Writing Outside the Box

The rise-fall plot, also known as the Icarus plot, looks like this: This is probably the type of plot you learnt early on in your...

It's the last week of this month's theme - features of writing. We're going to be looking at plot. The idea for a plot is probably the...

I've talked a lot about how to make a realistic setting, but how do you make a fantasy setting seem believable? My top tip is much the...

This week's reading is The Hunter's Wife by Anthony Doerr. If you missed it, you can find it here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/a...

One of your first considerations when writing a story should be setting. Where is it set? Does the location change or do your...

This week we're going to be focusing on setting. Generally speaking, settings are either fictional or real. If you're going for a...

This week's reading is very short and comes again from the Bath Flash Fiction Awards. This piece is called The Undertakers' Jolly and is...

Third person is another more common perspective, alongside first person. This means using the pronouns 'he', 'she', 'they', etc. So why...

Second person is much more obscure in story writing. This means using the pronouns 'you', 'your', 'yourself', etc. So why write in the...

First person is one of the most common perspectives to write your story in. This means using the pronouns 'I', 'me', 'my', etc. So why...

It's a new week and another new theme - this week we're focusing on point of view. Point of view is a great follow on from character:...

Realistically, the more relatable your character is, the more likely people are to keep reading your story. There are certain ways to do...

One really important consideration for your piece of writing is how and when to introduce your main character. When? I think it's fair to...

In this post, I am going to be focusing on how to give your character a background. This week's reading does this particularly well, and...

This is the last post specifically on dialogue for a while, but next week we'll be focusing on character. Characterisation and dialogue...

In my last post I talked about using sentence starters as prompts. The good news is they are something I continue to find useful in my...

So you've started writing in your notebook already, but what else can you write about? This week, I will be focusing on different kinds...

So you've read my first post and you've bought your first notebook, maybe you've even tried some free writing or observational work. But...