Raine

I too have always tended to wing it with structure, as I have with so much else. But I’ve got so used to being told that I’ve been clever and thinking ‘But I just bunged it down that way because it felt right,’ that I’ve probably got a bit too confident. Perhaps I’d better look at those podcasts too.

As for the age thing, I’m aware that…[Read more]

Excellent point about craft, Philippa. I’ve always been rather, um…informal about how I approach structure etc but the more I learn, the more criticial I find it to be. I think you tend to improve naturally just by writing (and reading) more, but actively learning is essential. The problem I have with throwing myself into addressing matters of c…[Read more]

Hi, Hel. Glad you joined!

I totally agree, Daeds, about the persistence thing. My personality is to be like a dog with a bone, and I think that accounts for a lot!

I do believe that the other thing is about continually learning CRAFT. I have been listening to a series of podcasts (https://storygrid.simplecast.fm) over the last 6 months or so and boy, have I learnt a lot.…[Read more]

That’s no excuse, Richard – Mary Wesley didn’t publish her first novel until she was seventy, and went on to write ~10 more.

The trouble with ‘sooner or later’ for me is that I’m already (let’s face it) knocking on seventy. For me, ‘later’ probably means not at all.

@Kate – Really sorry to hear you haven’t had any successes with your submission yet. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you. I love your writing so I know there are no issues there.

I admit that’s why I tend to submit short stories and flash. You tend to get an answer quicker, and editors often take the time to give some feedback or e…[Read more]

Well FWIW I know a few writers who have really good publishing deals, a few more who have agents and are subbing to publishers, some more who are subbing to agents, and some who haven’t got to that stage yet. The honest truth is that the vast majority of writers I know well are bloody good. The ones who have the great deals are bloody good, but s…[Read more]