There is a strange tension between sharing a world and fully living inside it. Eventually, some stories begin asking for something deeper than fragments.

Fantasy worlds can become places of comfort, immersion and escape. But sometimes knowing a world too well makes it difficult to see what the reader still needs to discover.

When you start writing and you realise, I've heard this somewhere before... History has always fascinated us. We build entire television channels around it. We study it in schools. We return constantly to stories of past conflicts, political choices and social conventions; from the drawing rooms of Bridgerton to the smoke-filled back streets of Peaky Blinders. But I do not think history fascinates us simply because of the events themselves. History is more than kings, battles

I went into the manuscript assessment expecting feedback... I wasn't expecting a revelation. It was terrifying. If you have done anything like this before, I'm sure you'll understand that fear. This was my baby of twenty years and I was handing her over to the industry to judge (and let's face it, the pessimist was present) find lacking. I am pleased to say that was not the experience I had. It might sound like an exaggeration when I use revelation, but that is what it felt

How sharing the story early changes the story itself I realise what I have been doing on social media for the past couple of months appears odd to a lot of people. Sharing my story before it's finalised is probably considered a bit risky. Many writers are told not to share their work too early—but what actually happens when you do? Sure, there is an element of risk but I have discovered there is something incredible in it that I hadn't predicted. People are responding. I kn

We judge them for what they do, but is that fair? What makes a character do what they do? This is a concept I am fascinated with as a writer, and I am sure I am not the only one. This is where fiction crosses nicely over into the real world. What shapes us as people? Our families, our loved ones, what we were brought up to believe, our morals, where we are from, our age, what we spend our days doing, our likes and our dislikes, our natural strengths and our weaknesses? The l

If you have any thoughts of your own around this, please leave a comment. This is a topic a very important person close to me, really wanted me to post about. She is one of those people who is always right and it seems like an important area to talk about. What is the right path when you start writing so young? Do you/should you change it and adapt it to grow with your growing voice? Do you leave it alone? Writers have a voice at every stage of the process. Surely, these deve

Sometimes it's harder than I think it will be. If you have been following my social media posts, you may have noticed I'm on holiday. Like most of you, I find daily life gets in the way of writing A LOT, so I was really looking forward to spending some time with my world and my characters. It has been great. No pressure, no structure, no 'must get this done then I can write', getting in my way. I've had the space and time and I have used it. Predominantly, I have been plann

Stories aren't meant to stay hidden. This is me bringing it into the light. Let me begin with a question. Have you ever picked up a book and wondered - how did this book get from someone else's brain into my hand? I have, many times, and I will say, I never realised how much there was to it. I, perhaps naively, thought I'd write something great; send it to a publisher and they would do the rest. Well, that is not the case, not at all! I want to laugh at that poor sweet in

I was not prepared for them. They forced their way in and I am at their mercy! I must confess, I am not starting at the beginning. But then again, that is basically impossible at this point; having written stories since before I can remember. So I thought I would allow this whole process to reflect my general writing identity as a pantser. I properly identify with it now and have come to accept the case. I have reflected many times on this process of mine, and I have always d

I know, starting where I mean to build from. As my first post on the subject I'm going to keep it reasonably simple, because, quite frankly - it is actually very hard to get published. I should probably add the caveat - successfully. I don't know about you, but with the time and the love I put into my writing, I would like it to reach as wide an audience as possible. That takes a lot of varying factors. I'm going to make something of a list but I know I will be missing many o

So you've made it this far. I've written blogs before around many things but I think this is the first that is getting me really excited because, quite frankly, I'm talking about something I absolutely LOVE doing. I have been writing since before I can remember, from the days when I was making little books and handing them to my mum with great pride, to the present day. I've mused, I've put serious work in and I've experimented. I think this is where I have really learned the