Category: Writing Tips
-
Emotional energy and the writer
The last few weeks have been full on writing my novel The Book of Remembered Possibilities and dealing with family life, getting back into the routine of school. One of my children has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome. These children don’t like change, struggle with social situations and outside stimuli, noise, light, smells for example…
-
My useless writing genius knows no bounds
Oh this tightrope between delusion and despair, between confidence and crisis! It’s something that is familiar to every writer especially those who are endeavouring, really endeavouring to create something that they hope ultimately might be enjoyed by someone other than themselves. I’ve written a collection of stories called Random Acts of Optimism and that’s what…
-
Writing and Guilt
These days we call upon ourselves to be everything in perfection. In the wider world success and fame are seen to be a criterion for happiness. In all aspects of our existence, health, parenting, relationships, careers we have been assaulted by a multitude of ‘shoulds’. These have been substituted for common sense and instinct. Even…
-
Novel writing: Untangling a slinky
I’ve just spent a long time untangling my daughter’s slinky, which, as you’ll see from the picture is one of those springy coils that are really fun to play with. This slinky has been tangled up for a couple of weeks and all the members of the family have had a go trying to untangle…
-
What mint chocolate can tell us about writing and finding an agent
Just a quick post based on thoughts that seemed a good idea at the time but that I can’t really tell if are of any substance because I was not alone with the said thoughts, they were had at the front of a car containing 4 children behind just out of school and in full…
-
Writing Scenes – what is the perfect snapshot?
Recently a photographer came to take a picture of my children to accompany an article for the newspaper in which I had been quoted. He took many, many pictures, altering the configurations and the props. In the end, two photographs of the very many were chosen. The photographer had created far more material than he…
-
Writing – what you can do with the wind behind you
I often write about the challenge in finding the time to write. However there are times when the wind is at your back and you find yourself at exactly the right mental place and physical time There are times when you begin to write and keep on writing, when a story appears almost fully formed…
-
Writing Rejection, Obstacles? Try to look at now with hindsight
Sometimes I feel like a fraud, on this blog telling people it’s possible to write with four young kids and all the other stuff that happens because sometimes it isn’t that possible or only just about by the skin of your teeth. (Excuse me, I need to go and help the three year old….) Where…
-
All the options: One Stop Self-Publishing Conference
I attended the One Stop Self Publishing Conference on Sat Oct 17th at the Fitzpatrick Killiney hotel Dublin. It was organised and facilitated by Vanessa O’ Loughlin of Inkwell and Eoin Purcell of Green Lamp Media. As a fiction writer I was interested in interested in exploring the self-publishing option as one of the many possible…
Alison Wells Author 