Eight months ago I wrote a post called ‘Holding Out for a Blue Moon Moment’. This told of my first experiences approaching agents, and most of it was about the inevitable rejection that’s such a huge part of any writer’s life. Four months later I wrote about my journey continuing as I began querying a …
One year (and thirty-five rejections) on from my first experience of querying, here I am again. The last time it was a middle-grade fantasy, this time it’s a psychological thriller. How are things different this time around? Firstly, this is my go-to genre as a reader. In an airport bookshop (or any bookshop), thrillers are …
When do you write? Where do you write? Do you listen to music whilst you write, or does it have to be completely silent? I see these questions frequently when I read writing magazines, books and blogs. My mum gave me a book last Christmas: The Art of Writing Fiction, by Andrew Cowan. There’s a …
So I did it. Eight years after starting my middle-grade novel, I finally finished it and tapped that last full-stop button with a ceremonious flourish. Then I made a cup of tea, sat back down, and began ruthlessly hacking away at my manuscript for weeks on end until it made sense. I killed off my …
I started writing in earnest in 2019 after my second daughter was born, my previous writings being limited to several picture books written when I was seven, nineteen years’ worth of diary entries, and half a middle-grade novel. But whilst attempting to finish my novel I got bitten by the writing bug, and experienced the …
In 2019 my children’s novel had been quietly simmering on a back burner for eight years. So I decided a writing course would help stir it up. Check it wasn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan (whilst working on my extended metaphors). So I enrolled on a Writers Bureau course, and was vaguely surprised …