writing
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Check, check and re-check! This week’s tip is a reminder for you on the perils of not checking your work. I always leave my stories and articles for a few days before going back over them and I’ve been amazed at the silly mistakes I’ve made. Nod if you’re with me here – they range…
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Sometimes the words and ideas for a story just won’t come. But see a photo, or word and suddenly your mind is alive with possibilities. Today, I give you an image of a secret garden as a prompt. Who you add to the garden is up to you. You could write a children’s story and…
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Turning a Negative into a Positive A few years ago, editors used to send rejection letters. Some would be standard and others would be personal and offer some helpful advice about why the submission wasn’t suitable. Nowadays, many editors don’t even seem to have the time to send a standard rejection. So, if you do…
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This week, my Monday motivation takes the form of a picture – and a grisly one to make you sit up, get thinking and write! Looking at the photo, here’s what came to mind for me: The Killing The knife plunges in, Blood oozes out, Splashing me, cascading down, Again I stab, deeper this time,…
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Have Fun With Your Writing! As writers, it’s so easy to get caught up in meeting deadlines, getting over writers’ block, trying to earn a living etc. so it’s no wonder we forget to enjoy writing. And enjoyment is exactly why we started writing in the first place. So forget the novel/short story/article you’re working…
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Last week, I wrote about looking back over your writing achievements and recognising how far you’ve come. This week, it’s the turn of the photo. It’s always good to look back over photos. They bring back an explosion of memories, some happy, some sad. I found a photo of my lovely grandad last week. He…
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Be versatile! As writers, we know what we like. Perhaps you enjoy writing fiction and want to become a novelist. Or maybe you yearn to be a screen writer or journalist. So, knowing what we like to write, we often stick to it and don’t try other forms of writing. Have you thought about copywriting?…
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As writers, we’re often very self-critical. We’re always looking forward and thinking about what we haven’t achieved yet, instead of thinking about how far we’ve come. I’ve kept a record book of every piece of writing I’ve ever sent out. It’s been good to go back over it and to see the successes I’ve forgotten…
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Sit back and relax! So, we’re into the second half of January already and how is your writing going? Struggling to get started? Can’t think of a story idea, or characters? Time to sit back, relax and let your mind do the work for you! Have a pad and pen by your side, then take…
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As writers, it’s easy to become set in our ways and to write the same type of stories, articles etc. So make this the year you write something new. You never know where it might lead. I thought I’d take up my own advice and so I tried writing something for the ‘We love to…
Esther Chilton 