Category: The writer’s life

Is your writing just a hobby?

Last week, I got this email from a writer – we will call him Mitch. And I believe that Mitch lives on a ranch in…

Harry 19 August 2022

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Giants eating giants

It wasn’t that long ago since the largest publishers were collectively referred to as the Big 6. In 2013, however, the two largest companies in…

Harry 12 August 2022

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Fake mouldings, potted palms

Last week, I wrote a ‘Pears, walnuts, blue cheese’ email, the gist of which was that if you need to characterise a minor character fast,…

Harry 5 August 2022

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How to Break In (and Cling On) to Being a Published Author

We’re always talking about wiggly timelines and frustrating setbacks – it’s part of virtually every writer’s life, after all. Laura Pearson is an author who…

Esther 2 August 2022

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Pears, walnuts, blue cheese

We used to have a cookbook, the theme of which was that if you found three harmonising ingredients, you essentially had a meal. So, if…

Harry 29 July 2022

4 Comments

Things not to bother about in a heatwave

Folks, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – a country name so inept, you’d imagine is was a splinter republic of some…

Harry 22 July 2022

2 Comments

Eh, toc toc toc

My kids, if they think something is ridiculous, tap their fingers to their heads and cry, “eh, toc toc toc.” When I told them that…

Harry 15 July 2022

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Authorial Yoga

Last week, I felt rubbish, so I said so and wrote a “let’s be gentle with ourselves” email that applied as much to me as…

Harry 8 July 2022

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The Kit de Waal Bursary Winner

We’re overjoyed to announce that the winner of the Kit De Waal Bursary for carers is Lucinda Marsden. Her YA feminist novel, ‘Undercurrent,’ is inspired…

Esther 8 July 2022

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The Sign You’ve Been Waiting For

Missed out on the deadline for our Summer ’22 Ultimate Novel Writing Course? You’re in luck as we have just opened applications for our next…

Esther 5 July 2022

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