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Insider tip
Trying to create a comedy game through dialogue or regular one-liners when the gameplay takes itself too seriously is likely to give the player the feeling of a game at odds with itself. Writing for Video Games by Steve Ince-
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‘Tis the season – for children’s events
Janey Louise Jones, author of bestselling Princess Poppy books, talks about her experiences of literary events for children, the art of making the perfect tiara and why the events are crucial to her job as an author.
It coincides with the wedding season, and it’s nearly as stressful. Read more
Share the creative energy
A group of writers gathered together has a very particular feel to it. There is a physical presence that lives on in the mind, long after the event itself is over. Why is this? Perhaps because the time lived out (as opposed to the time planned) is always unexpected; you cannot predict how it will work.
You may book speakers to take part but cannot predict Read more
iPad book versions: a risk worth taking?
Filed under: Authors and Books, Digital publishing
Simon Winchester tells us – from an author’s perspective – what’s involved in making a book version for the iPad.
The final weeks before the birth of a new book are always exciting and nail-bitingly tense for its author – and as I have a book about the Atlantic Ocean coming out in October, this is the waiting-outside-the-headmaster’s-study moment, with me hoping against hope all will be well.
But this year things are rather different, Read more
What can writing tutors do for you?
I sometimes hear people say that writing courses produce carbon-copy writers who know nothing about the publishing industry – writers whose work is bland, formulaic and self-absorbed.
Nonsense.
At least, in my experience.
I did an MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa Uni. All the tutors are publishing professionals and their aim is to help apprentice writers to become authors. And they’ve a pretty good strike rate too, with many writers going on to get agents, publish work or find jobs in the industry.
So what exactly does the course offer that you couldn’t get working alone? I’d say that the course structure is 50% about developing your craft and 50% about developing business sense.
Workshops and one-on-one meetings with a tutor are Read more
Have you thought about self-publishing?
Filed under: Getting Published, Marketing Yourself
If you have not had the time or energy to keep going in your search for a publisher, or simply want to get a manuscript into a finished format quickly, self-publishing ought to be a convenient option. The reality can be much less positive.
At a recent literary conference, the room where the various self-publishing firms were displaying their wares had all the charm of the first day of our holiday in Tenerife when Read more
Make yourself heard
Filed under: Authors and Books, Festivals and Events
You’ve written a novel. That’s good. It’s being published. That’s better. You’ve been asked to perform a reading at a literary event. Very encouraging, but give it some thought before you accept – unless you’re an actor or a school teacher.
When you last sampled your own book, perhaps for the umpteenth time, was it Read more
Storytelling in the digital age
Want to make the most of the web, tell your story across different media, engage readers online as well as off? Find out more in this Q&A with Alison Norrington, a writer who’s studying ‘transmedia storytelling’ for a PhD about emerging platforms for writers and much much more.
What are you doing?
I’m working on the first chick-lit transmedia project. It’s a novel that will be fragmented across a series of media (both on and offline). It’s the ultimate ‘lean back’ (relax and unwind) and ‘lean forward’ (get involved, chat in forums and engage with story threads) experience.
Do you blog?
AN: I used a blog for my 4th novel – Staying Single. I blogged this story as it seemed Read more
How do you begin a novel?
Filed under: Authors and Books, Writing Advice
A guest post from Bloomsbury author Katie Hickman, who is speaking on ‘How I Got Published’ at the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook writers’ conference on Saturday 19 June:
When I first started writing I used to think that there was nothing in the world quite as intimidating as a blank sheet of paper. A thought I was reminded of only a few days ago when staring at one myself, waiting for the inspiration to begin my new novel, the next in the series after The Pindar Diamond.
There is something about it that Read more
Your favourite book anecdote?
Hearing on the radio that the great physicist Michal Faraday was apprenticed to a bookbinder and bookseller, which gave him seven years’ free access to reading material, reminded me of another of my favourite book-related anecdotes. The shots that killed Read more
Number One tip for writers
Filed under: Authors and Books, Writing Advice
Venture inside the writing process, says guest blogger Laura Jane Cassidy:
Often when authors are asked to give their number one tip to aspiring writers, they reply with ‘Read, read, read’.
I know that reading is important, but I think rewriting is even more so.
When you read a book you are looking at the finished product, and in most cases it’s the result of a lot of rewriting. I watch an insane amount of movies, but that doesn’t mean Read more
Buy the 2011 Yearbook
The Writers' & Artists' Yearbook is available at a discount from our online bookshop. Get all the information, contacts and advice you could need.On camera: Jon McGregor
"Being longlisted for the Booker Prize changed everything - it was the launchpad for my writing career." Click to view our video with novelist Jon McGregor »
On camera: Justin Cartwright
"Just write... If you're any good you may not know it, but certainly someone else will." Click to view our video with novelist Justin Cartwright »
On camera: Julie Myerson
The novelist and journalist Julie Myerson on how she got that all-important first publishing deal. Click here to view our video exclusive »