My Blog
How long is long enough?
Last week's issue was the business of 'murdering darlings'. This week I'm looking at the carnage and wondering - to use yet another metaphor - whether I've thrown the baby out with the bathwater. The main victim of last week's murderous rampage through the third draft...
Self-publishing: getting it right
WARNING People write books about this: one blog post can cover only the bare bones We can split the process of going from story in your head to books available to readers (in whatever form) into three parts. As a self-published writer, you're on your own: whatever...
The positive power of feedback
All my plans for meeting readers at the Lake District shows this summer went west the moment I fell down the stairs in mid-August and emerged with a ruptured Achilles tendon and damaged shoulder ligaments. Couldn't walk for a while, couldn't drive, couldn't lift or...
First audiobook!
At last, it's done! I started on this project months ago, thought about it, blogged about it, struggled with the abridging, rehearsed, found a recording studio, got help and did it. Then the master discs sat and looked at me for a while: what was the point of all that...
The lottery of writing fame
Last Thursday evening I had a great opportunity to see a very successful writer up close and hear the details of her career. Ann Cleeves was visiting Cockermouth in West Cumbria, not far from from where I live, and I was asked to 'interview' her live in front of a...
How do we measure ‘success’?
I spent decades of my professional life working with schools and education systems on how they find out how well they're doing: what information to gather, how to do so, and how to use the information so that it improves their 'performance' rather than just measures...