Squidge

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!

Totally agree, Philippa, that continually learning the craft of writing is essential. If I think about the *!@* that emerged on the page of my first attempt at writing a novel, I shudder. I found Writers’ Workshop, signed up to some courses, learnt from the talents of other Cloudies, and did the Self-edit course. I continue to learn, and have just…[Read more]

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]