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Insider tip
Studding your writing with metaphors will not transmute it into poetry. Sometimes the very plainest speech is what you want. Writing Poetry by John Whitworth-
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Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2011 – now available
Filed under: Authors and Books, Getting Published, Writing Advice
It doesn’t seem long ago that I was writing a post to announce the publication of the 2010 edition of the Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. How time flies when you’re having fun…
That’s not far from the truth when it comes to the Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. I love putting this book together for the simple reason that I love what’s in it. I truly think the content is more than good – it’s great: Read more
Getting lost in London
I went to an important meeting in London yesterday – held at a venue I know well, in a part of London I know well.
Given those facts, I didn’t bother to print out a map, just had a quick check on a bus stop and leapt on a bus bound for Farringdon Street.
It gradually dawned on me as I headed in an unfamiliar direction that this wasn’t going well. The Read more
This morning I am writing like…
… Isaac Asimov. How do I know this? Because I’ve just been dabbling on the new ‘I Write Like’ website that has been taking the internet by storm.
If you visit I Write Like you can find out which famous writer your writing most closely resembles. All you need to do is copy and paste a few paragraphs of your writing, hit the ‘analyse’ button, and hey presto! The Read more
Why do you write?
Part of the work I do is advising writers on what they’ve written, giving them a realistic assessment of how likely it is they will get published, and how to improve what they’ve done.
Something I hadn’t considered until recently is why writers write. But last week I had a series of emails from clients which addressed this very specifically.
One writer wants to Read more
The 2011 Yearbook – do you need it?
Filed under: Authors and Books, Getting Published, Writing Advice
The brand new Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook is published today, 30 June!
I’m always excited but slightly anxious at the prospect. I love the look of the uncreased cover, the perfect un-thumbed pages and the unbroken spine (I’ve never been one to treat books very well – does that make me a bad book person?). I can’t wait to give it a quick smooth, a quick fan and a quick sniff before I get out the post-its and spoil another perfect copy with my scribbles and coffee stains.
But what about you – the reader? Do you need a new copy? Read more
I’ve finished so I’ll get started
Filed under: Getting Published, Writing Advice
With the 104th edition of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook now safely at the printers, I’ve hit a bit of a mental slump.
After months of hard work – updating all those 5,000 or so listings, adding new ones, updating articles and making room for more – the buzz of having finished what I started has been short lived.
This is the pattern – I’ll rush to the finish line and then find it’s followed by a strange feeling of 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
Must I listen when the muse sings?
This is the last in our series of guest posts from Thomas E. Kennedy about the 4 questions a writer must answer for him – or herself. Once you know the answers to them, in your heart, you know what you are about...
“In his wonderful book On Writing, Henry Miller said that if you don’t listen when the Muse sings, you get excommunicated. He claimed that when 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.-
Tweet and Win! We are giving away free copies of our 2011 yearbooks - and you can win one in less than a minute. Visit our competition page now to be in with a chance...
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 »