The Importance of Brain Space

As someone who has to fit writing around working four days a week, a busy social life, and lots of trips away, I tend to feel as if I’m shirking if I don’t make use of every minute that’s available to me.   Last month, I went on a glorious, six-day writing retreat, where I […]

Weeknotes – S02E13 – Annoying Admin

Summary: The admin has to be done, or there will be no publications, no matter how much I write. But it’s really, really annoying. Wednesday: I got very little sleep on Monday night, so wasn’t feeling particularly enthused by this afternoon, but a booked writing date with Hannah kept me out after work and focused […]

Weeknotes – S02E11 – Snowed In!

Summary: Snowed in at a writing retreat – every writer’s dream? I’ve certainly enjoyed it!   Wednesday:   I went to Vauxhall after work to meet Hannah and got on with some more Artisan revisions (this will be a common theme in Weeknotes for the next few months…), working on finishing off the requirements of […]

Weeknotes – S02E10

Summary: Really got into the novel revision this week, and actually enjoyed it, which was a very pleasant surprise! Monday: I set out early for my writing date with Ann at Good & Proper. I hadn’t done much actual writing for the last two or three weeks, so was hoping a whole day in my […]

Tips for Approaching Revision

The post I wrote for GYWO this month was all about how to approach the dreaded revision: I hate revision. With my short stories and fanfiction, I always have good intentions of scheduling additional time to let them sit for a while and then go back to them to revise. But most often, I dash […]

Weeknotes – S02E09

Summary: Still getting back into the swing of things after the holiday, but deadlines are looming… Tuesday: I booked my tickets for Winchester Writers’ Festival, including all my workshops and my one-to-one appointments with four different literary agents. This gives me until 24 May to get the opening of Artisan ready for submission, and ideally […]

Another Writing Magazine Success

I came back from holiday on Monday to find this month’s issue of Writing Magazine in our post box. On flicking through, I discovered I had been shortlisted in their Real Time Short Story Competition, which was a nice surprise. I’m particularly pleased because the story I submitted was science-fiction, which they don’t often reward, […]