We all know conflict is central to a great story. Without struggles, arguments, and fights the reader nods off. How people deal with things that oppose them reveals their personality. By alerting you to different types of conflict, this article aims to help you add more of it to your…

Lessons I learned writing a series of YA novels I’d written numerous short stories, plays and articles before. I’d even completed a novella. But writing a series of four books was something different and I learned a great deal from it. 1. I didn’t need a plan With most things I’ve written I’ve had a clear…

1 Alice I wish I’d never seen her face. It’s not that she isn’t beautiful. It’s not that she isn’t intelligent. It’s not that I don’t love her. It’s the pain she’s brought — the complete destruction of everything I have known, everything I have held dear and everything I have loved. …

Adverbs make writing more vibrant and interesting — sometimes. If we want to be better writers we need to consider our use of this part of speech carefully. Read Hemingway or Steinbeck and notice how many they don’t use. There are different types of adverbs. …

Are you using all the tools available to change other people’s minds? Below you’ll find the most common techniques. 1. Address the audience directly. Use second-person pronouns to direct your message straight at individuals. * You know you should have it because you deserve it. * You can make a…

Ignore people who say you shouldn’t use colons and semicolons in your writing, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. This ‘advice’ is usually spouted by those who don’t know how to employ these handy little fellows. Colons for lists Many people know this one. Look at the sentences below. For breakfast we ate: eggs…

It lay, alone, on the black tablecloth, like an antique weapon on display. It was a hand, a human hand. Severed at the wrist, it held Nigel Falkner’s gaze. The person it had belonged to was dead; the hand was dead. How could it be anything but? Of course the…

Being an immigrant from Australia has shown me racism has a complex set of causes including arrogance, insecurity and ignorance. I’m ‘white’, male and six foot three, native English speaker, so I haven’t suffered the appalling physical violence others have. But people have tried to use my ethnic origin against…

I’ve faced a blank page with no idea what to write. But I’ve not only overcome this seemingly impossible obstacle myself, during three decades as an English teacher and through running creative writing workshops for staff and students, I’ve also helped thousands of people get words on the page. …