Make a beeline for this cliché short story competition
I’ve just heard from the organisors of The Stringybark Dog Eat Dog Short Story Award 2017, an Australian competition that welcomes international entries. They are looking for stories that have … Continue reading
Mary Wollstonecraft on Imagination QUOTES FOR WRITERS (and people who like quotes)
The imagination is the true fire, stolen from heaven, to animate this cold creature of clay, producing all those fine sympathies that lead to rapture, rendering men social by expanding their … Continue reading
A moody Gothic house by moonlight…forget the election results and get stuck in…ART FOR WRITERS
If you live in the UK then yesterday was the day that decided our tomorrows…whatever you feel about the result, put it to one side for half an hour or … Continue reading
Join me on a life writing course in July
I’m back on Brighton beach again, teaching in a wonderful art gallery with a great atmosphere. This time I’m running a life writing course that starts on Monday July 3rd. … Continue reading
Stephen King on timid writers and timid lovers QUOTES FOR WRITERS (and people who like quotes)
Timid writers like passive verbs for the same reason that timid lovers like passive partners. The passive voice is safe. The timid fellow writes “The meeting will be held at … Continue reading
What stories are told over the washing…ART FOR WRITERS
….or confidences exchanged over the washing up… When I was younger I resented the women being ‘banished’ to the kitchen at family gatherings, tied to the drudgery of clearing up … Continue reading
Nine year old becomes one of the UK’s youngest published authors
London schoolgirl Isabel Harris has become one of the UK’s youngest published authors after winning a nationwide competition to write a picture book about animals. Book People’s Bedtime Story competition … Continue reading
What storytellers can do – Erin Morgenstern QUOTES FOR WRITERS (and people who like quotes)
You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows … Continue reading
The sun isn’t always kind and white isn’t always bright….Art for Writers
White trees and white buildings connected by white walkways…but the affect is anything but light, bright or uplifting. This is the white of bone and dead things. What we are … Continue reading
Peter Carey on writing dialogue – you have to dig for the meaning. QUOTES FOR WRITERS (and people who like quotes)
The declared meaning of a spoken sentence is only its overcoat, and the real meaning lies underneath its scarves and buttons. Peter Carey
Some times you tell a story through the things you leave out…ART FOR WRITERS
This painting is called Race You to the Bottom and was created sometime in the late 1990s I imagine, or even more recently, because the artist was born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne … Continue reading
Read HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS if you’re coming to my new writing course, or even if you aren’t…
I’ve handed out copies of Hemingway’s famous short story to students I’ve met who are enrolling in my new course and I thought I should also mention it here. It … Continue reading
Write on Brighton Beach again – another course starts next Tuesday
Here are the details from a bijou art gallery a pebble’s throw from the sea. Swimming in Words invites you to join a 5* week writing course with acclaimed London-Irish … Continue reading
FIRST DRAFTS WRITING COMPETITION for unpublished novelists and short story writers
One of the best ways for new writers to get their work noticed is through entering competitions. Now in its eighth year, First Drafts is an annual event organised by … Continue reading
