The Creative Writing Blog

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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 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...

There’s nothing that brings fiction to life like complex characters. To read them is a joy. But to write them… That can be a little trickier. How do you make characters memorable,...

With more than two million copies of her books sold worldwide, Clare Mackintosh is the multi-award-winning author of Sunday Times number 1 bestsellers I Let You Go, I See You and Let Me Lie,...

Sometimes, writers have a swarm of ideas buzzing around their brains. Every overheard conversation on the bus, every dishwashing daydream, every insistent but why? from a child can spark off a new...

Ajay Chowdhury is the award-winning author of crime thrillers The Waiter and The Cook. As well as being a novelist, Ajay is a theatre director and tech entrepreneur who founded Shazam and...

As all of us who have tried our hand at the writing life know, self doubt and an inner critic can be the biggest hurdles we face. But resilient writers are successful writers, and self esteem is a...

Stacey Halls is the author of The Familiars, which was the bestselling debut novel of 2019. Her second historical fiction novel The Foundling was published in 2020, and her...

Diana Evans is the award-winning, bestselling author of Ordinary People, The Wonder and 26a. Her prize nominations include the Guardian and Commonwealth Best First Book...