While reading the Gillian Mear’s biography a few months back I discovered that when The Mint Lawn was reissued she had the opportunity to make a few changes. Yet she more or less left it how it was. Perhaps she simply didn’t have it in her to go back to that book. It was so … Continue reading 5 ideas to help you finish a piece of writing
Tag: writing tips
Why the Barbican makes a compelling setting for a novel
When I started writing my psychological suspense novel, The Night Village, about a new mother and her strange houseguest, I pictured the story unfolding in my old flat in Hackney. And then, in the same way a dream will suddenly shift location, my characters were all somehow living at the Barbican Estate in central London. … Continue reading Why the Barbican makes a compelling setting for a novel
Tara June Winch in Berlin
Recently I listened to author Tara June Winch talk about her Miles Franklin Award winning novel, The Yield. Here are some notes from the evening.
Writing workshop: using place names in your writing
When writing prose, it's easy to get stuck on the mechanics of the story – who is speaking? Was the baby asleep in the last scene? Could it really be dusk already? .... and the writing itself can sometimes feel secondary, just a means of getting your characters from A to B. So turning up … Continue reading Writing workshop: using place names in your writing