Why can’t first drafts be perfect? I knew I wouldn’t get away scot-free, but wasn’t quite prepared for the mountain of revisions. Where was my Zadie Smith moment - grabbing a bottle of champagne and having a introspective moment of satisfaction and emptiness in my garden? Instead I’d reached a false summit, the way forward shrouded by mist. I didn’t know where to go next.
Read MoreI’ve been many different types of writer. Aspiring. Pantser. Plotter. Bad. Solitary. Slow. Multi-tasker. Recently my writing has shifted into a new phase. I’ve never felt more in tune with the way I write and what I want to write about. It made me realise I’ve changed a lot from my teenage, Tolkien-inspired scribbles…
Read MoreThe last time I spoke about books here I mentioned falling into a reading rut. I’m happy to say that cloud has passed and I’ve spent most of lockdown devouring books and finding a new all time favourite to cherish.
Read MoreToday I want to show you what my writing process looks like - from first idea to finished story. I’ve avoided creating these types of post in the past because, being unpublished, I don’t feel like a ‘proper writer’. But you don’t spend the majority of your life writing without developing some kind of process. I like to think mine is pretty foolproof by now, so I thought I’d outline it here for anyone who might find it useful.
Read MoreI draw endless inspiration from my immediate surroundings, but every so often I like to escape. Usually, I do this by reading a book. I’m sure you do, too. But what if you don’t have a book? Or the worlds therein aren’t to your liking? What if you could escape to a world of your own invention with just a piece of paper, a pencil and your imagination?
Read MoreIt’s Wednesday afternoon. I’m sat at my kitchen table with a coffee, having returned from my usual river walk and a wee daunder around town.
Read MoreI’m currently editing the end of my first novel. It’s a goal that’s long eluded me. My writing failures outweigh my writing successes, yet somehow I’m putting the finishing touches to a story I’ve tried to tell for years, but never had the skills to do so until recently. I’m chalking this win up to one defining trait…
Read MoreI’m sitting down to type this on a peaceful, snowy day. The kind that inspires curling up with novel edits and getting lost in a world of my own invention. Editing my book used to feel daunting, but once I found a process and surrendered to diving deeper into my story, I couldn’t tear myself away.
Read MoreHappy 2020 – I hope you all had a restful Christmas & New Year.
Mine was the perfect balance of sleeping in, hill walking and curling up with books and Christmas chocolate.
Read MoreWandering through rain. Light-splashed pavements. Hot coffee in crowded cafes. Spiked silhouettes underneath the jagged skyline. A day that felt neither Saturday nor Sunday, just some unspecified date close to Christmas in gloomy, fog-bound Edinburgh.
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