Have you always wanted to write a novel but don’t quite know where to start? Or you’ve launched in a frenzy of creative energy then ground to a halt? Don’t let another year go by. I’m going to be running three courses this year, in collaboration with Newcastle City Library, Newcastle upon Tyne. The courses run for four weeks on Thursday evenings 5-7pm where you will join a small group of other hopeful novelists in fun, interactive and informative sessions.
Get That Novel Started 2, 9, 16, 23 March 2017 £65
Get That Novel Finished 1, 8, 15, 22 June 2017 £65
Get That Novel Published 5, 12, 19 October 2017 and 2 November 2017
You can pick and choose which of the courses you do – one or all of them! – but you will get the most out of the series if you start at the beginning.
For more information and to book your place visit Get That Novel Started – booking.
On writing with wine and editing with coffee. Or balancing our conscious and sub-conscious minds in our writing.http://morethanwriters.blogspot.co.uk/…/writing-with-wine-e… This was written for a Christian Writers’ blog, but the concept of needing to find ways to access our sub-conscious apply to all writers.
Very chuffed to hear 10 men in a prison in Maryland, USA, have been working through the free Crafty Writer creative writing course with the help of the prison librarian http://creative-writing-course.thecraftywriter.com/
Today’s guest post is by Tony Glover, the latest ‘signing’ for the Crafty Writer’s publishing wing, Crafty Publishing. Tony who has written extensively for theatre and screen has just released the first in a series of crime novels and tells us where he gets his ideas in the first place. It’s all a matter of chemistry, apparently …
‘Where did you get the idea?’ It’s the most banal question – yet the hardest to answer. Creativity is a mysterious affair. Where do ideas come from? How do we access the part of our mind which produces them? Continue reading ‘Novel ideas: the chemistry of creativity’
If you’re 25 or under, you may qualify for a bursary to study masters’ level creative writing at the University of East Anglia. I did a MA at Northumbria University in 2005/6 and have never regretted it. Here is some more information on the creative writing bursary. If you’re wondering whether or not a MA is for you (and you don’t have to be under 25 to do one!) there is an oldish but still enlightening article on it in the Guardian – are creative writing courses worth it? And if you can’t afford a course in terms of time or money, some of the things you will learn in an MA course can be found in my free online creative writing course.
In light of last week’s very informative guest blog from Morgen Bailey on overcoming writers’ block, I’ve been thinking about ways I deal with my frustrations. One of them is to take time out from writing and express myself through another art form (however badly!). If you would like to try this yourself, read about why I enjoy being useless at the clarinet. Do you find doing something else helps you with your writing? If so, let us know!
This is not an article on how to write for the health market (if that’s what you’re looking for, read A Health Writer Coughs Up) but rather an insight into how writing can be good for your health. While professional or semi-professional writers who have just had a string of rejections, worked past midnight to meet a deadline and whose bank accounts are on life support may shudder at the thought, let’s not forget that many people write for the sheer pleasure of it. And that’s something we should all try to reclaim. Continue reading ‘Writing for health’
In her third and final post on Writing Historical Fiction, RS Downie tells us why using fact in fiction is like wearing underwear. Ruth is the author of Ruso and the Disappearing Dancing Girls (’Medicus’ in the USA) and Ruso and the Demented Doctor (’Terra Incognita’ in the USA), the first in a series of historical crime novels set in Roman Britain.
Research is Like Underwear…
In 1541, if you came from London, you considered Yorkshire to be a barbarian land. Once you turned off the Great North Road, the journey to York was a ‘wretched track’. The woods contained boar and wildcat and the locals still shared thatched hovels with their cattle.
Continue reading ‘Writing historical fiction 3 – using fact in fiction’
Today RS Downie continues with her second post on Writing Historical Fiction (if you missed the first on creating your historical world, why not check it out first). Ruth is the author of Ruso and the Disappearing Dancing Girls (’Medicus’ in the USA) and Ruso and the Demented Doctor (’Terra Incognita’ in the USA), the first in a series of historical crime novels set in Roman Britain.
You can’t please all of the people…
Here’s a confession: the earliest edition of my first book contained a wrong Latin ending. I only found this out when it was firmly and very publicly corrected by a reviewer in a national newspaper. It was a small thing – just two letters – but as he said, it cast doubt on the rest of the research. He said nice things as well, and later chose the book as one of his top thrillers for Christmas, but at the time I barely noticed the positive points. I was mortified. I felt I’d let everyone down. I lay awake fantasising about recalling all the copies so I could set fire to them and then fling myself on the pyre.
Continue reading ‘Writing historical fiction 2 – doing the research’
Welcome to the first of three guest posts by RS Downie on writing historical fiction. Ruth is the author of Ruso and the Disappearing Dancing Girls (‘Medicus’ in the USA) and Ruso and the Demented Doctor (‘Terra Incognita’ in the USA), the first in a series of historical crime novels set in Roman Britain. Now over to Ruth:
Twenty years ago I knew nothing at all about historical fiction except that some of the novels I’d enjoyed had been set in the past. I’ve learned a great deal since then, mostly from other writers and sometimes from my own mistakes. I still have much to learn and frequently don’t practise what I preach – but if you too are fascinated by the past and want to set your story there, I hope you’ll find some useful pointers in this series of articles. If you have anything to add or questions to ask, feel free to post your comments below.
Continue reading ‘Writing historical fiction 1 – creating your historical world’
