The Creative Writing Blog

So you’re writing a novel and you want to create compelling and believable characters. We’ve got just the thing! Here are three original and fun character development exercises created...

Nothing enlivens a story like a three-dimensional character, but creating one isn’t always easy. Dr Stephanie Carty, clinical psychologist and writer of fiction and non-fiction, joins us at...

Character development is essential to any great novel. In any genre of fiction – from action studded with high-speed chases to philosophical contemplations of the human condition –...

We’re delighted to welcome Amanda Reynolds to The Novelry as a writing coach specialising in psychological thrillers and suspense.

Amanda’s first novel, Close To Me, was a number one...

For many writers, the question of how to start a story is one of the most panic-inducing. Whether it’s because you know too much or too little about your characters, world and events,...

Given both love and storytelling are as old as time, it’s no wonder the question of how to write a love story has so absorbed us.

And it’s possible that this question is only becoming...

Can creative writing be taught? It’s something many of us have pondered. Whether you’re just thinking about taking a creative writing course, or you’re already enrolled and hoping...

Research and historical fiction tend to go hand in hand. Before the writer puts pen to paper, they must become familiar with the facts of the period.

But how much research is too much research?

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The idea of outlining a novel is one that may strike dread, panic or even tedium in a writer’s heart. Are we really expected to have our entire novel outlined before we put pen to paper?

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Writing a murder mystery can be baffling and thrilling in equal measure. If you’re writing a murder mystery, try these five top tips to connect with character and lean into the questions...

As a writer, it can be easy to amalgamate all the stages of publishing a novel into one (sometimes distant!) process. But it’s actually much more complex than that. There are lots of steps...

_{From the desk of Jack Jordan.}

If there’s one thing any writer has to nail to ensure success for their novel, it’s writing a hook.

During my years of writing and publishing books, I have...

Writing a book is like having a baby.

This is a comparison that’s often made – and having written over thirty books and had five babies, I concur. There’s the same giddy journey...

Suspense writing is an amorphous and multifaceted concept, but Kate Riordan wants to make it straightforward.

Having written five novels – including the Richard and Judy book club pick The...