Wisdom, Wellbeing and Writing for Conscious Creatives
No matter how much you love a writing project — whether a novel, anthology of short fiction or poetry, memoir, screenplay, non-fiction book, series or course — sometimes after the initial buzz of inspiration and flurry of work, things shift. Maybe you hesitate because of doubt or that nagging feeling that what you’re doing is no good and that unease filters into your work.
A. L. Kennedy’s 10 Rules for Writing Fiction These writing tips were gleaned from an interview A. L. Kennedy gave to the Guardian. Writer and performer, Alison Louise “A. L.” Kennedy is the author of 17 books: 6 literary novels, 1 science fiction novel, 7 short story collections, and 3 works of non-fiction. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and […]
Find your motivation and boost your energy levels with these ancient tools and techniques. Every writer and artist has days where their drive dips or motivation flags a little, when instead of being filled with creative splendour, they find themselves creatively stuck, unable to express much less motivate that expression. If struggling to find that discipline or drive, attending […]
1 Decide when in the day (or night) it best suits you to write, and organise your life accordingly. 2 Think with your senses as well as your brain. 3 Honour the miraculousness of the ordinary. 4 Lock different characters/elements in a room and tell them to get on. 5 Remember there is no such […]
“How tired I am, my love. How tired. But not tired enough to forget this: That I would dig my fingers through the earth and lift forests by their roots just to find my way home to you. How tired I am, How tired. But I hold on to the colour of your eyes, and the slopes […]
No matter if your creative confidence sings from rooftops or hides in the darkest garret, rise above the rantings of your critical voice and make peace with your inner critic with these techniques. Speak Kindly to Yourself “Every time you judge yourself, you hurt yourself,” as Brazilian lyricist and novelist, Paulo Coelho once said, a statement that is true on many levels, and […]
If you’ve never read any Roddy Doyle, you’re in for a treat. From the exquisite Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha to the more famous Commitments from The Barrytown Trilogy. Roddy has the ability to inhabit his characters so seamlessly that when I read The Woman Who Walked into Doors I was convinced the author was female. Then […]
Sonnet XVII I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz, or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself […]
If your love for writing, much like our ebbing summer’s sky, has lost its glow, its colour, & warmth—try these tips to ensure you fall in love with writing again, no matter the weather outside. Just as we feel displaced as writers if we’re not writing, if we’re not regularly engaging with the act itself, if a specific story or […]
In this humble offering before the next longer post, author Anne Enright, who was named the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction, won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction for her novel, The Forgotten Waltz, and won the Man Booker Prize for her novel, The Gathering, shares ten writing tips gleaned from her fiction writing […]
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