The Creative Writing Blog

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 children’s books involves a distinct writing process compared to writing adult fiction. After all, in the adult fiction world, your target audience is based largely on your...

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...

Have you ever encountered a main character in a children’s book or YA fiction that sticks in the mind and refuses to budge long after you’ve closed the pages of the book? What about a...

Without wishing away the last days of summer, the autumn – or fall – is almost here. Ah, September. Fresh mornings, even fresher evenings, a cardigan over the shoulders...

‘Character agency’ in fiction is used to describe the ability a character has to take action to affect the events of the story. 

It’s often used in a negative sense....

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, joined us at...