inspiration
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Do you find it difficult to start writing? Not sure what to write about? Try writing about the first thing you see when you look around the room. A book of stamps? What instantly comes to mind? A love letter? Who is the letter to? Is the love reciprocated? What if it’s not? Or pehaps…
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Whether you’re writing an anniversary piece, an article about a place, person or event, you’re likely to come across all sorts of information. Some of the information might not be relevant to what you’re currently working on, but could you use it for something else? Look out for dates of importance. There might be an…
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Changing Columns Being a columnist in a national newspaper or well-known magazine and dazzling readers with your knowledge and wit is many writers’ dream. However, take a look through the papers and magazines and you’ll see that many of them are written by experts in a particular field, celebrities or established writers, with a long…
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Re-read, Re-write and Re-submit Do you save all your old stories? I do and now and then I’ll have a look back through them. I’ve discovered pieces I’d completely forgotten about. Most of you will be familiar with these – the ones you’ve entered into numerous competitions or which have done the rounds with the…
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Got For It! Not sure about pitching an idea to an editor? Written a story, but scared to enter it into a competition? Want to send a reader’s letter out but uncertain the magazine will use it? We all have doubts and we all receive rejections. It’s part and parcel of a writer’s life. But…
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We all do it – overuse words like ‘that’, ‘very’, ‘really’, ‘then’ etc. They’re not necessary. Use the ‘find’ facility in Word and you’ll be surprised at how many of these words you’re using in your writing. Then go back through your work and get pruning! ***
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Entering a writing competition? Here are a few tips to ensure your entry is on the shortlist: A judge wants to read something unexpected, exciting and compelling so think outside the box. Make sure your story isn’t over the word count. Your story may only have gone over the limit by five words, but if…
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Take your time The time of day can make a difference to the type of atmosphere your readers feel. For example, you can darken a story by setting it at night. There’s always an extra sense of menace, of threat and uncertainty in a story that takes place at night. ***
Esther Chilton 