Pyromancer has been neglected for a few months. I had coursework deadlines, and the launch of our class anthology to organise (see my last post for updates). But now I’m starting to blow the mental dust off this project, only to find a whole nest of writerly self-doubt has been breeding in the meantime. It... Continue Reading →

Did you miss me? Bet you did, just a bit. This blog’s been super quiet for a long time, so firstly an apology for the long silence and tumbleweeds. It’s been an extremely busy few months and I’m still trying to get back to normality. Some good stuff has happened, some not-so-good stuff has happened.... Continue Reading →

So a lot has happened since that last Rewriter’s Block post. I planned some chapter rewrites. Gave the antagonist an early cameo. Cried a bit over the mess that is chapter five. And then I had something of a painful revelation. First drafts are not the final story. Quite often they’re templates, and anything can... Continue Reading →

Productive is such an ambiguous word. We writers tend to throw it around a lot. It might mean we’ve reached a daily word quota, or finished a project we’re truly proud of. It might just mean we’ve finished a blog post on time (one of these days). The word is used for so many different... Continue Reading →

You spend so much time on that first draft. Creating characters, inventing settings – perhaps even a bit of plot makes it in there. It might take weeks, might take years. And then finally it’s finished, and you can celebrate your amazing achievement. Well done! Not everyone makes it this far. Now it’s time to... Continue Reading →

This time last year I was feeling pretty uninspired, and so I invented a little 24-day challenge called the Writing Advent Calendar. Instead of buying a chocolate cardboard box, I listed as many online story prompt generators as I could find and then tried to complete one each day. That lasted all of about one... Continue Reading →

It’s a question that every writer gets asked at this time of the year. And no, it’s not “so when are you going to get a real job?”. It might even be worse than that, because if you’re asked it then it means the other person takes you seriously as a writer (or at least... Continue Reading →

If you were in Nottingham last Saturday then you might have spotted me early in the morning, running through the station carrying a plastic sword and looking rather annoyed. It was the second day of Fantasy Con, an annual convention where writers and fantasy fans gather to make friends, pick up writing tips, and of... Continue Reading →