How to Write – How to Create

What Writing Software Should I Use?

Or why you should think less about gimmicks and more about reducing friction.

Why ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ is Wrong

And why it can lead a writer astray

Break In – Part II: Be One of the People

Creative industries are made up of people, and getting to know these people makes a huge difference to your chances of breaking into that industry.

Break In – Part I: Endure and Evolve

Breaking into any creative profession is a matter of persistence, talent, and luck. Luck looks after itself but you can develop your talent, and learn the en...

Build Worlds – Part III

Sometimes you need to build a fictional world from a set of broad ideas. To do this you need to find and set the edges of the world.

The Big Breaks are Small

Why you should stop waiting for success.

Build Worlds – Part II

World Building is ultimately about creating the illusion of reality and depth. To create that illusion, we need to use details, to evoke mood and tone with d...

Build Worlds – Part I

Creating the world that your story takes place in is a difficult and vital art, and one that is best approached by building it up from small details.

Get Notes and Fix Problems

Getting notes and feedback is vital to making sure that your writing is great, but to get the most from them you have to know yourself as a writer, what you ...

Rest and Recharge

To be able to create, you need endurance. To build endurance, you need to make a conscious practice of doing what makes you feel energised, making a habit of...

Gather Ideas

Ideas don’t arrive by lightning strike. They come from paying attention to the world and gathering what you find curious.

Take Notes

You should take notes. It captures ideas and observations in a way that lasts, and lets you look at an idea with fresh eyes when you come back to the note. T...