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It’s only by taking risks—by rolling the dice and risking failure—that you improve your skills.

There are two ways to write a great character. Unfortunately, neither of them works.

When you’re deciding how to schedule something, it’s a good idea to assume some things will go wrong.

I'm about to break a rule. You can read as many articles and listen to as many podcasts and attend as many workshops as you want, but good storytelling is usually instinctive. Sometimes the rules will tell you to do one thing (use active voice! avoid adverbs!) but...

Sometimes i look at a blank page and I see: POTENTIAL (the chance that something will develop and become real). Other times I look at a blank page and I see: HORROR! I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO THINK OF A GOOD IDEA! THAT BLANK PAGE WILL ALWAYS BE BLANK! LIKE MY MIND! When...

I didn't really write this sitting in the kitchen sink (however that is my kitchen sink, and my cat, Harry) but that is one of the most famous "first lines" of a novel. It's from I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, and I have always loved it. You may love it or you...

Knock knock! 'Who's there?' 'Is there anything for afternoon tea?' This conversation happens at around 3.30pm each day as my children arrive home from school & want to be fed. 'Sure' I yell through the door, 'there's apples, nuts, bread....' 'Yeah, but is there...

There’s a lot of writing advice out there. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. But it’s worth remembering, there’s a lot of things a writer doesn’t need…..like Neat handwriting The ability to predict the weather A snazzy pen A lot of money Smelly breath A photographic...

I get asked some strange questions. 'Can you turn into an animal?' (I don't think so, but I'll keep trying.) 'How old are you?' (In dog years, I'm 7.) 'Are you famous?' (Are you kidding?) 'Did you invent Spongebob?' (Haha! I wish!) Readers are curious about this...

First sentences are the most important sentence in any story. The only thing more important is the sentence after that. And the only thing more important than the sentence after that is - you guessed it - the sentence after that. Getting your reader hooked from the...

At school I used to get in trouble for doodling. It was usually when I was meant to be doing maths. I have nothing against maths – believe me, you really need to understand it when you start earning money and paying bills. But my brain always felt freer when I was...

As I’ve mentioned before, there’s no correct or incorrect way to write a story. If you’re interested in writing, it’s important that you work out which way works best for you. Do you start at the beginning, or with a random scene in the middle?  A writer friend of...

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, for many years I worked as a publisher of books for children and young people. A publisher’s job is all about helping writers turn their stories into books. The publisher guides the writer through all the steps that one needs to...

Okay, so we’ve talked about getting ideas. What’s next? Well, whenever I write a story, I follow 4 very general and broad steps.  They are: 1 thinking about ideas 2 planning 3 drafting 4 editing 1. Whenever I think of an idea, I write it down in my ideas book, or in a...

Hi kids, It's time for the number one piece of writing advice I've ever found. This tops everything - in my opinion - because if you don't follow this piece of advice, you probably won't keep writing. In fact, you might even start to really dislike writing. And that...