DARK HUMOUR “I can hear someone screaming – that’s the last time I buy gaffer tape in the discount shop.” Did this make you laugh? I did. I love dark humour. But, not everybody does and that’s okay. What makes us laugh? Why is that one person can roll about laughing at something that makes another […]
Author Archive | Grace
EVERNOTE WAS HACKED
DID YOU EVERNOTE? Evernote was hacked! Now, this worries me. Being a writer, I’m worried by any threat to my note-taking/keeping system. Mind you, I’m not talking about any old note taking system and I’m especially not talking about the old-fashioned spiral-bound system that many of us used to use, although I remember I did once […]
HORSE BURGERS
HORSE BURGERS In case you’re wondering why there’s a piece about horse burgers in the middle of a blog about creative writing, let me explain. You see, here in Ireland we are continually being bombarded with more and more horsey stories and as a writer I just can’t ignore it any longer, not to mention […]
Keeping Life Simple
“Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need – a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more […]
MULTITASKING AND WRITING
WHY MULTITASK? Funny how things change; the words multitasking used to evoke images of ultra-efficient people, holding conference calls, writing books, reading emails and preparing a dinner party for six – all at the same time. EDITING CHICKEN AND COOKING THE BOOKS Of course most of us, at least the people I know, never did […]
New Years Resolutions – for Writers
Even if you don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions, the New Year is a good time to assess your writing and think about ways you can achieve your goals. If you are just starting to write, or even just thinking about beginning to write, the easiest thing to do is start with the very basics. […]
Happy Christmas to Writers Everywhere.
I don’t know what other writers do for Christmas but this year I am taking a few days just to rest and reflect. I have heard of writers who write every single day of the year, including Christmas day and that’s wonderful if it suits them but for me, I often find a complete break […]
BREAKING WRITER’S BLOCK IN FIVE STEPS
START BREAKING WRITER’S BLOCK? When ever I think of the phrase ‘breaking writer’s block’ I get a mental image of some wild-haired, red-eyed writer, dragging an empty page out of an old-fashioned typewriter, then staggering round a room full of scrunched up pieces of paper before finding a half full whiskey bottle on the floor […]
FIVE QUICK STEPS TO WRITING A SYNOPSIS
Writing a synopsis is something a lot of writers dread. I think the reason they dread this is because they leave it too late. They have already completed a long piece of work – without any form of synopsis, plan, outline, treatment, summary or even a page of notes. This works for some but to […]
Create a Character in Five Quick Steps
Learning how to create a character can be a challenge. There are various ways to approach it. Some are quite complicated and can be off-putting to a new writer. Others can be great on paper but they tend to be too academic – meaning they create totally unbelievable characters. I drew up my quick and easy […]