The Bloggery

To whet your appetite for the Writing Dialogue workshop on 13–14 December, I’ve got a lovely freebie Writing Skill for you: Voice Argume...

To add to your collection of festive writerly games, decor, and joyous silliness, I have a lovely new brace of parlour games for you, per...

Hearty cheesy mushroom bake with red lentils, succulent inside and crispy on top . Gluten-free | Veggie Ars longa, vita brevis , as I sa...

Creating and getting to know our characters is one of the most joyous parts of writing. It's also an area where we easily slip into hab...

Magic is a joyous aspect of fantasy, but without limits, magic will scupper your plot or leave giant plot loopholes. Some ways of restricti...

My two favourite soundscape sites for writing, MyNoise and Ambient Mixer, both create soundscapes of different places and situations by mix...

Markets and their ilk are a lovely moment in writing: a rich opportunity for description and world-building, filled with sensory potential...

It’s so normal, when we want to commit to new writing habits, to draw up a Dramatic New Plan and throw all our strength behind it. Especi...

In any kind of fiction writing, we need to manage our secrets. We want to hide the ending so it's a surprise, not a slow-moving inevit...

If you're coming to a Summer of Writing workshop from outside Oxford, and want to make a weekend of it, here are my favourite suggest...

Fresh crunchy green salad that  stays  fresh and crunchy, topped with all your favourites. Gluten-free | Vegan, Veggie, or Omnivore As a...

Writing mysteries is partly about an intense atmospheric sense of place, and partly a complex little puzzle of laying out your clues, rev...

“How do I know if my planning is actually just procrastinating now?” “Should I stop planning and start writing?” “Is my planning j...

I’ve had some good teachers – in drawing, singing, running a business. Every time I find a good teacher, it reminds me of the differen...