The Creative Writing Blog

‘Show, Don’t Tell.’ It’s a classic piece of writing advice editors love to dish out, particularly to new writers. It’s touted as pretty much the golden rule of fiction...

Before we get into the specifics of different story structures, it’s worth considering the importance of having a solid scaffold for your tale. Although structuring your story might seem...

As writers, we’re often confronted with lots of mantras and – dare we say – writing dogma. But if you’re at all familiar with The Novelry, you’ll know we...

If you’re wondering how to write a book submission cover letter, first of all: congratulations! You’ve written a whole novel, and edited the completed manuscript so it’s ready to...

Have you got a story so rich it warrants an entire series? Are your main characters so complex that their character arcs span multiple books? If so, lucky you! The prospect of writing a series is...

Writing the first draft of a book is not only brave, but hugely exciting. The possibilities are endless at this stage! Plus, when you have a complete first draft in your hands, you know that the ...

Halloween is here and in the spirit of the spooky season, we’ve been thinking about gothic literature and how we can write gothic fiction that sends shivers down our readers’ spines....

As writers, it’s natural to be curious about what literary agents and publishing houses are looking for. After all, securing a literary agent is something many of us who try our hand at ...

You might be curious about self-publishing vs traditional publishing, perhaps now more than ever. In recent years we’ve seen self-published authors sky-rocket to fame and success...

Historical fiction is a rich genre filled with inspirational real-life characters and fascinating historical contexts to explore. But when you decide to write it, how do you get started?

This is a...

Writing horror is a thrilling endeavour, but the genre offers more than spine-tingling fun to authors and readers alike. In this blog post, internationally bestselling author Catriona Ward...

The crime genre can be a wonderful playground for writers, where they get to push boundaries, explore human nature, play with reader expectations, and find inventive ways to create suspense. But...

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the enormity of a task – for instance, writing a book? Well here’s your handy guide to breaking it down into manageable chunks that you’ll...

In a fantasy world, the author has enviable freedom in creating the language their characters speak. From ancient languages to fully fictional languages, the possibilities are exhilarating.

Even if...