writing tips
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A short while ago, I mentioned that I was working on a non-fiction book on writing and that I’d bring you more details soon. It’s the first book in my A Helping Hand For Writers series. I’m pleased to share the news that it’s all finished and is currently being formatted and the cover developed
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Make your characters real It’s often the attention to the little details that brings a character to life – their mannerisms, the way they say things, what they say, how they look etc. Imagine your character in your mind; even write down some characteristics and what they look like. This will help you to make
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One way to instantly hook your reader’s interest in your story is to introduce your main character to them and to make them care for that character. The result – your reader will immediately feel involved in your story: “Please. No…” Hannah looked at the big, balding man, her lower lip trembling. An adult would
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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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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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Wonderful Weather The weather is a useful tool for producing a certain type of atmosphere. A gloriously sunny day immediately conjures up feelings of warmth and joy, where something happy is about to happen. This may be the atmosphere you want to create for a wedding in your story. Though, perhaps it’s a wedding doomed
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Clarity is key However you’re planning to draw your short story/novel to a close, make it clear. It’s no good having a character who’s been killed off earlier on in the story suddenly turning up at the end alive and well without any explanation. As the writer, you know exactly what’s gone on but your
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Perfect Paragraphs If you’re writing an article or story for a magazine, think about your paragraph lengths. When you send your work out, your pages are A4 size. The lengths of your paragraphs may look short on a page that size but imagine them in a newspaper or magazine. You can fit about 16 words
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Thinking about writing an article about a special anniversary date? Some anniversary pieces feature the same information again and again. If you can find a different angle and make a tired theme fresh, then your article is more likely to catch an editor’s eye. Give yourself plenty of time to write your anniversary piece before
Esther Chilton 