Fiction Writing – Drawing on Your Own Experience

“A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar.” So says Stephen King in his own particular take on the old adage that you should write about what you know, drawing...

A Kiss in the Dark….

….from a stranger. What an intense, terrifying, exciting thought. It’s how Stephen King describes a short story: a kiss in the dark from a stranger.There are two things that strike me about this extraordinary image. One is its transience – think how...

Writing Fiction – Three Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

When you’re appraising manuscripts, it’s easy to spot the work of an inexperienced writer. The most common pitfalls I come across are these:OverwritingLack of editingLack of planningI suspect that all of these stem from the same overwhelming urge to...