I’ve had stellar feedback from my two first readers. Really, they’ve been so meticulous and wise, and I’m very fortunate to have had their input. They’ve picked up on everything that didn’t hang together and pointed out all the areas I rushed through and glossed over hoping no one would notice, and now it’s time… Read More Book report: here we go again
This year has been so devoid of normal structure that it doesn’t feel like we could possibly be in Autumn already, and yet here we are. The new calender is measured in competition deadlines, so here is a fresh crop for your diary. And the flash fiction competitions below are largely quarterly ones, so even… Read More Flash fiction competitions September-December
Please excuse all the ‘me-me-me’ news, but things have a way of happening together. Today I have a new flash published in Ellipsis zine. I’m pretty excited about it because I love the consistently good work featured in this literary journal. But I’ve also been a bit anxious about the timing and how it would… Read More ‘Sing Hope from Rooftops’ in Ellipsis zine
I’m at the final stages of the novel at the moment, working on feedback, and it’s proving a right old battle because one of the characters isn’t coming together as I’d like. I’ve spent the past few days staring cluelessly at my screen, wondering whether I can pull off this writing lark at all. So… Read More Best British & Irish Flash Fiction list 2019/2020
Well, this was a pretty epic milestone on my writing journey: The completed (ish) book has now temporarily left my hands, and is being read by a wise and experienced first reader, who will come back to me in due course with feedback. The inevitable corrections will probably bring on a Bridget Jones-type sulky meltdown… Read More Book report: the beginning of the…
From time to time, I do a round-up of competitions that have no entry fees because heaven knows it’s a costly business. Right at the moment, there aren’t that many available, but I think the list below is nonetheless an interesting mix. I’ll add to it as and when new opportunities arise, and I hope… Read More Free-to-enter competitions 2020
I am deeply immersed in novel edits at the moment, but I had to put down my quill and open the door of my artist’s garret for a moment to yell out a bit of good writing news. A story of mine has made the longlist of this year’s Cambridge Short Story Prize (list is… Read More Cambridge Short Story Prize longlist
After two weeks and industrial amounts of red ink, I have finished a first paper edit of my book. There is still a lot of work to do, but the gaps are slowly being filled in, or at least identified. The next step is to get back on the keyboard to take in the many,… Read More Book report: red and read
This is what 94,000 words of a manuscript look like. It’s surprisingly heavy: I have cheated a bit because this thing is rife with notes in the copy like THIS MAKES NO SENSE! and EXPOSITION!! Plus there’s at least one chapter that still needs to be written from scratch once I get a better overview… Read More Book report: words and more words
Progress! I have had such a writing block recently, but a WhatsApp chat with some writer friends over the weekend has given me a fresh perspective. They were discussing the use of index cards to organise/rearrange the chapters of a WIP. One person said that if they can’t sum up what happens in a chapter… Read More Book report: psychics and nannies and Post-its
