Developing your craft

Illustrator Jim Smith has a more subversive sense of humour than most. When he was fresh out of college he landed a client by the name of Puccino’s...

Web designer Suna Cristall explains the procedure for setting up a website and presents the options for its design. She includes points to consider...

Vanessa Gebbie has won numerous awards for her short fiction including a Bridport Prize. An extract of her novel, The Coward’s Tale, won the Daily...

Bloomsbury author Stephen Kelman offers his advice to aspiring writers. Stephen is the author of Pigeon English, which was shortlisted for the Man...

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of over 60 books, including the bestselling No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

1. The characters have to be believable and relatable with a real sense of depth.

2. Every character has to exist for a reason – I had ‘...