Before I get into the craft chat portion of this blog, I just wanted to address the fact that for some reason, Weebly has changed all my blog photos to the same photo, and that was certainly not what I uploaded to each post. I will be addressing that in due course, but at the moment I am preparing to go away on holiday, so that job will have to wait. 

There will also be no regular weekly blog post here now until September 20th - I know you will miss me, ha ha. Is anyone actually reading? LOL

I will, however, be posting daily as always, with some writing-related musings on social media, along with some lovely photos from my Greek paradise - just to keep myself jollied along and thinking about writing, or at least thinking about all those places we can find inspiration for stories while we are enjoying some down time.

So now, onto what I have been taking about this week, which has been Hooking and Holding Attention. 

We often talk about the importance of a good hook, particularly at the beginning of a story. But hooking a reader is only half the job and the real challenge is holding their attention.

And that doesn't necessarily mean filling every page with drama. Readers keep going because they have questions. They want to know what happens, what a character will decide, whether a relationship will survive, or why something doesn't quite make sense.

Sometimes curiosity is created by an intriguing opening. Sometimes it's a secret, a difficult choice, a piece of information the reader doesn't yet have, or simply a character who wants something badly enough for us to care whether they get it. We don’t even have to like the character… maybe what we care about is that they don’t get it.

The important thing is not to answer every question immediately. Give the reader just enough to understand what matters, while leaving them something to wonder about. A great cliffhanger at the end of one chapter should not be immediately addressed in the next. It’s a device they employ all the time in soap operas. One dramatic scene ends with you gasping and wanting to know what happens now… and they take you to someone having a pint in the Rover’s Return (Coronation Street) as a tease!

Plot aside, a beautifully observed detail, an unusual character, a charged silence or a sentence that makes us stop and think can all hold our attention just as well.

When revising, try reading your work as though you've never seen it before. Where do you become curious? Where do you start skimming? Where are you asking the reader to wait too long for something interesting to happen?

What makes you keep reading a story? Is it curiosity, character, suspense, beautiful writing, or something else? Let me know in the comments. I always love to hear from others what their thoughts and opinions are. You have plenty of time to send loads of comments here for me to deal with during my posting break!

See you on 20th September. Until them, Happy Writing!

We've all been there. I know I have. The page is blank. The cursor is blinking. And suddenly your brain has produced an impressive list of reasons why today is absolutely not the day to write. 

• You're tired. 
• You don't know where to start. 
• The idea isn't good enough
• Someone else has already written it. 
• You should probably tidy the kitchen first (I know I am desperately trying to procrastinate when cleaning is the option I choose!)

And sometimes, of course, those things are true. But often there's something else going on. The blank page can trigger an extraordinary amount of mental noise. We put pressure on ourselves to produce something good, meaningful, and original. Before we've written a single sentence, we're already judging the work.

That's where perfectionism can become particularly unhelpful. If the only acceptable outcome is a brilliant piece of writing, starting becomes a frightening prospect. So what if we changed the expectation? I am a real fan of “what ifs” – they are great writing prompts for one thing, but that’s for another time.

The first sentence doesn't have to be brilliant. It doesn't even have to stay. The first paragraph doesn't need to solve the story. The first draft doesn't need to impress anyone – no one will see it but you. You just need to have something written down, no matter what, no matter how big or small, no matter how rubbish!

And when that little voice appears that tells you you can't do it, just ignore it. Just write one imperfect sentence. One piece of nonsense. The answer to one questions. Then write another. See where that takes you. Whatever you write in that first instance will be enough. You can’t edit a blank page. But you can edit something you think is bad into something good.

Tell me: what is the most common thought that gets in your way when you sit down to write? And what is your way to silence it? Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear your response.

On Tuesday 11th at 6pm, I will be doing a workshop for WestWord, called Found Prompts, and we will be looking at all the places you can find story ideas when you think your inspiration well is running dry. There are so many places we can find stories, from many surprising sources. Come along and let's explore them and create some stories seemingly from thin air!  Click on the button at the end of this post to book a place on the workshop, and I will see you on Tuesday at 6pm BST.

Found prompts and noticing the world around you has been the subject of my Daily Writing Craft Thoughts on social media this week. When I am asked where my ideas come from, apart from saying “come along to the WestWord workshop on Tuesday and find out (LOL)", I tell people my ideas come from everywhere. I am not saying I live a more exciting life than anyone else, but I do try to notice the things others may walk past. I notice those minute pauses when someone hesitates before answering something; I look at things like a single shoe at the side of the road; I make up scenarios when someone sits in front of an untouched coffee for too long in a coffee shop, and wonder why.

Most of these moments and observations never become stories on their own. But they become seeds. A gesture suggests a character. A snippet of conversation sparks a scene. An unexpected detail makes me ask, Why? And that's often where a story begins for me.

One of the best habits you can develop as a writer is simply noticing. Slow down. Look up. Listen carefully. Ask yourself what catches your eye, and more importantly, why it catches your eye.

Tell me: What's the last ordinary thing you noticed that made you wonder if there might be a story behind it? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to book your place on the Found Prompts workshop by clicking the button below.

Until next time, happy writing!

This week, my Daily Writing Craft Thought posts have been all about pacing for any story length.

It's easy to think that pacing depends on the length of your story. You would naturally think a flash fiction piece should move quickly, while a novel has more room to slow down? That is not necessarily the case. I've read flash fiction that felt as though it wandered for pages, and novels that seemed to fly by. Both of these scenarios, in themselves, are not bad by the way. I love a flash fiction that is 200 words but feels like so many more. I really feel I am getting my money’s worth, so to speak. There is a great skill the writer has used to manipulate us to feel that – and as long as it makes sense for the story, it’s fabulous. Same with novels… I do love a long, meandering novel, but I also love to feel breathless and as if I am on a rollercoaster to the end. The pacing you should use very much depends on the story and the feel you want to convey.

So basically, the feel of a story is nothing to do it the word count, and everything to do with pacing.

Good pacing is about keeping the reader engaged. Every scene should offer something new: a question, a revelation, a decision, a shift in emotion, or a change in circumstance. If nothing changes, the story begins to stand still, no matter how beautifully it's written.

That doesn't mean every page needs dramatic action. Quiet scenes are often essential and can be some of the most affecting. They allow characters to reflect, relationships to deepen, and readers to catch their breath. But even quiet scenes need movement. Perhaps a character realises something. Perhaps a relationship subtly changes. Perhaps the reader is given a clue they didn't have before.

One useful question to ask during revision is: What changes because of this scene? If the answer is "nothing," it may be time to rethink its purpose.

Whether you're writing flash fiction, a short story, or a novel, pacing comes from progress. Keep giving the reader a reason to turn the page, and they'll happily follow wherever your story leads.

Tell me, do you find it harder to keep the pace moving in shorter stories or longer ones? Let me know in the comments, or post anything you like that is writing related. Just say HI!