This article was originally published on Hubpages in March 2010. Everyone's a Critic Criticism is a part of every writer's life. Even well-established, commercially successful authors have to deal with rejection letters and criticism of their work. For new or emerging authors, the prospect of dealing with an avalanche of other peoples' opinions of their work can be daunting, especially when months if not years of dedicated effort have gone into creating a finished manuscript. To have a someone dismiss all that hard work with a few fleeting and possibly snarky comments can be absolutely crushing. Some people, wounded to the core, might slink away, never to return to the group or to writing itself. This is destructive criticism at its worst. It does not have to be this way. It should not be this way. Constructive criticism, when properly given and taken, is an extremely useful and vital aspect of any writer's working life. There's a right way to frame criticism so th...

 This article was originally published on Hubpages in February 2010. Are you ready to start writing your novel? Have you got: A starting point; An ending; Points of conflict; Ways of resolving these conflicts; A definite purpose for all characters? If you wish to write a novel but haven't a clue what it's going to be about, who is going to be in it or how it might end, then you are likely to spend many hours staring at a blank screen waiting for inspiration which might never come. If you only have a vague idea for the novel, then you could save yourself a lot of frustration by letting that idea develop more fully before trying to write anything. For example, say you wished to write a ghost story. You could develop this idea by thinking about: Location; Who is being haunted; Who or what is doing the haunting; Why is the haunting happening; How does the ghost manifest; Reactions to the haunting; Failed attempts as resolution; How the story ends. Let your imagination play around w...

 This article was originally published on Hubpages in February 2010. Looking for Story Ideas? Do you want to write but feel short on ideas? Are you a member of a writers circle looking for monthly writing projects? Or are you simply stuck in a rut with your writing, and seeking a way out of the doldrums? This economical and easy-to-make low-tech fiction story generator will fix that. This useful tool for writing exercises will provide a huge quantity and variety of story ideas simply and quickly. All you have to do then is get writing! How to Make the Story Generator You will need three small containers of some kind. Plastic tubs will be fine, such as old margarine tubs, (washed and dried, of course.) Or you could use three sandwich bags or paper grocery bags, for example. You will also need some paper - ordinary printer paper or typing paper will do. You might want to use three different colours of paper, one colour for each container. Or you could use three different colours of i...

 This article was originally published on Hubpages in June 2011. Can't Write? Many writers hit an invisible wall which prevents them from either finishing a writing project or from starting something new. The longer they stare at that empty computer screen, the bigger the hurdle seems to grow. The way forward feels blocked. The reasons for this are surprisingly simple. The drive for perfectionism, under-developed story ideas, poor timing or boredom usually lie at the root of writer's block. The simple steps outlined in this article will help unblock your creativity. The Quest for Perfection If you aim for absolute perfection from the outset, your creativity will be reigned in by focussing too much on technical issues such as grammar or flawless dialogue. You can fix all this in later drafts. For a first draft, simply get the story down - get it told - from start to finish. Only your pet dog need hear a reading of the first draft. Dogs are much less critical than humans. My dogs...

This article was originally published on Hubpages in May 2011. Booklet produced by Riverside Writers in 2010, which features three of Adele Cosgrove-Bray's short stories. The cover is simple and direct, and it uses a copyright-free image So you want to put together a booklet. This may be for your own use or for a social club of which you're a member—or you may wish to present information to a specific audience or promote a particular issue for professional purposes. This article will guide you through the process of producing and publishing a booklet, for whatever purpose, from start to finish. Some money-saving tips are also included. . Plan a Budget How much money have you allocated for producing a booklet? Fees vary considerably from one printer to another, so even before you begin compiling the booklet's contents, it is sensible to get quotes from several different companies. Tell them you have a fixed budget and would like to know how far your money will stretch and ex...

 

Progress on The Sorcerer is being made - and yes, the 5th novel in the series now has a title. The title is breathtakingly simple, true, but when you finally get to read it you'll probably understand its choice. It's a story about facing changes, the need to adapt to change, and about taking control. This is as big a hint as I'll be giving. The book already has a cover, in the style of the recently revealed new covers for the previous four books, but I won't share that until nearer the publication date. Anyway, it feels good to have reached the 69,000 word-count length, even though there is a lot of work to be done yet. This book has been slow-going; in fact it's easily been the most challenging of the series to write. I stopped writing it for quite some time, then re-read it and threw away around 25,000 words as I just wasn't happy with the direction it was going in. Was that 25,000 reduction hard to make? Well, yes and no. While it seemed like a huge chunk o...

 

  Eagle-eyed regulars may have noticed that I've been busy creating a new series of short videos on my YouTube channel. Grouped together as a Playlist with the self-explanatory title of "For Writers", these videos are aimed at...well, writers. New writers, mainly; though I hope the practical advice they share may interest, (or amuse), more experienced writers too. I've been having fun making these short films, anyway. I've gone for informative yet light-hearted quirkyness, with strong visuals.  I've also created new thumbnail images for each of my Playlists, although since doing this I've been told I should have chosen one font and used this for them all. Oh well, no matter what you do there's always a self-appointed expert eager to tell you that you've done it all wrong. The "correct" way is to create a visual similarity so each Playlist is recognisably related to the other. Hmm... How would that work in practice, seeing as each of my Pl...

This article was originally published on Hubpages in 2010. I'm slowly transferring all my articles there to here. Filling in Character Charts While filling-in character charts might seem time-consuming, that investment of effort will pay back dividends. Not only will it save you time in the long term, but the process will help you to think carefully about your fictional character—who they are, how their life is, what their motives are, and what is important to them. Working through the chart will help flesh out your fictional character, making them more believable to readers. If you know your fictional character thoroughly, they will appear more alive and three-dimensional in print. Bring Characters to Life You may well find that you get fresh ideas for subplots, too, as you visualise the character more completely. I've found this to be the case on a number of occasions. You may not necessarily use all the details. For example, there is no need to pen an item-by-item descriptio...