An exercise from BACK TO CREATIVE WRITING SCHOOL
THE BLUE MAN OPENED HIS EYES AND SAID…. I took the photograph in Mill Cove House in Castletownbere, West Cork in 2010. The art gallery and cafe are surrounded by … Continue reading
Who needs quotation marks?
Well, the writer of this sign didn’t need them and Cormac McCarthy, author of the The Road and No Country for Old Men, never uses them. He believes in the … Continue reading
THREE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS IN A GHOST STORY
From the archives – as I am in the middle of assignment season. I wrote this post in November 2010 and November seems the right month for ghost stories. Here … Continue reading
Is a mystery box-shaped? Could you write one?
Margery Allingham was an English crime writer best known for her detective stories featuring Albert Campion a sleuth who appears to be an upper class silly ass but in reality … Continue reading
Up for grabs – £30,00 bursary to launch your creative career
Ideas Tap and Sky Academy Arts Scholarships are awarding five £30,000 bursaries to talented artists aged 18-30 from the UK and Ireland. In addition to the bursary, winners are also paired … Continue reading
READING LIKE A WRITER – putting rhythm into prose
“Words have music and if you are a musician you will write to hear them” – E.L. Doctorow Rhythm isn’t the sole preserve of poets or musicians – prose writers … Continue reading
READING LIKE A WRITER – flashbacks
Flashbacks in literature are scenes within the chronological narrative that reveal events before the story began. In a novel the ‘now’ of the story might be about two old friends … Continue reading
Probably shouldn’t be saying this….
I should probably pretend that this idyllic Brighton writers’ room doesn’t exist and that it isn’t run by two great writers with best selling books to their credit. I should … Continue reading
The last ever Monday creative writing exercise. WHAT’S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?
This is the very last Monday creative writing exercise so I thought I’d go out with a smile. (I’ll explain why I’m dropping this feature in another post today .) … Continue reading
Want to be published by Christmas?
First you have to submit a segment of a steamy romance, but you don’t have to stay awake at night worrying about the plot. The people at Hot Key Books … Continue reading
Monday creative writing exercise because it’s a good way to start the week. And here’s a story starter…
This week it’s a very short exercise but a goody! Don’t ask why it’s so short and late…Oh, go on, do. My new shiny BIG pc is doing everything brilliantly … Continue reading
Wanna be a Writer Part Two — watch the television pilot and find out why readers are like baby ducklings…
Last month I wrote about the pilot of a new reality television show featuring real wanna-be writers getting advice from professionals. It’s pioneered by Jane Wenham-Jones, novelist and author of … Continue reading
Four and a Half of the Best Fathers in Fiction
Yesterday the Turkish author Elif Shafak named her choice for the five best mothers in literature in the Daily Telegraph. It’s a subject close to her heart as her memoir … Continue reading
Monday creative writing exercise because it’s a good way to start the week. Character study
You are in some kind of a waiting room: the accident and emergency department of a hospital, attending a job interview, waiting to be interviewed by the police after witnessing … Continue reading
BRIDGET WHELAN writer 