Being inspired by art

December 17, 2018 in Reviews, Bookshelf

What’s a book of paintings got to do with the writing process?

Tom Watson and Giles Watling, MPs, speaking at the Awards. Photo by Terry Freedman

The 2018 Educational Writers' Awards

December 13, 2018 in Events, News & views, Reviews

Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and their books! There were some great-looking books on display. Here is some information about the winning entry, and a couple of the others.

Photo by Davide Goldin on Unsplash — Photo by Davide Goldin on Unsplash

The Poseidon Predicament

October 25, 2018 in The lighter side

What Kafka’s Poseidon and I — and probably every other freelance — have in common.

Why swearing in writing or speaking is (usually) very ill-judged

October 22, 2018 in Bad writing, News & views

Gratuitous swearing usually adds nothing to a piece of writing or a talk. It’s unpleasant to listen to, and probably has unfortunate consequences for the offender.

An interesting literary event

August 24, 2018 in Creative Writing, Events

Late Lines is an event run by the City Lit adult education institute in London. Here’s a brief report of the most recent one, plus key dates for your literary calendar.

Fast writing tips: forget perfection...

August 17, 2018 in Fast writing

Another quick tip for writers who want to get stuff done.

Photo by Trust "Tru" Katsande on Unsplash — Photo by Trust "Tru" Katsande on Unsplash

Prose, poetry and blues

August 06, 2018 in News & views

How attending a prose and poetry evening caused me to make a few changes in my life.

Fast writing tips: Repeating yourself

August 06, 2018 in Fast writing

Another fast writing tip: using a specific keyboard shortcut in Word.

Fast writing tips: Keyboard shortcuts

July 20, 2018 in Fast writing

How can keyboard shortcuts help you to write faster?

Books and buses

July 16, 2018

Books (as a collection) have more in common with buses than you might think!

A seminar day for educational writers

May 22, 2018 in Events

Coming up in June: a useful conference for those who write educational materials and books.

I'll probably regret this, but...

May 18, 2018

Next week I’ll be reading an article of mine. It’s memoir, not education. Read on for details of the event, which features a reading by author Jane Lythell.

What I'm reading: Dictator Literature

April 20, 2018 in Bad writing, Bookshelf, Reviews

So you think you've read some atrocious writing in your life? Well, you ain't seen nothing yet.

The London Book Fair 2018: the first day. Photo by Terry Freedman

The London Book Fair 2018: initial thoughts

April 13, 2018 in Events, News & views

Here's a quick round-up of the things I'll be discussing in my next newsletter, including censorship, publishing myths and a marketing website.

What I've been reading: Something nasty in the slush pile (updated)

April 13, 2018 in Bookshelf, How to, Reviews, Bad writing, Reference

How should you pitch a publisher with your book proposal? Or, to look at this another way, how should you not do so? This book answers that question.

What I've been reading: How not to write a novel

April 10, 2018 in Bad writing, Bookshelf, Reference

Even if you are a non-fiction writer, this book is worth reading.

7 features of bad writing

April 09, 2018 in Bad writing, Handy hints, Language

Another article in the 'bad writing' series, 7 Features of Bad Writing suggests some common characteristics of poor prose. Any one of these 'sins' would serve as an indicator, especially if they occur more than once or twice.