One of the things that you need to try and get down to a fine art if you are going to write extended pieces of fiction is the way you treat transitions between scenes. It is absolutely vital that you are able to construct smooth transitions when time moves the action on or when you [...]
Keeping a vocab book is a really good way of making sure that you are always in a position to expand the bank of words in your mind. When you come across an unfamiliar or particularly attractive word in a book, newspaper or in conversation, make sure that you jot it down. However, you must [...]
It’s true that creative periods don’t last forever and writer’s block can set in for the long haul. However, even when you have writer’s block, you can keep your mind fresh by writing snippets here and there. Flash fiction is good for writers who can’t face the idea of embarking upon or continuing with a [...]
Sex in fiction is always a tricky customer. Even some of the most highly-regarded authors have come under fire for trite and downright cheesy portrayals of love in action, so this is something you should be very careful when rendering in your own work. As a starter, find some pieces of literature that are esteemed [...]
It may seem like a fairly obvious statement to make, but if you want to progress as a writer then you have read as much as possible. If you can read a novel a week then you will expose yourself to a huge variety of different styles and ideas. The notion behind this is not [...]
As most writers know, finding time to sit and write as you have a great idea is unlikely. Keep a pen and notebook with you AT ALL TIMES and you can jot down any particular inspiration or sentence/line that you have thought of. You can then refer back to your notes when you have a [...]
A great writing lecturer once told me that, in order to write your best work and effectively edit and take criticism, you have to be fully prepared to kill your babies. What he meant (rather than brutal child murder), is that your favourite line in a poem, or paragraph in a story, or chapter in [...]
It may be a cliché, but it is still valid advice. You need to give your readers some credit, and let them do the work: imply and suggest without blatantly spelling everything out. Your readers won’t enjoy reading your work if it seems as though it is written for people with two brain cells. Try [...]
Edit any written work thoroughly Writers should always read over the text they have just written to check for inconsistencies or grammatical errors. Those who think that they can type away forever and not make a mistake are only kidding themselves. A good technique for reading over text is to leave your work for a [...]
Be descriptive Readers always want to feel like they are part of the story so they can visualise the experience. This way they can create a picture of the story being told or the surroundings of the descriptive text. If you use descriptive words and terms throughout your text, including references to past experiences or [...]
