Writing

Killing Your Darlings is Hell. Here’s How I Edited My Novel.

Killing Your Darlings is Hell. Here’s How I Edited My Novel.

I’ve been suffering some body dysmorphia recently – not for my own body, but for the size of my novel. A year ago, it was a voluptuous 120,000 words (440 pages); now it’s a skinny 90,000 words (350 pages). The Getaway, a murder-mystery set in the Caribbean, comes out in November 2024 and I’ve been…

5 things I learned about writing from Succession
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5 things I learned about writing from Succession

Succession isn’t only the most twisted-funny show on TV, it’s also a masterclass in great writing. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up from Jesse Armstrong and his team of writers: 1. Characters should walk into scenes fully-formed ‘Establishing character’ is often something we think we should do, either with a thumbnail sketch or…

6 things to know if you want to write a novel this year

6 things to know if you want to write a novel this year

If your new year’s resolution for 2021 is to write a novel, then you’ve picked a great goal. Writing keeps your brain active and creativity feeds your soul. During pandemic times, there’s no better feeling than soaring away on flights of fancy. However, novel-writing is not without its challenges. Maybe you’re apprehensive. Maybe you don’t…

One word you should remove from your writing vocabulary

One word you should remove from your writing vocabulary

You might assume this is a philosophical or motivational blog post, and I’m going to tell you there’s no such thing as “can’t”. Or that the word “failure” is a lie and should be reframed as a challenge. Nope. This is a post about the word “walked”. I really, really, really hate the word “walked”….

Revisiting Gone Girl: 5 things writers can learn from it
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Revisiting Gone Girl: 5 things writers can learn from it

Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl defined and popularised the psychological suspense genre. These days, the crime fiction shelves are packed with tales of marital discord turned murderous and psychopaths hiding in suburbia. I first read Gone Girl the year it came out, in 2012. Eight years on, when I decided to re-read it, I wondered whether…

Why growth mindset is the number one thing you need to become a better writer (and a better person)
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Why growth mindset is the number one thing you need to become a better writer (and a better person)

‘Growth mindset’ might sound like one of those annoying buzzwords, but it describes an attitude shift that has helped me immensely. What is growth mindset? It’s a term that comes from Carol S Dweck’s book, Mindset, which is a study of how children learn. This is a simplification, but in her study, Dweck observed two…

5 best books on writing for beginners and beyond
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5 best books on writing for beginners and beyond

Whether you’re starting out in creative writing or looking to fine-tune your writing craft, there are a wealth of reference books out there. Here are five that I find invaluable: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers – Renni Browne and Dave King The first time I flicked through Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, I was unimpressed. A chapter…

Why do mediocre novels get published? My theory (and what writers can learn from it)
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Why do mediocre novels get published? My theory (and what writers can learn from it)

There’s little more frustrating than picking up a book and realising it’s BAY-AD. The characters are cardboard cut-outs. The action is melodramatic or unbelievable. It breaks every rule in your well-thumbed writing craft books. “How did this get published??” you wonder. If you’re a writer yourself, you might follow it up with: “If this can…

You’ll have to rearrange your life in order to write a novel – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer
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You’ll have to rearrange your life in order to write a novel – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

If there’s one myth about writing that I hate, it’s the myth that great novels were written in snatched 5-minute bursts. “Get up earlier and write while drinking your morning coffee! Write in your lunch break! If you’re not writing while simultaneously making a risotto and changing a duvet cover, you obviously don’t want it…

Build compelling characters using reality TV archetypes

Build compelling characters using reality TV archetypes

For guaranteed drama, take a leaf out a casting director’s book and use reality TV archetypes to build fascinating characters for your novel or short story. I’ve already outlined the lessons that writers can learn from reality TV. That was big-picture stuff. This is more granular, as I will outline specific types of people you’ll…

5 writing lessons you can learn from reality TV

5 writing lessons you can learn from reality TV

Here’s a writing assignment for you: turn on the TV! The reality TV casting process provides a devilishly fun way to improve characterization when writing your novel or short stories. Whether it’s Survivor, Big Brother, Housewives, or Love Island, your favourite guilty pleasure reality TV show doesn’t happen on its own. Every reality show is…