5 Things I Learned About Writing This Year

April 29, 2015

I’m only in the first year of my Creative Writing PhD, but here are some of the things that have helped me write my YA novel so far.

1. Focus on process

I’ve stopped obsessing over word count and started logging what I do each day. I found that walking helps when I hit a wall. And that early mornings and late afternoons are my best times for writing.

Meg Rosoff tells me about her latest book, how a novel can start with a single line, and her tips for new writers.

April 21, 2015

I’m very excited to interview one of my all-time favourite authors, Meg Rosoff. One of the finest writers working today, her 2004 debut novel How I Live Now is set in a contemporary Britain being all-too convincingly torn apart by war. She went on to publish more award-winning novels, including Just In Case, What I Was and Picture Me Gone – all utterly different from each other, but all featuring characters who may be odd or damaged or searching, but who are surprising and unforgettable.

This week I am guest posting at Write-Track.co.uk

February 23, 2015

I'm delighted to have been invited to guest on the excellent writers' productivity website and blog: write-track.co.uk. If you haven't already seen it, take a look at their wonderful site and writers' goal-setting tools and community.

You can read my blog post for them here: http://blog.write-track.co.uk/goal-setting/learning-from-four-of-the-best/

Thanks!

Joss Stirling on her newest books, why character and chemistry come first, and tips for writing successful YA fiction

February 14, 2015

YA novelist Joss Stirling is just one identity of the prolific writer also known as Julia Golding and Eve Edwards. She talks to me about juggling personas, why she writes in a café, how writing teen fiction is like Freaky Friday, and her tips for aspiring writers.

David Almond on playfulness in writing, his favourite books and tips for writers

February 2, 2015

David Almond writes like no one else. His lyrical stories set in the north-east of England have captured the imagination of generations of readers. Here he describes how his breakthrough novel Skellig came as a surprise; how to handle writer’s block; and why he loves writing for young people.

Celia Rees talks teenage fiction; the roulette wheel of publishing; and what marks out a true writer.

January 26, 2015

Celia Rees is one of the UK’s most successful and prolific writers of teen fiction. Her work is powerful and wide-ranging, from award-winning historical fiction such as Witch Child to the contemporary realism of This Is Not Forgiveness, taking in pirates, vampires and Shakespeare in other novels along the way.

Here she talks teenage fiction; the roulette wheel of publishing; and what marks out a true writer.