A Plan So Cunning…

Right now I'm gearing up to participate in NaNoWriMo, the great November writing marathon where tales are spun upon gossamer threads, fingers develop calluses as tough as the sole of a hobbit's foot and stories are shaped and forged in the fire of imagination. You might think I've been spending this time warming up my …

It’s Nice to be Nominated…

It's been an exciting writing weekend with two writerly-blog awards coming my way. THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP. Thanks to EM Castellan and Aimee L. Salter for nominating me for the Next Big Thing Blog Hop - I appreciate the vote of confidence. This is the second time I've received this nomination, so if …

The Siren Call of NaNoWriMo

With just over two weeks to go until National Novel Writing Month 2012, I've already had two people take me aside and suggest this might not be the best idea for me - this year. You see it's been a tricky sort of year with medical issues hijacking our normal routine, and I'm still trying …

It Takes a Village to Raise a Novel

Writing is by nature a solitary task. As writers we lock ourselves away for hours on end, performing acts of alchemy on uncooperative words - hoping beyond hope our efforts will produce something of value. The whole process can be isolating and we can be left feeling vulnerable if we don't produce quick or tangible …

A Fear of Sea Monsters – Building Memorable Characters

One of the fundamentals when writing memorable characters is to know them well. The good, the bad, and the weird idiosyncracies that lift them out of the realm of the cardboard cut-out and make them stride across the page in glorious 3D. There are many ways to create a character from scratch, but I think …