More than Writers

  Summer is here. Picture from Pixabay Goldie and I love the sunshine and the heat, which is useful these weeks. My children hide inside, out of daylight, although they were happy to come out for our Cotswold trip last Friday as we took Richard’s aunt and a friend for a Cream Tea (food is a great motivator for labradors and children!). It made me think of pressure as well, as it’s another way to look at heat. There are a lot of changes in our family at the moment, and it brings out a lot of stress and worry with too many unanswered questions. As writers, this is something that will affect our poor characters as well. Is the main character laid back, telling his nervous sidekick, “Never mind about that now, we’ll sort that out when we get to the house.” Does your character need lists to make sure everything has been packed for the trip? Or do they open a suitcase, shovelling in clothes and a few other random items they come across? What about rushing around when the heat is on? ...

Image Credits:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. Contrasts are great in stories. An obvious one to use is that of light and dark. Which of your characters will be “light”? Which will be “dark” in terms of attitude and behaviour? Could your story explore them going to the “dark” or coming over to the “light”? Star Wars famously played on this theme when it came to the Jedi “force”.  We are believers in redemption and our stories (and articles) can reflect on that. Stories often hold a mirror up to our foibles. Jesus shared His message so often through stories. People remember stories. What could your readers (potential or otherwise) take from your character’s redemption story? Does your character realise they are on the “dark side” and see the need to escape it? What or whom makes them face up to the need to change? What obstacles, including their weaknesses, could get in the way? Answering those questions will trigger ideas.  I think most of us, aware o...

  As I write my first blog post for ACW, I’m coming to the end of a time of transition. I’m about to retire from arguably the most boring profession on earth to perhaps the most interesting.  My erstwhile profession involves numbers and logic, subjects that don’t make for great conversation starters with a stranger at a party. But if you tell someone you’re a writer, their face lights up, and they say something like: ‘Oh wow, that’s fascinating! What do you write?’ Or ‘Ooh, I wish I could do that. I’m so jealous!’ Or ‘I’d love to write, but I haven’t got the time…’ You might be familiar with the Monty Python sketch about the accountant who wishes to retrain as a lion tamer. He’s sick of his boring job and wants to do something more exciting: His careers advisor (played by John Cleese) suggests he should take it slowly, perhaps working his way up gradually through banking or insurance, especially as he has the vaguest notion about what a lion actually is.  Similarly, I don...

  More than Writers  June 27 th 2025      What a frenzied and chaotic world we live in. And how wonderful it can sometimes be to take time out and appreciate the simple things in our life. Small token gifts for example. Two of my friends recently returned from Benidorm. One brought me a fridge magnet. supposedly a picture of the three of us. And I wasn't even there... That made me laugh out loud. My other friend gave me a notebook. A thoughtful and useful gift. Today, I’m thinking about squares… the woolly variety. What could be simpler than that… If you don’t know what I’m talking about, well you just haven’t lived. Squares (first knitted and then crocheted) have been a part of my life for many years. Basically, knitting a square is a great way to use up oddments of wool left over from bigger projects. Then sewn together can make blankets for various charities. I used to work for Hull and East Riding Institute for the Blind (now known as Sight Support). ...

  I recently addressed the issue of the Amazon jungle at the recent ACW writers’ day on ‘How to sell more books.’ For the benefit of those who were not present and those who have forgotten what I said, I’ll share some brief highlights from my talk. Keywords are key – I repeated that several times. I also mentioned the Amazon algorithm throughout my talk. We refer to it in the singular, whereas there is an army of algorithms, each with a specific task. For instance, there is a different one to monitor each category, algorithms to measure reviews, new releases, promotions, etc. They have a single unified aim – to generate revenue for Amazon. They do this by introducing people to products that they are most likely to buy. These clever little bots will show books to readers based on four main factors. ·        Relevance - If someone searches using the phrase, ‘Christian inspirational testimonies and stories’ , the clever bots won’t show them a coo...

 I write alone. In a quiet room in my flat. (I can't do serious writing in cafes, bookshops, or libraries. I get far too easily distracted!) So when I emerge after a long stint at the laptop, I feel like a mole emerging blinking into the daylight! If this is you, maybe you have your own top tips for dealing with the loneliness of the long distance writer.  Mine, in the general run of life, is to alternate full days at home with trips out, lunches with friends, essential shopping etc. But summertime brings with it lots of lovely festivals and these are definitely legit writer jollies! Covid taught me I didn't have to spend house-mortgage-size sums of money to personally attend Hay-on-Wye or the Edinburgh Book Festival, as the wonders of the internet bring lots of great talks straight to my home. But it's good to get out - and my local favourite festival (remember I'm a crime writer!) is Slaughter in Southwold , held on the second weekend of June each year. This year'...

  prawny on freeimages What do you most enjoy about reading? The opportunity to learn about a different time or place? To escape into a fictional world? The satisfaction of a good thriller or crime story? For me, part of the joy of reading is seeing myself in the pages of a book. The moment when I have to pause my reading because it feels like the author has reached inside my head and written down my exact thoughts or feelings. And expressed them more coherently than I could ever do. Maybe it’s a character who shares my deepest concerns, or a relationship that sums up how I feel about a best friend or a bully. It’s such a powerful experience. I feel validated. Someone else has felt like this, thought like this. I’m not alone. It’s a regular experience in Bible reading, God often speaks to me like this. I hope you find that too. The characters that we relate to in the Bible are very different to ourselves; living in a different time and culture. That doesn’t sto...

  It's All In The Title.   It is often said that a book is judged by its cover. An important part of that is its title. One review site claims that even before being judged by its cover, it will be judged by its title. In life, we gather titles as we go along – personal and professional. Mr, Mrs, Reverend, Dr, Chief Inspector, etc. All of them reflect something about our character, status, and relationships with others, e.g. Mrs. tells someone that the person is married, while Dr the occupation or academic status of the individual. As Christians, we have many titles for Jesus which reflect how we view Him, His status and relationship with us, for example, Song of God, Prince of Peace, and Lord. The first disciples called him Rabbi (teacher) as a mark of respect for his knowledge of the scripture and teachings of God’s will. A book title can tell us much about the content, genre, and its main theme. Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons suggest a story of good and evil forces....

I was at the dentist last week, and I forgot to take a book. Scandalous, I know. So while I was waiting, I read the information on the wall instead.   GDC Standards. There are nine principles registered dental professionals must keep at all times.   As I read, I began to see correlations between dentists using their dentist-tools on teeth, and writers using their writer-tools on paper.   Principle One Dentist: Put patients’ interests first. Writer: Put readers’ interests first. As we write (for publication), let’s remember that we do so to be read. My niece recently came second in the  Dernier Publishing competition. She was thrilled, and called me to show me her prize. She held it up to the screen and we talked about her story, and her prize, sharing excitement. At one point, she stilled. Eyes wide. She simply mouthed, “Wow”. Her ‘wow moment’ came when I told her I’d seen that someone was going to read her story to their children. ...