motivation

  • Markets For Writers

    This week’s market is for the poets. Writing Magazine is holding a haiku competition. As their guidelines state, ‘For the purposes of this competition, your haiku should be unrhymed, and written in three lines with five syllables in the first and third lines, and seven in the second. It should involve some reference to the…

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  • Guest Writer Spot

    It’s Friday and time for my Guest Writer Spot, which gives writers the opportunity for their  work to be seen and read by others. I accept stories, poems, articles – in fact, anything and everything. All you have to do is make sure your prose is no longer than 2000 words and your poems no…

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  • Markets For Writers

    I know a lot of you enjoy writing flash fiction so here’s a market for you. Reader’s Digest are holding their annual 100-word competition. Stories have to be exactly 100 words in length. The title isn’t included in the word count.  Entry is FREE and the prizes are certainly worth an entry: 1st Prize:           £2000…

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  • Monday Motivations

    Is it really Monday again?! Here’s a new writing challenge for you: Write a story or poem on any of the following themes: Euphoria Heat Cake Last week’s themes were: Misery Sleep Gold You certainly sent in a variety of writing: Please visit Shaun Kellett‘s site to read his super piece on the writing prompts:…

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  • Guest Writer Spot

    This week I have two guest writers. Nest Madden is one of my very talented students. After reading my blog post on the impact Bunty comic had upon me as a child, he wrote in with this brilliant anecdote: Your Blog post about Bunty reminded me; as a small boy I was asked by an…

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  • Guest Writer Spot

    This week,  Donny Marchand is my guest writer. He’s featured several times before in my Friday slot but if you haven’t come across his work before, here’s a little bit about him, in his own words: ‘I have only started writing for publication a short time ago, and been fortunate to have had some modest…

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  • Markets For Writers

    Everyone likes a good laugh so why not enter Writing Magazine‘s ‘Humour short story Competition’? You have until 15th March 2017 to craft your story. Here’s some more information for you: Prizes: 1st place:      £200 plus publication in the magazine Runner-up: £50 plus publication on the website Entry fee:     £5 but only £3 to subscribers Word limit:…

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  • Guest Writer Spot

    Happy Friday! I hope the first week of this new year has been a bright one. If not, don’t worry – it’s the weekend tomorrow! As it’s Friday, it’s time for my Guest Writer Spot. It’s a pleasure to welcome Sharon Boothroyd to this slot for the first time. Here’s a little bit about her,…

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  • Markets For Writers

    This week’s market is an ongoing one. The 1000 Word Challenge sets a new competition every three months. There’s usually a theme. The current competition is as follows: Your story must start with the following direct speech:   ‘Stop!’ – Entries up to 1000 words are accepted. The closing date is 28th February 2017. There’s an…

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  • Monday Motivations

    I hope you’ve all recovered from your New Year celebrations. If you’re looking to get back into the writing groove, here are a few prompts for you: A fresh start The dark place Monsters I’d love to see your writing on any of these themes. Anything goes! Now, last week, your theme was New Year.…

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