We’ve all been hit by writer’s block to some degree! Poets, novelists, screenwriters and writers in many other fields have all discussed this condition. You might ask yourself, why can’t I write? You might also be tempted to think, I’m a bad writer. It might show up as rendering you completely unable to write a … Read more
Autobiographies may seem a little top-heavy (or all-the-way-through heavy) with research, but these are people’s own accounts of their own lives. The research has been lived, rather than done, and the results are in. We know when we pick up a book, often, whether a person has lived a successful life or not by our … Read more
Ah, autofiction. It must be one of the most confusing literary labels out there! What’s so ‘auto’ about this kind of fiction, and what does that prefix even mean? Is autofiction any form of endorsed navel-gazing, or is there something more at play here? How can you find a good autofictional novel, and which writers … Read more
Essays! Oh no! Not again! Worry not. Once you’ve finished formal education you are unlikely to have to write an essay, unless you want to. That’s right, some people choose to write essays. The good news is that essays can be really entertaining and engaging: you may enjoy reading all the works mentioned in this … Read more
New Adult (NA) writing is a relatively new genre designed to bridge the gap between Young Adult (YA) writing and more traditional adult fiction. The New Adult genre hasn’t been around too long, but has delivered some of the most successful contemporary writers around! The best New Adult writers are Krista and Becca Ritchie, Cora … Read more
Joseph Conrad, often considered a foundational writer in the English language, struggled to learn English and often as a young man struggled to find acceptance within British and wider-European society. Incredibly well-traveled and familiar with the quirks particular to a life spent at sea, Conrad uses his knowledge of far-flung places and of life on … Read more
Dystopia! That sounds sad. Right? Might be better to give it a miss altogether? Go watch something fun. No! These tales are great. This article will explore which dystopia writers are the best, and why you should read them! The best dystopia writers are Margaret Atwood, Mary Shelly, Cormac McCarthy, George Orwell, and Kazuo Ishiguro. … Read more
Dickens. We all know the name, right? Old guy. Victorian. Something about some candles and a poor boy. Who wants more. Seems kinda snoozy, and moralizing. A bit dusty. You might be wondering, should I even bother trying to read these old books? They’re pretty long … you could knock yourself out with these weighty … Read more
There are so many great adventure writers. You might be more familiar with their heroes and characters, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, Bilbo Baggins, The Three Musketeers: Athos, Porthos and Aramis, Moby Dick, and the tiger Richard Parker. Here’s a book on the tradition of adventure writing. The novels attached to these characters sound snoozy … Read more
If you’re writing a novel, a short story, a play, or a screenplay you should consider giving your character what they need, and not what they want. So what does this actually mean? In most stories your character will be pursuing a central objective. See this article about how to write central objectives. Your character … Read more