The author, his writing and more
Approaching writing on the basis of accumulated experience rather than a set of rules such as grammar is natural for some people but can cause problems when confronted with an education system based on rules.
I have just completed the draft of Bursting with Life! taking the overall word total of my sixteen written novels (see the complete list) to more than two million. Who would have thought I’d write so much when I began my first novel, The Reaches, fourteen years ago in 2007.… Read more
I have just finished the first draft of my latest novel, The Cloud Catcher. From my perspective as a writer, it’s been a very strange journey. Begun in tandem with another novel, Bursting with Life! – writing two books in parallel was something I’d never done before – The Cloud Catcher won the battle for my attention, leaving me to complete the other, half-finished novel later this year.… Read more
As a novel writer, people’s names are important. A character called Imogen is hardly likely to react the same way as one called Lucie. Just say the two names out loud. The different sounds immediately conjure up contrasting traits.… Read more
Listen to the author reading The boy who told himself stories.The beginnings of the story…
Even as a kid I used to tell myself stories. All the time. In my bed, at school, on the high street, in the library, on the bus home or the train, out on my bike roaming the countryside.… Read more
While it is true that frustrating your characters moves the narrative forward and holds the reader’s attention, does that have to entail going to extremes? In the struggle to gain and retain an audience, an increasing number of authors are tempted by the extreme.… Read more
I am currently re-editing the first two books of the Boy & Girl Saga with a view to publishing the third book. When I mention editing, I am not talking about ensuring grammatical accuracy or correct spelling.… Read more