A blog post about how the real inspiration for writing novels comes from - you.
Tag: writing
What I’m writing at the moment…
I know I’m blogging here about the novels I’m currently working on, but let’s not start with what I’m writing just yet - I’ll get on to that in a moment - let’s just set the scene first. I’m lucky to be way ahead on all writing schedules and outside right now, the weather is …
On Writing: the importance of setting
Once a week, on a Wednesday, I appear on a community radio show, 'CakEhole with Julie Mullen,' and we talk about all things to do with novels and writing for fifteen minutes. It is one of the highlights of my week as Julie is so much fun to chat with. Based on our conversations, I …
How does lockdown affect creativity?
I read something a few days ago about a writer who couldn't work during the Coronavirus lockdown period because she couldn’t think straight with all the current change and restriction: basically, she said, her brain was in ‘flight or fight’ mode. She said that it was hard to concentrate on creating something new and exciting …
Sometimes what’s outside affects what’s inside: on nature and inspiration
I decided to have a couple of weeks away from writing. It was a simple idea - it was summer time, so I'd write nothing, just let the summer shine in through the mind’s window and the brain bask in the warmth. After all, I have three new novels more or less completed – maybe …
Continue reading Sometimes what’s outside affects what’s inside: on nature and inspiration
The joys of research for a writer- and the scrapes…
As writers, we are often told that we should write about what we know. That much is true – we write about people, places, relationships and the vagaries of the human condition. So much of what we write is based on what we know already. But sometimes our writing ventures into places and areas we …
Continue reading The joys of research for a writer- and the scrapes…
My top ten reasons why I love writing novels…
I’m an avid reader. I’m the sort of person who will read everything: all genres, crisp packets, adverts on buses. I have my preferences, of course – I love anything by Gerard Manley Hopkins, Shakespeare, Jeanette Winterson, Ian Hancock, Roddy Doyle, Sarah Winman, the Brontë’s, Zola, Turgenev, Cecelia Woloch, Kamila Shamsie and lots more. Reading …
Continue reading My top ten reasons why I love writing novels…
Finding inspiration in unexpected places…
Writers look for inspiration everywhere. I have a note pad that declares Be careful – or you may end up in my novel. And there is truth in that statement, although I’d never transpose someone straight from reality into my writing but, on the other hand, we can only write about what we know (and …
Why writing novels is the best
Three years ago, I had a job that I loved; a job that I was so passionate about, that I never thought about leaving it. But it was hard work: early starts, never finishing until late into the evening. I didn't care: I gave it my heart and soul and every day was filled with …
Why the World Cup is like a novel
Coverage of major sporting events is difficult to escape: whether it is the World Cup, the Six Nations, Wimbledon or The Tour de France, it is regularly in front of our eyes, on the television and in the newspapers. It is the main talking point in the news, perhaps more than the NHS crisis or …
That quintessence of dust 