According to John Irving: “I may one day write a better first sentence to a novel than that of A Prayer for Owen Meany, but I doubt it. I have a feeling for first sentences, and I’ve written some pretty good ones.” I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice – not […]...

You might love baubles and tinsel or maybe you want to resist all seasonal shenanigans at this time of year. Whatever side of the celebrations you fall on, it is almost impossible to ignore the signs including rockers Wizzard singing, “I wish it could be Christmas every day…” One of the ...

The YA community is a warm and welcoming one – but don't cross them. Think before you pitch ...

Who would be a writer? You write. You edit. You pitch. You deal with rejection. You might land a publishing deal but this doesn't mean people will read your book – you've got to become a social media marketing expert too. Then you read the bad reviews and wonder why you bothered...

Learn from the best and unleash the creative beast inside you with a little help from our fiction-writing friends...

Let sleeping dogs lie unless there are 50,000 words to write in a short space of time. Last year I had written 13,014 words on Day 10. It was 3,000 words short of where I wanted to be...

The start date is almost here. As soon as the dust settles on Halloween, put your broomsticks away and start writing. You can nail 50,000 words in one month...

What does it take to make your blood run cold? Witches, ghosts, paranormal activities, psychopathic killers should do the trick. Let’s get scared:...

Put some final polish on those first 10 pages. It’s competition time. If you write short stories, don’t miss your chance to compete in the Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards. There’s sure to be a category created just for you, Romance, Thriller, Crime, Horror, Science-Fiction, and Young Adu...

Read my lips: every flaw in the first 10 pages will be illuminated, so make sure the words withstand close inspection...

Floral-print shirts trend, words do too. Over-exposure is a turn off though. Think twice before including words and phrases that have been around the block otherwise your first 10 pages will look the same as a thousand others...

When bad language makes good reading...

It is almost #NaNoWriMo time. Grab the reins. Ready, steady, write...

You need a thick skin and a brave heart to survive on the book-writing battlefield. Are you ready to fight hard?...

You might want to rethink the first 10 pages of your book. There is tremendous pressure to produce engaging content because the reader is ruthless when it comes to commitment – someone is only going to stick around if the beginning of a book is exceptional. “People don’t have [that] attention span. W...

Our words can come back to embarrass us. We don’t realise it at the time but there will come a time when we’ll critically reassess what we’ve written. We all do it. Even Pulitzer Prize winners do it. This is because passion can cloud judgement. We can become so submerged in writing, cre...

Take fiction inspiration from London Fashion Week. This fish pretty much has the look nailed. ...

The manuscript with a formula oozes confidence. Are you ready to work it out? Disclaimer: no creative vibes were harmed in the process....

So you want to write a book? Then let us share the "beef jerky secret" with you. Ssshhhh don't tell anyone....

You're stuck for words. Writer's block happens. Yeah right. Good luck with that old excuse....