That Expat Girl’s Guide to Writing a Novel | Part 2: The First Draft (1)

Sometimes writing a first draft is more like getting lost in a city, and sometimes it’s more like planning the perfect vacation. Either way, things rarely go completely according to plan….

February – Lockdown Updates and Worldbuilding Questions

In the midst of a third lockdown without sight of any sort of relief on the horizon, things have felt a lot more grim lately. I didn’t think that I’d be missing parties and my bookselling job all that much, and yet, here we are, and all I really want is to actually hang outContinue reading “February – Lockdown Updates and Worldbuilding Questions”

The Absolute Beginner Writers’ Guide: Freewriting, or how to get started with creative writing in just ten minutes

Writing, like any other craft takes practice. Take the pressure off your writing and let the words flow with this versatile and fundamental writing exercise.

That Expat Girl’s Guide to Writing a Novel | Part 1: Ideas

Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work. Stephen King, Awaken This post is the first in a series on the novel writing process. Follow me or subscribe to be notified as soon as a new post goes live. I’m going to tell you a secret.Continue reading “That Expat Girl’s Guide to Writing a Novel | Part 1: Ideas”

That Expat Girl’s Guide to Writing a Novel

A couple weeks ago, I wrote the first post in what I intended to become a series on the editing part of writing a novel. Editing is the place I’m in right now, and I was super excited to share my editing journey with you. But coming back to write the second part of theContinue reading “That Expat Girl’s Guide to Writing a Novel”

That Expat Girl edits a novel | Part I: Editing Goals

If, like me, you currently have a sprawling, vaguely-sensical monstrosity of a first novel draft on your hands, you may very well be wondering what to do with it. Let’s figure it out together.

How you can use Nanowrimo to build a year-long writing practice

Five days into November, the fireworks are flying, the coffee is flowing, and all over the world, novelists from all walks of life are furiously scribbling away, aiming to reach the goal of writing 50,000 words by the end of the month. Started in 1999 when Chris Baty was told, in no uncertain terms, thatContinue reading “How you can use Nanowrimo to build a year-long writing practice”

Six Things I Learned from Reading like THREE HUNDRED Stories Written by Six-Year-Olds

As a judge for Wimbledon Bookfest, I read three hundred (and forty two) stories written by children between the ages of six and eleven. 

This is what I learned.