By Vanessa Jones Scrivener Scrivener is handy software for writers that is like a word processor, virtual pin up board and filing system all in one. Once you’ve completed your writing project, it will even compile your project into a file suitable for epublishing. It backs up automatically everytime you close the project, which is […]

Here are some editing tips that we’d like to share we you. We also have a copy of this article on our website. There are many different ways to edit your work. Some writers edit and polish as they go, while others wait until they have a complete first draft. Allowing yourself freedom during initial […]

David Chapple shares his top five short story writing tips: 1. For me plot is usually just an excuse to push a character around. If you develop a good, three dimensional character the plot often writes itself. 2. A character doesn’t have to be sympathetic to be engaging. If they want something enough a reader […]

By Paul Greenway I always open my Travel Writing Workshop with this first rule of travel writing (although I ignored it myself).  While it is possible to make money writing travel articles for magazines and websites, it is unlikely – but certainly not impossible – that you’ll earn a decent living. But you can at […]

By Michelle “Prakky” Prak That’s right – it’s time to embrace the digital age and often Twitter is a neglected resource for writers. Prakky shares her top five tips on how to best utilise Twitter if you are a writer.  1.       Follow and interact with other writers. Twitter works best as a place to have […]

By Sarah Lindblom Working from home as a writer can be a dream! Flexible, convenient and productive – you are the envy of your friends who spend hours a day commuting to work. A brilliant idea! Start a business from home… Two weeks later you realise that you have not left the house or your […]

By Simon Collinson You’re a young writer. You have ideas and ambition, and even a few pieces of writing sitting in a drawer, but no idea where to send them. Sound familiar? Getting work published is a dilemma for writers of every age, but is particularly severe for younger writers with little experience in the […]

By Piri Eddy  As the saying goes, ‘Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.’ But for most of us, our lives don’t consist of car chases and explosions, or thrilling plot twists and tensely built narratives. Heck, most of us don’t even split our pants down the middle bending over for a dollar on the sidewalk. […]

By Steve Evans We all form opinions, and more or less continuously. You finish reading a book and ask yourself, would I recommend it, and why? Perhaps you began to realise early on in which direction such thoughts were heading. On the other hand, maybe you got part way through and were later surprised at […]

By Steve Evans We are all creatures of habit. Sometimes we try to shuck those tendencies—give up smoking, be fitter, become a better friend, learn how to write a bestseller. Sometimes it seems we are offered, if not a miracle cure, then an easy way through. No-one is immune to the temptations of inside information […]

By Walter Mason  Have you ever read any of the work of Steven Pressfield? He is very much the creativity guru of the moment, and I like him because he really deals in a type of tough love for artists and writers. No molly-coddling, no delicate nurturing of the creative heart. He is all about […]

By Ben Brooker I don’t believe in giving advice to aspiring writers. I know this is a problematic way to begin a blog post in which I’ve been asked to dispense tips, but what else is one to say? Read. Lots. And write. Lots. There really is nothing else to be said. I do, however, […]

By Lia Weston As writers, one of the few statements we can probably all agree on is that art is subjective.  There’s wriggle room within that definition, too; you can appreciate (or learn to appreciate in some cases) the work that goes into a particular piece even if you can’t stand the end result. I, […]

By Malcolm Walker Shakespeare asks, ‘What’s in a name?’ and answers by telling us roses smell sweet whatever they are called. But Tim Winton’s character Rose Pickles out of Cloudstreet is anything but sweet: her character comes fully armed with thorns for most of the story – even though she softens towards the end of […]

By Astrid Cooper Anyone can write erotica—it’s just sex scenes strung together. Right? W-R-O-N-G!  To be successful in the competitive erotic fiction market you need more than hot sex on every page. Sometimes you don’t even have to have that much sex in the story to sell like wildfire. What are some of the ingredients […]