More Housekeeping

  Apologies for the lack of actual posts about writing and books. I currently have only very limited access to the internet at the moment [I'm actually writing this from an internet cafe as I'm one of the few people in the UK that does not posses a laptop, nor do I have internet on my phone] but I promise that I have lots of [hopefully] interesting posts lined up, including book recommendations, interviews with writers, discussion of childhood favourites and even a writing competition with a real prize! So please do keep checking back or subscribe. In the meantime, why don't you check out a couple of my favourite literary blogs,http://www.trashionista.com/ and

http://dovegreyreader.typepad.com/

See you very soon for a bonafide post about books!Also if you have any ideas about things you'd like to see me blog about then please post in the comments below. I will consider all suggestions as long as they are about books or writing.

Housekeeping

Just a very quick housekeeping post to say I have just joined Bloglovin' if you wish to follow my blog on there, then just click on the link below. There are also thousands of other blogs on there covering every subject imaginable, so if you need some new reading material then get clicking!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Writing Advice

In the past ten years I've come across alot of different advice about how to be a good writer. I've gained this advice from various sources; from books and articles and from participating in a writer's group when I was younger. Below are the five most common bits of writing advice that I've heard or read again and again. I hope you find them useful.  

 

1. Be persistent

 As with anything worth doing, you can't give up at the first hurdle. Or the second. Or the third.So what if you've never been published, or if your short story has been rejected umpteen times. Don't let it put you off trying again - thousands of successful writers were once sent rejection letters too, but they didn't let it stop them and now their work can be found in bookshops everywhere, as well as online. Roald Dahl, Stephen King, J.K Rowling and George Orwell are just some of the many famous authors who were once turned away by publishers, not once, but repeatedly. If you're feeling downhearted because you're convinced that you'll never be published then read this article by Michelle Kerns: http://www.examiner.com/article/30-famous-authors-whose-works-were-rejected-repeatedly-and-sometimes-rudely-by-publishers 
 Remember, if you're not happy with the way something is sounding, then you can always rewrite it!

2. Read Avidly 

I think it's very difficult to write well if you do not read often. Reading is fuel for a writer; it generates ideas, helps you to have empathy with people and teaches you how to structure your work properly. If you find that you do not enjoy reading, you probably won't enjoy writing. To me, the two acts are inextricably linked.
   

3. Show, don't tell

This is one I struggle with. It applies more to fiction writing than non-fiction, in particular novels. Basically it means try not to give away everything all at once and keep the reader interested by letting them work out things for themselves. So for example, rather than just tell the reader that 'Sophie is a hopeless romantic', give the reader clues that she is - her home could be full of romantic novels for instance.   

4. Think about what you're trying to say

Try to keep your writing to the point - don't wonder off on irrelevant tangents and make sure every word counts.   

5. Be disciplined

Try to make writing a habit. If you don't write regulary, you'll find it harder and harder to write each time you do sit down to do it. Writing is something that can only get better with practice. Use it or lose it!   

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

                                My favourite place to be is...in bed reading.

Firstly, I should point out that this isn't the first blog I've ever started. This blog has two predecessors [that I hope you don't stumble across on your internet travels] which ultimately failed because they weren't specific enough, and as a consequence I gave up on them too easily, after just a couple of months. I am attempting to do this again, because I now feel that I have a better understanding of how blogs work [though I'm still on a learning curve] and the kind of things I would like to blog about; namely anything and everything to do with reading and writing. 

Now, I'm not proclaiming to be some kind of expert on the subject of reading and writing [though I did recently try and drunkenly get past a bouncer by telling him I had an English degree, which did a fat lot of good], I'm merely making it the focus of my blog because reading is my passion, and my ultimate goal is to become a professional writer. I believe that if I truly want to be someone who writes for a living, then I should explore every avenue and try and make my presence known. I also want to write a blog because writing regulary makes me happy and even though I know this about myself, I still somehow always manage to put it off. 

Hopefully, having a blog will give me the incentive to write more often. My final reason for writing a blog is that reading blogs is one of my favourite pastimes, and I find myself wanting to be a part of the blogosphere more and more. It just looks like fun.