TWELVE TOOLS (NOT RULES) OF WRITING : just what it says on the tin
SHOWING AND TELLING: the basics : how to use both to make your story do everything you want it to do.
HOW TO TELL, AND STILL SHOW : how to get on with the story without sacrificing vividness
SPEECH TAGS: how to use them best : why "he said" is often the answer but not always, and how to handle the latter
OVERWRITING: has someone told you your work is over-written? : here is what they might mean, and what you can do about it.
HEARING VOICES : what is voice, and why does it matter so much?
THE REAL SIXTH SENSE: writing uses all SIX of your senses - here's how.
STYLE AND VOICE : a post which explored the difference between the two, and why I think 'voice' is a much more useful thing to talk about.
LONG SENTENCES and why you should use them : there's a prevailing orthodoxy that short sentences are punchier and more pacy. Here's why I think it's largely not true, and certainly not that simple.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE : have you ever thought about the order in which you put the elements of a long sentence? An exploration of what's going on.
PSYCHIC DISTANCE: what it is and how to use it : a key technique, not much discussed and not hard to grasp.
POINT OF VIEW & NARRATORS 1: the basics : what point of view is, what a narrator is, and why it matters
POINT OF VIEW & NARRATORS 2: internal narrators : character-narrators who narrate in first person
POINT OF VIEW & NARRATORS 3: external narrators : limited, switching and privileged point of view in narrators who narrate in third person
POINT OF VIEW & NARRATORS 4: moving point of view and other stories : how to work with a moving point of view, second-person narrators and other stuff
PAST AND PRESENT TENSE: the essential questions : a post which explores this fundamental - and sometimes thorny - issue. The comments were very illuminating too.
FLASHBACKS AND BACKSTORY : how to handle the stuff from Before The Story Starts.
PROLOGUES : why you probably shouldn't, why occasionally you should.
ENDING THE NOVEL : how to make the quietest finish as big as it should be; how to end on a bang, not a whimper.
REVISIONS: Taking down the scaffolding: many writers find it hard to spot the things which needed to be in the first draft, but must be fished out in revision. Here's how to spot them
SEVENTEEN QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR NOVEL : before, during or after you write it.
THE NOVEL PLANNING GRID: one way (my way) of planning out your novel : a recent post, with a downloadable grid which you can then bend to your own purposes.
THE SYNOPSIS: Relax! : the synopsis won't make or break your novel's fate, but it can help to give it the best chance. Here's how.
CROSSING GENRES: The Perils and Pleasures : being rejected because your book is "neither one thing nor the other"? A exploration of the issues.
BOOKS FOR WRITERS: a partial view and a partial list : whether you're looking for help with writing sex, or for a present to give the peculiar creature called a writer who you seem to have spawned or made friends with, here are some of my favourites.
HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF AN EDITORIAL SERVICE : Does just what it says on the tin.
WRITING COURSES: the pros and cons : Should you do one? Which one? When?
CREATIVE WRITING PhDs : the paradoxial beast : Wondering whether to do a PhD? Wondering how anyone ever could? Some answers, lots of thoughts.
HOW TO COPE WITH PUBLICITY : An exploration of what's going on when you find that the publicity you long for - interviews, reviews, trade dinners - is much more stressful than you'd expect, and tips for how to cope.
