Writers all over the world talk about Imposter Syndrome*, that feeling your success is undeserved and that one day the world will collectively blink, take a good long look at you and realise you are some kind of fraud. It’s … Continue reading
That egg timer in the picture has some history. I am its new keeper. I’ve been to the Milford SF conference three times now. Every time was different, every time I learned new things about being a better writer. Every … Continue reading
So this time around I signed with an agent. It was interesting to look back at previous submissions and think about what I did differently. Apart from one thing, it wasn’t that easy to see exactly what that was. My … Continue reading
Last week I decided to start walking to work. It’s already done me a lot of good. Let me explain – I work from home. Up until last week my commute was nothing more than the distance between the bedroom … Continue reading
The last few years have been terrific ones for the T Party, the London writing group I’ve belonged to since I can’t remember when (about 15 years – I think). Web sites always need more work, so I decided a … Continue reading
For the past couple of years there has been a fascination with world-building in genre fiction, with many discussions on forums, blog posts, and panels at conventions. Its become the Need-to-Know thing about writing SF and Fantasy, with half the … Continue reading
It might feel like that, and there’s always something else to talk about, but all these musings of mine are supposed to be a means to an end, not an end in themselves. Reading books and articles on writing can … Continue reading
Ideally writing time should be such a normal part of your life you simply get on with it without thinking, like brushing your teeth before bed, or having breakfast. For some people this comes naturally, others (me) need to work … Continue reading
I’ve heard more than one agent or editor say the quality of writing in their submission stack or their slush pile is not that bad. They say there are a few terrible pieces, a few that stand out, and in … Continue reading
I made a lot of mistakes in my quest to learn how to get words down onto the page. This was nothing to do with how to write in a sense of technical mastery, just simply bums on seats and … Continue reading
