The one question I keep being asked by new writers is – where do you start? Sometimes we have a great idea but when we start writing we just can’t follow it through. The idea seems to go nowhere and that great story just doesn’t seem to want to come out. So what’s the problem? […]
Author Archive | Grace
Writing a Short Story
Have you thought about writing a short story for Christmas? Some of us have a little more free time at Christmas and there’s no better way to make use of it than writing a short story. The thing about the short story is that it can be as long or short as you like. I […]
How to get reviews for your books.
How to get reviews for your books – honestly! For many of us writers, getting reviews is becoming very difficult. Some statistics say that very few people actually go to the trouble of reviewing the books they read. For those of us who have completed and published books, this makes it hard to sell them on […]
Don’t be afraid – experiment with your writing Genre.
Are you afraid to dip your toe in the water? Do you always write in the same genre? Do you believe that all you can write is romantic comedy or spy thrillers? Maybe that’s because that’s all you’ve ever tried. Strong beliefs can narrow your horizons. So why not change those beliefs? Set yourself a […]
Why Writing Exercises and prompts make you a better writer.
WRITING EXERCISES AND PROMPTS WORK! Here’s why. Remember back to your school days. The teacher would give you a subject to write about and you would pick up your pencil and just do it. You probably don’t remember being blocked or short of ideas back then. That’s because your teacher gave you parameters. In other […]
Audible Books – loving listening.
Audible books are an extremely enjoyable way to hear stories. You can listen in the car, or when out walking, or even when you are too tired to read. I first became aware of the power of listening to books when my mother was dying of cancer. She was too ill to read and so we […]
Writing in the Sun
Are you writing in the sun? I am – let me explain: we are enjoying a very unusual and very hot 31 degrees here in Galway and the sky is a beautiful blue. This makes a welcome change from the grey clouds and rain. I am usually prone to a bit of seasonal affective disorder but […]
Writing on spec – why you should.
Writing on spec means writing a full, article, story, book or script without the promise of payment or publication. The risk is all on the side of the writer. For example, if you write a story and send it to a magazine without them actually asking you to do it – you are writing on […]
Inspirational poems – persist
Inspirational poems can lift your spirits when you are feeling low. One of my favourite inspiring poems is the one below. It is called Persist by John Greenleaf Whittier. In any writer’s life there will be ups and downs and sometimes it can seem that there are more downs than ups. We can struggle with motivation. […]
The Stinging Fly Stories Anthology
The Stinging Fly Stories Anthology is a new collection of stories that were published in the Stinging Fly literary magazine over the last twenty years. It’s not easy for a literary magazine to survive in these changing times. But the Stinging Fly has not just survived but has thrived. Their continued success is a huge credit […]