My neighbour came to the door last Sunday afternoon. Said she had a favour to ask. I thought she was going to ask me to look after her cat for a few days. But no, that wasn’t it. She is president of the local branch of the Scottish Women’s Institute (SWI) and the speaker lined… Continue reading Speech: The Joy of Giving an Author Talk – At Short Notice #amwriting
When I was looking for a literary agent and publisher for my first novel, Change of Life, nearly ten years ago, one of the rejection reasons I was given was the age of my main characters. I was told nobody wanted to read a romance where the prospective couple were in their late forties and… Continue reading The Genre Conundrum Part 3: Age and other issues in Romantic Fiction #amwriting
As I said in my last post I find the genre thing for novel classification rather tricky. As a writer, I don’t want to mislead prospective readers by getting the labelling wrong. But I also want to make sure my books appeal to and reach my target readership when they’re browsing the shelves in… Continue reading The Genre Conundrum Part 2: Romantic Expectations #amwriting
Part 1 of 3 As the publication date for my next novel draws ever closer, my thoughts are now turning to how to ensure it catches the eye of prospective readers both online and in book shops. An attractive cover and an engaging back-cover summary will of course be essential – and by working with… Continue reading The Genre Conundrum in Fiction: Categories and Keywords
It’s some writing news of my own for this week’s post. Bring on the rewrites My next book is now with my editor and I’m braced and ready for the rewrites that will inevitably be required. I always think I’ve polished my writing until it cannot be improved before I send it off, but then… Continue reading Read All About It: Writing News
There’s been a lot going on in my writing life recently so I reckoned a bit of an authorly round-up was due. As mentioned in a previous post, I’m a member of the Edinburgh Writers’ Club and as such I’m eligible to enter their annual competitions. In that previous post I reported that I came… Continue reading Competition and Conference Success and Other Writing News
Some writing success: I’m a member of the Edinburgh Writers’ Club and yes, living in the Scottish Highlands, I certainly take the definition of a ‘country’ membership to its limits. I originally joined the club about seventeen years ago when I lived in the city, and when I relocated up north I wanted to keep… Continue reading Writing News: January 2017
November is turning out to be a busy month for me. There’s lots of writing and writing-related work to be done. And I’m really looking forward to it all. So what’s on? See below… As well as the final push to complete the first draft of the novel-in-progress, I have both teaching and author talk… Continue reading November Writing News
It’s all about the story… When I start writing a novel, I’m not sure where the story is going to lead. But, as an author of both adult and children’s fiction, I do at least know which audience the novel is aimed at. Other than that, once the seed is planted, I wait to… Continue reading Writing Fiction: The how, the what, and the why of what works for me
A Fictional Hierarchy There seems to be a consensus which says that literary fiction is first and foremost about themes and that commercial fiction has character, plot and setting at the forefront. There also seems to be an apparent hierarchy to the above elements of fiction which places themes above the other three. And… Continue reading Themes: Not Just for Literary Fiction
