly stuck with it and unsure how to make it... Continue Reading →
Pyromancer has been neglected for a few months. I had coursework deadlines, and the launch of our class anthology to organise (see my last post for updates). But now I’m starting to blow the mental dust off this project, only to find a whole nest of writerly self-doubt has been breeding in the meantime. It... Continue Reading →
So a lot has happened since that last Rewriter’s Block post. I planned some chapter rewrites. Gave the antagonist an early cameo. Cried a bit over the mess that is chapter five. And then I had something of a painful revelation. First drafts are not the final story. Quite often they’re templates, and anything can... Continue Reading →
Productive is such an ambiguous word. We writers tend to throw it around a lot. It might mean we’ve reached a daily word quota, or finished a project we’re truly proud of. It might just mean we’ve finished a blog post on time (one of these days). The word is used for so many different... Continue Reading →
You spend so much time on that first draft. Creating characters, inventing settings – perhaps even a bit of plot makes it in there. It might take weeks, might take years. And then finally it’s finished, and you can celebrate your amazing achievement. Well done! Not everyone makes it this far. Now it’s time to... Continue Reading →
This time last year I was feeling pretty uninspired, and so I invented a little 24-day challenge called the Writing Advent Calendar. Instead of buying a chocolate cardboard box, I listed as many online story prompt generators as I could find and then tried to complete one each day. That lasted all of about one... Continue Reading →
I’ve been in a writing slump this month. It’s kind of like writer’s block, but with an added bonus of “what’s the point?” syndrome. I’d submitted stories to five different places, all of which promised to get back soon and... didn’t. The waiting dragged on, and despite my efforts to put it to the back... Continue Reading →
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