Rule of ten
When you're stuck, force yourself to generate ten ideas. Not three. Not five. Ten. The first few will be obvious — the same tired solutions everyone reaches…
Contraints create genius
Quentin Tarantino had $1.2 million to make Reservoir Dogs. No money for elaborate heists, car chases, or fancy locations. So he did what every good filmmaker…
The three questions you can always rely on
David Mamet distilled all dramatic writing into three simple questions: 1) Who wants what from whom? 2) What happens if they don't get it? 3) Why now? These…
Trust your readers
One thing I've really had to rely on while cutting the book down was the idea that your readers are smarter than you think. They don't need every connection…
Say it loud
Following on from yesterday's post on how I cut 45,000 words without losing my story, I've realised there's one more trick for getting your word-count down.…
How I cut 45,000 words without losing my story
Last week I regaled you with the thrilling tale of how I arrived at attempting to cut 40,000 words from my novel without ruining it. While the jury is still…
Write what makes you happy
I mentioned yesterday how the editor I'm working with immediately saw the flaws in my novel. The crucial issue was that I'd got confused with my target…
Happy New Year!
I hope 2026 brings everyone blessings and good fortune. For me, I have a clear road plan for the next few months: 1. Complete the current edit on the book 2.…
2025 - A year to forget
I always hated this time of year as a kid. The adverts weren't Christmassy any more, the news showed nothing but reviews of the year, and the magic was rudely…
The shower test
Your best ideas don't come from scrolling through feeds or sitting in meetings. They emerge in the shower, on walks, during that quiet moment before sleep.…