writing
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Here’s part four in my writing dialogue series. If you missed part one, click here. For part two, click here. For part three, you’ll find it here. Now for part four: ‘He said’ or ‘she said’ are fine as dialogue tags. There’s no need for lots of variations e.g. he/she yelled, shouted, screeched, shrieked, expressed,…
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Here’s part three in my writing dialogue series. If you missed part one, click here. For part two, click here. Tip three: You want your dialogue to sound realistic, but if you listen to people talking, every day speech is full of ‘um’s, ‘ah’s, ‘er’s, ‘you know’s etc. Don’t add these to your dialogue. The…
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Here’s part two in my writing dialogue series. If you missed part one, click here. Tip two: When more than one character is speaking, you must place each character’s speech into different paragraphs. Otherwise it can be difficult to work out who is saying what e.g.: “How much is that dress?” Sian asked the shop…
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It isn’t easy to write convincing dialogue and it’s something many writers struggle with. Even if you get the words right, there seem to be so many rules and regulations concerning how it should be set out, the punctuation etc. Over the following few weeks, I’ll be giving you some tips on how to build…
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By e-mail or post? Most publications accept work by e-mail but some still prefer postal submissions, especially from someone writing for them for the first time. Even if you have had a few pieces published by a magazine, if they ask for submissions to be sent by post, send your work by post. You could…
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Making changes in your life? Then why not write about them? Have you gone back to college to gain a degree or further your education? What’s it like being a mature student? Do you have any tips on studying to share? General interest magazines, women’s magazines, specialist publications and student magazines would be interested in…
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Write About…Your Own Experiences Open up any of the women’s weeklies and you’ll see pages and pages of true-life stories. These range from stories about ‘my operation’, to overcoming an illness/divorce/death in the family, to doing something special, to an amusing pet story. If you did something a little different for your 40th/50th/60th/70th birthday, you…
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I still can’t believe that it’s a week until Christmas Eve! Where is the time going?! I’m sure, like me, your head is full of Christmas this and Christmas that. So surely now’s the time to write about Christmas? Yes – and no. If you want to write an article about how to make presents…
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Choices Fay couldn’t stop the terrible thoughts trampling through her head. She battled for calm. Think! Think! she shouted to her tormented mind. This was a matter of life or death. Well, almost. At the very least, it would change her life forever. She looked at her hands, at the objects held in them. The…
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Here is part four in my new series, where I take a look at the weird and wonderful world of words. If you missed part one, please click here. You’ll find part two here and part three here. Q. When do you use the words ‘all together’ and when is the word ‘altogether’ more appropriate?…
Esther Chilton 