The Creative Writing Blog

From the Desk of Phoebe Morgan. 

As I write this, I’m surrounded by boxes of books. I have FAR too many books – they are not easy to move, they are cumbersome to carry, they split...

_{From the Desk of Lily Lindon, Editor at The Novelry.}

When I tell someone I’m a book editor, I can sometimes see their imagination bubble pop up: me, sitting alone in a dusty reading nook,...

The question of how to write a novel can feel overwhelming in itself. When you’re facing the blank page, it seems you have a gargantuan task ahead of you.

But that blank page needn’t...

Last week I did my first in-person event of the year. It was a low-key affair, part of the brilliant Essex Book Festival, held at Grays Library. As is usual, towards the end of the event there were...

The writer Thomas Mann said, ‘A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.’ We love the recognition of process and perfectionism in...

You’re likely all familiar with the ‘getting ready the night before’ routine that takes place ahead of a big day. You pack a lunch, and hang your outfit on the back of the bedroom...

I am between novels. This was to be an open-ended rest, but it has already become a pregnant pause. Despite myself, I have begun gestating: ripening with seeded notions; pulsing with poetry and...

The closed circle is a beloved sub-genre of mystery, suspense, thriller and detective fiction.

It refers to a crime, usually a murder, for which there are a limited number...

Meet Mahsuda Snaith, author and writing coach at The Novelry.

Can you remember the feelings of first love? The giddy excitement, the blissful sigh of your body as the whole world became covered in...

The term “imposter syndrome” was first coined by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in their landmark 1978 study of 150 highly successful professional women in various fields. Susan...

Character flaws are one of the most important ingredients for a gripping story and a memorable protagonist. Whether they’re honourable, ethical good guys, or down-and-out criminals with a...

May you always be a beginner! Advises Femi Kayode. Femi Kayode's debut crime thriller, Lightseekers, won the 2019 UEA Crime Writing prize. Selected as a Best Crime Novel of the Month by The...

As many of you writers at The Novelry will know, the best thing about being a writer is that you get to work in your PJs all day, drink heavily on the job and have affairs and call it ...

 If you’re looking for fantasy writing tips, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better source than Tricia Levenseller, the bestselling author of six YA fantasy books including The...