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This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
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This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. It follows on from the old one, which is now full. An index of topics from old and new can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index" Feel free to comment and interact. And to suggest topics! |
| Overthinking This sort of follows on from my last post. I do beta reading for a few people for short stories and, of course, review here and also on a Discord server. And there is one thing I think differentiates the writers who have some success and those who struggle. Oh, by “struggle,” I mean to finish, to be happy with their story or to get it looked at. The strugglers overthink their stories. Now, I want to say again (from last post) this is not the technical side – that should be as good as possible. I mean they try to make their stories just like all the “professionals” and online writing courses and YouTubers and the like tell them to do. They try to have their message front and centre. They try to have their theme completely explicit and transparent. They try to have their characters represent ideologies instead of being people. They try to make people think over encouraging them to read on. They then try to have the perfect three-act structure using whatever plotting technique is the flavour of the month. They change plotting styles and writing styles and writing practicalities (where they write, how long they write, etc.). You would not believe how many online courses I have seen that contradict other online courses. And this brings us to the writer. Especially those at the start of their writing journey, the writers are confronted with all of this and then try to do it all, even the contradictory things. Too many writers overthink the process. Writing is an art, which means there is as much emotion as there is intellect in what is produced. Overthinking the process and the execution and even the planning/ plotting can lead to not only story stagnation, but also a decrease in joy in the writer. Artists need to like what they are doing in order to produce the art that resonates. Yes, some might find it hard and it might be frustrating, but an artist does need to like what they do. Overthinking can lead to that joy being diminished. My suggestion is, especially at the start… go with the flow. Enjoy the process. If you want a message/ theme/ ideological representation… add them in the second draft. |
| Academics Teaching Writing Okay, let me start this post with an anecdote. When I did my Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing, in a subject about writing short stories, we submitted a story to the lecturer, who then gave us all a list of markets we should submit the stories to. Now, I got a decent grade (distinction), but the list of “potential markets” she gave me was one publisher. She said it was a good story technically, but it lacked a strong message and the theme was not front and centre; however, I had met the remit for task, so I got a grade based on that. But she felt it was unsellable. Fast forward a year and we had the second part of the short story subject with the same lecturer/ online facilitator. We were asked if anyone had sold their story. I was one of two. She requested a private meeting, and so we arranged to Zoom. She accused me of lying, so I showed her the anthology the story was in. She said she didn’t get it, and I got straight distinctions and high distinctions with little feedback for the rest of the subject. Way to help students! There is a point to this. No, really. Writing teachers and academics and people with degrees and higher in writing do not know everything! I mean, in this blog I might put myself forward as a gatekeeper and a know-it-all about writing but I also know I do not know everything and am still learning and, most importantly, I do not charge money for these little bits I put forward. This is a free blog about writing and my writing journey. And I know I could well be wrong, and I also know I have put forth opinions here that not everyone agrees with (see my self-publishing comments). Academics are often stuck in their own little world of academia. It’s like the people who teach teachers at university. Most have been so long out of the classroom they have forgotten what it’s like and the perfect lesson plan will not work. I studied teaching 25-plus years ago; my son is studying it now. He has the same early literacy lecturer I did! So it is in writing. One of the lecturers (my favourite –Genre Fiction 1 & 2) asked me to beta read a short story for him. I did so, and he questioned why I had suggested he delete certain passages, as that was not what they taught. I told him publishers in fantasy shorts didn’t like messages that blatant or lore that complex info-dumped. He then decided to do an experiment. He submitted the original to a publisher and it was rejected. He asked if he could rewrite and resubmit; he was given permission (his role as a lecturer helped there) and he submitted the version I suggested. It was accepted. This guy took what had happened to the lecturer’s meeting and wrote back to me saying they all said it was a lower class publication. According to him, he then asked how many short stories they had had published. He, with ten, was the highest. He then told them I’d had (at the time) seventy, and he made it clear they were all traditionally published. He said the subject at the meeting was changed. Just because someone is a lecturer does not mean they know really what they are talking about. Yes, the argument from authority is often good when looking at science, because these are people who have spent years studying specific fields. But with the arts… that is far more subjective. Just because a lecturer or writer says something “is” does not mean it is so. I am not talking grammar, punctuation, etc. – that is the objective part of writing, the tools. I am talking about the elements that make a short story work for an audience, the subjective stuff. There is no hard and fast rule for what makes a story sell; what I have done in my blog is give my experience and my opinion. But tertiary education says “this is the way!” So, you might be asking, why did I, in my late 40s, go back to university and do the BA? Because quite a few US publishers demand it. I have asked why and, from the answers I have received, it seems to boil down to two main reasons: 1) to prove a writer is serious about this; & 2) because the US education system prior to tertiary is seen as not the best. I know that is going to upset people, but the stats do back it up. And that is the way many (not all) US publishers see their own country. And so why am, I considering going back to do my Masters of Arts (Creative Writing)? Because I am a glutton for punishment… |
| Idea Judging A couple of posts ago I mentioned I received a question from someone who has subsequently blocked me. This is the next one from them! FWIW, I have no idea why I was blocked, but she did it all of a sudden, including on Instagram, so I did something wrong… Allegedly… How do we know if an idea is worth pursuing? So, I am taking this to mean how do we know if it is worth our while running with an idea we have. Well, truth be told, we don’t know until we have written it. And – and I think this is very important – an idea might not be right for you but could be perfect for someone else. So, anyway, I think these signs are tell-tale that the idea is not a good fit for you. 1) You get bored with it. Maybe during the planning phase, maybe when you start writing it, but it bores you. 2) You cannot see any possible ending. For Pantsers, this might hit later, but for plotters, that is a clear sign. 3) You struggle to fit characters into it. The idea might feel good, but you just cannot get characters to fit it, so maybe use it as backstory or world world-building. 4) You are more into the world to be built than the story. This can indicate that maybe you should just build a world and not force a story onto it. 5) It feels like it is too common. While it is fine to re-use ideas (no copyright on ideas), if you feel it is overdone, then don’t add to it, as you can get bored quickly (see point 1). 6) It feels too convoluted. This is especially the case for plotters, when their plotting is too much. There are, however, times when it might feel like the idea is not going to work, but it could be the approach to the idea. A) Don’t have a beginning. You can come back to this later. Not a big deal. B) Not all characters work. This means some characters work, so change out those that don’t. C) Have everything except the ending Let the ending come. If everything else feels good, then the story should tell you the ending. And I think that covers how a writer could judge the value of an idea. |
| Novel #42 So… I was reading a book on Celtic mythology and belief because of course I was, when I came across a reference to a paper from a renowned UK academic. In this paper, she posited that the Green Man of popular legend and belief was not always a Green Man and that this change only came after the Roman invasion of the Celtic world. Before then, it was a Green Woman, and she cites many examples of images of the ‘Green Man’ that clearly have the pendulous breasts of an earth-mother, but which people have stated was either androgynous or male with one female aspect. The fact that the worship was that of nature and we still, to this day, refer to the concept as “Mother Nature” would lend credence to her conclusion, as well as the fact that women were the healers of pre-Romanic Britain. Men were buried with weapons, women with herb lore implements. But the Roman culture was very patriarchal and the idea of female leaders was anathema to them, and so the writers and rulers ignored what was there. It is believed this is where the idea of the “evil witch” entered the popular culture, as legends in ancient Greece and Mesopotamia before Rome saw witches as being either good or evil, they were not wholly one or the other. ”Great, Steven, a boring history lesson. So what?” The next novel was born of that research. It is told in a non-linear narrative, and I play with the Robin Hood myth as well as the Green Man myth, and the tale basically tells of a group of people protecting the woods of the Green Woman in the UK from the Brown Man and some humans. I had a UK friend read it and she made me change so much about the setting it was like it was a different work, but at least she did that and didn’t just laugh at me. At 80k words, it is a good novel length and I don’t mind this one. Some readers find the non-linear aspects a little awkward, but the central story, of the main group of archaeologists is chronological, so that helps, I think. Excerpt Everyone came to an abrupt halt. The two metre by one metre excavation was only twenty centimetres or so deep, but already the unearthed layout could be seen. Numerous dirty white lumps protruded at various heights, but two of them showed the exact nature of them all. The dirt-filled eye-holes stared at nothing; the lower mandibles were attached to nothing; the eternal grins laughed at everything. None could draw their attention from the two skulls watching them all as if that was what they had been waiting for, near-anticipation in those blank faces. Two dead people; others waiting to be fully revealed; and how many more that was that were buried down there no-one could tell. “Shit!” Marian’s voice cut through the silence. Celeste put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, to comfort herself as much as her partner. “Yes,” her father agreed sadly. He looked over at Benjamin, having joined them from within the incident tent and now standing at the periphery of the workers. His expression mirrored that of the professor and he nodded once. “Okay, sorry everyone,” Matt said, holding his hands up. “We’ve got to leave now… I mean, put your stuff away and then go… No, not go… We’ll meet at the pub… the hotel… Yeah… I mean…” “We’ve found human remains so we have to notify the authorities.” Celeste took over immediately. “So, just pack up and we’ll all meet at the hotel, yeah? Now, where’s Richie?” “He’s gone to wait for the police,” Lawrence, Benjamin’s young off-sider, said from the back of the crowd, his voice sounding weaker and more pathetic than anyone else. “I think he called them pretty much straight away.” “Good.” Celeste looked at them all. “Sorry, guys. I hope we’ll have more info when we get back to the hotel. We’ll see everyone there, yeah?” Slowly, the small crowd dispersed, heading down the two tracks towards the gates and the waiting vehicles. Not much was said; shock had enveloped them all. Celeste and Marian noted with relief that none seemed to have pulled phones out; that meant that maybe they had avoided unintentional social media publicity of such an horrific discovery before they could deal with it professionally. “Thank-you,” Dr Hamilton muttered sheepishly. “And I’m sorry… It’s just that this… I mean, now we have to…” “It’s okay, dad,” Marian said soothingly. And that is Green. I reckon it does need a better title, but for the moment, that’s it. Horror-fantasy is how I categorise it. Oh, and LGBTQI+ characters. Why? Because of one aspect of the original myth I needed to maintain, and this was the best way to do that without it seeming forced. Not a bad one, this one. |
| External Writerings February 2026 Yes, sorry, it is that time again for me to please ask very nicely for you to read my alleged work in the external columns! Most of these are look backs at years past, songs from 60, 50, 40, 30 and 20 years ago. And a Valentine’s Day list. The first part of a list of the best songs of 1966. The second part of a list of the best songs of 1966. The first part of a list of the best songs of 1976. The second part of a list of the best songs of 1976. The first part of a list of the best songs of 1986. The second part of a list of the best songs of 1976. Air Supply love songs for Valentine’s Day! A list of the best songs of 1996 And, finally, a list of the best songs of 2006. 9 columns for you to enjoy. Remember, every click from a new IP without an ad-blocker gets me a small amount of money, but it all adds up. Thanks in advance.  |
| Writer Confidence How much confidence should a writer have? This came up on Discord, and sort of follows on from the last post. There are three types of writer when it comes to confidence. One is not good, one is more personal, while the final is where I feel we should be headed. And I am going to say it is tough, but it is what it is. First, there is the writer who lacks confidence. Completely lacks confidence. There is self-doubt about everything they write. Now, for some writers, this is fine. They just write for themselves and know no-one else is going to read it. And if they do show someone and get any hint of negative feedback, they retreat into themselves even more. This is especially people who come to writing at an older age, or who have suffered a lot of rejections if trying to be published. This is the personal one. Second is the person who is over-confident, who thinks they are the greatest writer ever. Maybe they suffer from Idol Syndrome ("20240131 #2 Criticism & The Writer (Idol Syndrome)" ). Maybe it’s The Dunning-Kruger Effect:  Or maybe it is arrogance, pure and simple. Notice how EL James has not had a big release since The Mister failed? Know why? Because she thinks she is the greatest writer ever, does not need editing and refuses to listen to editors. Money-maker or not, apparently and allegedly, she is not good to work with. So, what you need is to be somewhere between the two. No-one is the greatest writer ever. However, you still need the confidence to put your work out there and tout it as good enough for publication. But you also need that element of self-doubt that enables you to continue to improve with each story you write, to not put forth work that has not been vetted by a beta reader, things like that. Writer confidence is a thin line we all walk. I tend to be overly critical, and it has come to a point where I have had other people submit stories on my behalf without my knowledge because I thought they were rubbish, and some have even been published. We are not good judges of our own work, but we do need to be aware that without some confidence we will never get beyond the hidden journal… and with too much over-confidence, we will turn everyone off. |
| Giving Up On A Project Question from a WdC member from last year, and who has subsequently blocked me: When do you know it’s time to give up on a project? This is a simple question… but also a tough one. If you get an idea, a paragraph, even a page, a rhyming couplet, something, write it down. This is not working on a story. This is putting ideas down so you don’t forget them. They might not work or ever be used, but you’ve written them down. No, this question is focused on when you have the full idea and are writing it down. And it comes down to what sort of writer you are: plotter or pantser. "20240120 Plotting and Pantsing" Plotter A plotter has two points where they should give up on a project. First is after they’ve done the plan and realise this is not what they want to write, or it does not work for them. That is one of the advantages of plotting – this is before you have spent time on the meat of a project that is not gelling with you. Of course, you can revamp the plan, but as far as projects being let go, this is a great time. Second is after they have finished the first draft. DO NOT give up on a story half way through if you have plotted it out! You have a blueprint; follow it. Get to the end and you can see that maybe the second act needs work, but you will not know until you’ve pushed through to the end. Second drafts can help, but if you finish the story (which is a good habit to get into anyway) and are not happy, leave it. Elements can be used in other works if nothing else. Pantser This is tougher, but again there are only two places where a pantser has the option of giving up on a work. Like the plotter, when they have finished is the obvious one. Force the way through to the end before deciding if it should be abandoned. While not plotted out, there should be elements a writer can work with the push to an ending. The first, though, is tougher, and that is before the end of what will be act one. If the pantser is struggling to get into act two, then it is time to stop because clearly any mental ideas are not coalescing. It might feel time has been wasted, but some of these elements could be used later on in other works. Note that in both cases, the main thing recommended here is to see the story through to completion. With a short story or poem or something like that, that is not an imposition, but with a novel (or even novella) it could be a lot of time wasted. No writing is a waste! Like I said, elements can be re-used. Characters can be re-used. And, more to the point, finishing a work is something many writers struggle with, so if you finish something that you are not sure about, it can really help get the habit of finishing ingrained. And – and this is important – just because you think it’s crap does not mean it is! I’ve sold short stories I’ve written that I don’t like, but which have received positive critical praise. We are not the greatest judges of our own work. So… when do we give up? As little as possible. |
| Novel #41 The next book is a slight departure… though not really? Let me explain… I wanted to write the biography of an inanimate object. I thought it could be interesting to see what something goes through in its life. I spoke to some people and one showed me a book about a car, and it detailed the five owners the car had from 1948 until it ended up in the Birdwood Motor Museum (National Motor Museum?) in 2011, and what happened to it over that time. It had been done and I could do it. So I decided to do my own, but make it up. And what better subject than a sword? So from creation to the final display case in a museum, I wrote about a sword. 20 owners, 20 stories of the sword. Sometimes it is heroic, sometimes, it is not, but the sword is central to all of it. Each chapter could almost be a stand-alone short story, which was the goal when I started it. Each story is called “The Someone’s Tale” (or “The Something’s Tale”), a nod to Chaucer. And, at 63k words, it is the history of a magnificent weapon. Oh, I did my research. I even had a map of north-eastern Europe, so I knew where the sword went. I found battles, I found the sort of things happening, I found the history of the area, and then fictionalised all of it and put the sword into the centre of the action. To me, it was fine, but it was lacking “something.” Not sure what it was. Anyway, in 2024, I sent it to my then beta reader because she wanted a fantasy. Well, she loved it so much that she found a publisher for me and last year I submitted it there, thinking it had no hope. Well… back in December they asked for a full manuscript. So it is so very close to being published. I am not holding my breath because I have fallen at this last hurdle before, but it is incredible to think that it has reached that final line. To me, it was an experiment that was meh. Now it could be a book. Could be. Not will be. However, because of that I have opted not to include an excerpt. Just know it is in the wild and hungry… |
| Writing Scandals 7: The Salt Path Schnujo's having school probs asked me a while back about writing scandals. It still stands: What a great topic! So this is the second of the recent book scandals to have crossed my desk (I’ve always wanted to write that). A mate of mine from the UK has some what he calls “inside baseball” knowledge here. I know why and how, but promised him I wouldn’t give details… but I think an overview helps. But the scandal is nice. The Salt Path The Salt Path is a 2018 memoir by Sally Walker, writing as Raynor Winn. It detailed her and her hubby being defrauded out of money, losing their home, her husband’s diagnosis with a terminal illness and them having to walk across Britain as homeless people. In 2025, investigations revealed this was a lie. Most of the book was made up. She defrauded her employer and was forced to pay it back, which is why they lost their home. The terminal illness has not manifested itself as it should. Other details were also made up, but those two were the worst of it. Her defence was simple: it was “emotional truth.” Just because her feelings didn’t match the facts did not invalidate her memoir. I’ve written about creative non-fiction and non-fiction memoir before, but Winn/Walker insists this is true even though the facts don’t match because, as her emotions are involved, it cannot be anything else. The ramifications of the revelation of the truth of the matter are still being felt for Winn, as she is now seen in some circles as a liar, pure and simple, making herself look better when she was the criminal, and by others as a seeker of “deeper truth.” But what this scandal has done is it has made publishers and readers look at memoir more critically. It is not the first memoir to be caught out filled with crap (see any autobiography by Hulk Hogan), but because of the nature of what she spoke of, it has really upset people. Death threats have been issued. Charities have dropped her. And it appears she has been forced to move house. In 2025, the number of memoirs accepted by UK publishers dropped by a whopping 30%, and it can all be traced back to fears of having a repeat of this scandal. While the book sold well, and even had a film or mini-series made of it, the publishing firm, Penguin (who are also the owner of Del Rey, see the last entry), have lost some of their prestige. So, how did I get some inside knowledge? My author friend knows one of the journalists who started to break the case in 2024 and knows them very well. This journo hates Winn, reckons she is so arrogant, and she still thinks the reality of the situation is not as important as how she felt. Apparently he never wanted to slap someone so hard. And he’s met EL James! |
| Writing Scandals 6: Cait Corrain Schnujo's having school probs asked me a while back about writing scandals. It still stands: What a great topic! It’s been a little while, but two have come to my attention recently. One (this one) was because one of my publishers sent out a blanket e-mail praising us for not doing this. The other because a friend/ fellow author had some inside knowledge. Let’s start this with the abuse of the Goodreads system! Cait Corrain In 2023 new author Cait Corrain was all set to release her debut fantasy novel in 2024 and it came with some fanfare as it was being published by renowned publisher Del Rey. But on Goodreads, it came with a huge triumphant blare, with a series of glowing 5-star reviews encouraging people to read it, from ARC readers. That’s par for the course, to be honest, especially if the ARC readers are friends. However, another fantasy author was also set to debut and put out a veiled comment about people giving their own book great reviews and then review-bombing other debut novelists with a series of fake accounts. It did not take long to work out he was talking about Corrain. At first she, of course, denied it, but then proof was presented and she put forward a Discord conversation saying a friend had done it. This friend was another fake account. Corrain had been giving herself praise and 1-starring other writes, a majority of who were writers of colour. Faced with this, she admitted it, and her agent and Del Rey dropped her. She has subsequently blamed mental health, ADHD medication, alcohol, drug abuse, pressure and probably Venus rising in Aquarius at the wrong time. She is denying there was any racism. So, what it turns out happened is she set up a heap of fake Goodreads accounts using a series of email addresses. All of their first reviews were praising her book. Then they all went on a review-bombing spree. The book has not been subsequently picked up, and, it was noted by my publisher, is not in any list of upcoming releases for 2026. And no, there has been no explanation given as to why she did what she did. Everyone thinks it was a mixture of ego and no self-esteem. No excuse, by the way. It was a dick move all round. What it has done, however, is highlight how easy it is to game the Goodreads system. Goodreads does nothing to stop review-bombing or self-aggrandisement. This has put the whole site under the spotlight. Notice a lack of Goodreads advertising in the past 12 months? This controversy is why. I mean, it won’t kill Goodreads, but it has made them look as reliable as Wikipedia. |
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