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
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
Four Counties Poetry Competition – work here, live here, study here, be born here and you qualify…
For the very first time Rottingdean Writers’ Group is running a competition specially designed for poets connected to London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The judge is John McCullough, academic and … Continue reading
A new type of publisher is doing something new for women writers
Unbound is a revolutionary new way to get books published. Founded by three authors, John Mitchinson, Justin Pollard and Dan Kieran, all their titles are crowdfunded. Authors pitch their book … Continue reading
Five Tips for writing flash fiction plus one inspirational exercise that will deliver a plot to your keyboard
I originally wrote this post for the Hysterectomy Association when I was writer in residence of their annual writing competition earlier this year. Flash Fiction goes by many names: micro … Continue reading
Happy Halloween – an Irish festival
Halloween dates back at least two thousand years to the Celtic festival of Samhain marking the start of winter, a cold, dark and dangerous time. It began at sunset on … Continue reading
You’ve got 24 hours to tweet a scary story
To enter this international writing competition run by the literary magazine The Penny Dreadful all you have to do is tweet a one line horror story with the hashtag #PDHorror. … Continue reading
An inspirational workshop for apprentice performance poets
If you’ve always wanted to write and perform your own poetry there’s a chance to attend a masterclass next Saturday afternoon October 25th 2014 with Dean Atta . Rhyme and … Continue reading
The Seven Deadly Sins of Short Story Writing and how to avoid them
This post grew out of an article I originally wrote for the Hysterectomy Association when I was writer in residence of their annual writing competition earlier this year. I recently … Continue reading
Do you know a poem by heart?
Does Wordsworth or Rosen or Gerald Manley Hopkins trip off your tongue? Are whole poems hard-wired into your memory so they are with you always – you don’t need a … Continue reading
What book makes you happy?
The Summer Reading Challenge takes place every year during the summer holidays in the UK. Children can sign up at their local library, then read six library books of their … Continue reading
A Criminal ADVENTure – call for Christmasy short stories with a twist
I’ve just been contacted by a former City Lit student to tell me that she is now part of a group of aspiring crime writers who want to create a … Continue reading
Tomorrow – the launch of a very special book
DANCING WITH WORDS – the Brighton charity anthology in aid of Martlets Hospice – will be launched at 7pm on Saturday September 20th at the Amnesty Bookshop in the heart … Continue reading
Given up on a novel or a memoir? Need a manuscript MOT? Join me on a Saturday workshop and get back on the road…
It started so well. Your word count was rising and your creative satnav was set to ‘go’. And then around chapter four, you lost your way and ground to a … Continue reading
