Creative Writing Newsletter – December issue going out today
From time to time I send out a newsletter about competitions, publishing opportunities and other writerly things that take my fancy. The third edition is going out later today and … Continue reading
Do you know where Dickens got the character Scrooge from? It was a bit of mistake actually…
It is clear from any Dickens’ novel that the great man enjoyed names. His friend and biographer, John Forster, said that Dickens made “characters real existences, not by describing them … Continue reading
Writers need exercise….quotes for writers (and people who like quotes)
Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without … Continue reading
Silent Monks Singing the Hallelujah Chorus – Happy Christmas Everyone
This will put a smile on your face if there isn’t one there already… Performed by a Public High School in America – wish I knew which school and where … Continue reading
A circular Christmas letter written in 1920
I’ve sent out my circular letters to friends and family across the world and received a few in returned. We exchanged news about new homes and old bones, about holidays … Continue reading
There’s a time for everything including posting on Facebook…
I retweeted a post about social media from Carly Watters’ very interesting blog back in October. She is vice president and senior literary agent for a Canadian literary agency, but … Continue reading
The difference between a lie and a story…Quotes for Writers (and people who like quotes)
A lie was something you told because you were mean or a coward. A story was something you made up out of something that might have happened. Only you didn’t … Continue reading
Wouldn’t it be lovely if there was no such thing as books for boys…or princesses…or pink
I recently wrote about a Barbie book that should never have seen the light of day and now I’ve heard about a young girl in California who has managed to … Continue reading
A bitter lesson for writers – Thomas Wolfe Quotes for Writers (and people who like quotes)
What I had to face, the very bitter lesson that everyone who wants to write has got to learn, was that a thing may in itself be the finest piece … Continue reading
Christmas tension mounting? Here’s a book that will help without mentioning turkeys or stuffing (although family does crop up quite often))
Think of Making Friends with Anxiety as an early Christmas present to yourself. Written by international bestselling author Sarah Rayner, it oozes compassion without a hint of patronising superiority or … Continue reading
Hilary Mantel on the dangers of writing historical fiction — Quotes for Writers (and people who like quotes)
A relation of past events brings you up against events and mentalities that, should you choose to describe them, would bring you to the borders of what your readers could … Continue reading
Win a copy of my creative writing guide in time for Christmas
Hurray! I’ve made it past the 200 ‘likes’ milestone on my creative writing facebook page. As promised I’m going to give away a paperback copy of BACK TO CREATIVE WRITING … Continue reading
I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before…
…but I have a facebook page dedicated to writing. I use it for quick bits of information that seem funny or useful or both. I don’t put the same material … Continue reading
BRIDGET WHELAN writer 