More than Writers

  At the turn of the year I saw a social media post that declared that I need, ‘more magic in 2025’.   It urged me to embrace that ‘magic’ (but didn’t define it) wherever and whenever I might find it.   It was accompanied by a funny video of a simple visual trick through which a four year-old could have easily seen. In a world which our news feeds suggest is becoming increasingly dark, the idea of a little bit of light and escapism is attractive. ‘Who better,’ I thought to myself, ‘to bring more magic into the world, than we writers?   After all, is that not what we do?’   Those of us who regularly wrestle with words in a fiction setting focus our creative minds to conjure people and places beyond the reality around us.   Our words truly can make worlds.   If non-fiction is your genre, then we’re talking less about the magic of illusion and more the sprinkle of magic dust required to ‘pep’ your subject with the sparkle of a fresh angle which will woo...

 I was looking for something quite different among my vast library of books when I came across this little gem. It was published in 2014 with the tagline ‘How Not to get Published’ by Sammy Looker. I can’t remember whether it was a present or a charity shop find but it has proved a valuable resource. And a fun way to learn what not to do when seeking publication. In the days when many traditional publishers accepted unsolicited submissions, they would employ readers who would have a first look at the submissions and give them an R for reject, or a P for pass, before it was passed up the line for further consideration. The appropriately named Sammy Looker was a reader and his publishing house would have the manuscripts read by two readers and if one gave it an R and the other a P, then a third reader would look at it. Despite slush piles being less usual now, the experience Sammy Looker gained in this role may still be relevant to us because many Christian publishers do not insist o...

Since the summer – when John Lewis had a glorious sale and I nabbed myself a bargain – I’ve been wearing a smart watch, called Lily. She’s a sports model, so we’re fundamentally incompatible, but she’s been offering a useful gauge of how I use my body. Every night, I connect my phone via Bluetooth and download the day’s stats. The display shows a series of mostly-orange jagged charts, recording my stress levels, accompanied by a couple of doom-laden statements about potential ‘bottoming out’ (how very dare she!) or ‘burning out’ or being ‘in danger of…’ Every morning, I do similarly to find out how *well* I’ve slept. For the record, last night I did very well indeed: I didn’t move at all for about three hours straight, which might explain how stiff I was when I got up… Flippancy aside, this little gadget, with its passive-aggressive commentary on my hectic lifestyle, is making a fair point. It’s actually one that I could have learned some years ago, from preparing a pupil for her Grade...

‘Avoid words more complicated than marmalade,’ a friend said. Having edited the local newspaper for ages, she’s good at identifying poor writing and was happy to provide some tips - 'marmalade' being the first. So what is going beyond ‘marmalade’? I wondered. Clearly it is a subjective point. Context is everything and it all depends on the readership. Yet there is a temptation to overcomplicate what we want to say, because we think it sounds better.  Have you had this problem? what strategies or clangers can you share?  Clarity is the key to a message being understood, so succinct not verbose, is the writer’s less is more.  William Zinsser in his book “On Writing Well”, quoting President Franklin D. Roosevelt, provides a great example; in an effort to simplify memos issued by his government, he changed the 1942   blackout order :  “Such preparations shall be made as will completely obscure all Federal buildings and non-Federal buildings occupied by...

  In a world where the written word holds immense power, writers often draw inspiration from various aspects of their lives. For many, including myself as part of the Association of Christian Writers (ACW), faith is integral to that source. Recently, our ACW writer’s group had the delightful opportunity to attend a library event in Chelmsford. It was inspiring to discover we were not alone; other Christian writing groups also filled the room with shared passion and purpose. This event highlighted our group's theme for the day: how your faith shapes your writing. The experience was a profound reminder of how our Christian beliefs influence the stories we tell and the words we pen. The essence of Christianity is centred around love, hope, redemption, and grace—values that naturally seep into our writing. As Christian writers, we're blessed with the mission to weave these themes into narratives that inspire and uplift readers. Faith provides us with a unique lens through which we ...

Photo by cottonbro studio It’s just possible that news of the colourisation of ‘The War Games’ has passed you by, but that’s because you’re not me. This was the final adventure of Patrick Troughton’s run in Doctor Who , shown in 10 episodes from 19th April to 21st June 1969. It was also the last adventure to be filmed in black and white. Thanks to the magic of modern technology we can now see it (on BBC iPlayer as I write) in colour, and pretty good it looks too. Hard to imagine that the brilliantly sinister, malevolent War Lord is played by the same actor as the German U-boat captain in Dad’s Army ( Philip Madoc ). For reasons that no doubt make sense, it has been edited down to a 90 minute continuous adventure. The original episodes were 24-25 minutes each, so a maximum of 250 minutes in total, and even allowing for the time taken by up the credits in each episode, that’s quite a loss. There are very definitely sudden jumps between scenes, but it’s still possible to work ...