Ruth’s Blog

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Does proof-reading flatten language?

Of course, the question is facile: it's not as black and white as that. So let's pick apart the proof-reading stage of the publishing process, just to see what it contributes and where problems can arise. First off, doing without proof-reading is a mistake. Nothing...

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How useful is a big book ‘launch’?

When I produced my first book in 2012 I was so taken up with the final stages  of publication and all the detailed stuff that most writers - me included - find so intimidating, that I didn't even think about a book launch. Then I came across a friendly local PR...

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Agents – how did they get to be so powerful?

I saw an advert today for a 'writing conference', but actually it was an event designed solely to give writers access to a group of agents, for whom the writers were expected to 'perform', aka 'pitching'. For this experience the writers would travel to the venue and...

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Opening paragraph: it has to be good!

Almost at the end of the writing and editing process on the new book now, and the last thing on the list of issues to deal with is the opening paragraph. The current version has been written and rewritten countless times over the past few months and before I'm done...

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What’s the story on ‘quotes’ for book covers?

With the ms of the new book with the copy editor, I'm thinking ahead to the upcoming stages of the book's production. I'll be using the same cover designer as on the previous five novels, and have a brilliant photo image already bought and paid for: now I'm wondering...

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Character, setting and story: the perpetual balancing act

When I started writing it was really all about setting and character: there was a background story line, but after a while that declined in importance and the interplay of the characters against the West Cumbrian backdrop became the main driving force. Readers love...

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A child’s Point of View: unreliable or devastatingly honest?

I've written before about the challenge of writing from a child's point of view. To some extent, the child is an unreliable narrator as their view of the world is coloured by youth and inexperience and possible misconceptions. But there's always the possibility that...

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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...

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‘Murdering the darlings’, again

Remember the sense of anti-climax at the end of the first draft that I complained about last week? Well, instinctive dissatisfaction was well founded. Even before the long and perceptive email arrived from my editor I had reluctantly admitted to myself that the story...

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