I’m euphoric! I’ve just finished the first draft of Against the Sun, my latest novel, and it only took four months. Scenes are (mostly) in the right place and my protagonist’s arc is solid. There isn’t a spare character in sight and I’m confident this book will take less time to edit than my last. I owe it all to Eva Deverell and her One Page Novel course.
Read MoreWelcome to another edition of Simple Magic. Lockdown restrictions are lifting, the sun’s shining, and I’m making progress with the first draft of my novel. This is a strange chapter in history, and I think it’s the small, everyday details that shed light on the whole. Time to pause the writing posts for a moment and share a quick tour of my camera roll before the moment slips away forever.
Read MoreOn Monday I asked via Instagram Stories whether you’d like a post on searching for literary agents or how to keep a writer’s notebook - as you can see, the writer’s notebook won!
Read MoreI have a rocky relationship with word counts. They go down when I want them to go up, and soar out of control when I’d rather be concise. I’ve found word counts motivating, stifling, an uplifting measurement of progress and a way to disguise floundering as progress.
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 MoreI’ve not done a ‘simple magic’ post in a wee while. Since I’m stuck indoors now seemed like the perfect time to tour my camera roll and appreciate the little things! Hope you enjoy this dairy-style post finding new corners to sip tea from, baking on a Saturday morning and all the little moments in between.
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 MoreSix drafts, 569 pages and 116,235 words later, I finished writing my book. It’s been a bumpy road, and a longer journey than anticipated. If this process has taught me anything it’s how to not write a novel! I thought I’d reflect on some of mistakes, and how I’ll approach book two differently.
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 MoreJanuary: empty pockets, the sparkle of Christmas faded and old routines resumed under sunless skies. It’s the time of year we’re most in need of magic but hope and motivation prove elusive. I’ve not succumbed to January blues yet, but there’s still time for those “always winter, never Christmas” feelings to strike, so here’s a list of writerly things you can do for free to illuminate grey January days.
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.
Read MoreI wanted to share this post to let you in on a little secret: I don’t have an ideal writing set-up. However, that doesn’t stop me from taking my writing seriously every single day.
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