… and how to put them right! Advice and opportunities for new, aspiring and upcoming journalists and writers of non-fiction
No, it is not the “ideal” time to be writing, nor one when there is suddenly “no excuse” to not be writing. Neither is it the only opportunity you’ll get to finish that novel, nor the time to be “making the most” of a lockdown by willing creativity to flow from your fingertips and chastising …
In the first of my writing guidebooks, 50 Mistakes Beginner Writers Make, I wrote the following: Rejection means you’re doing things — you’re writing ideas, you’re writing articles — and getting them looked at. It means you’re getting out there … And a line or two later: Rejection isn’t winning, I know, but it isn’t …
When I tutored writing students, I would get asked this question regularly. When can I call myself a writer? It’s not a straightforward one to answer. Yet on social media, I periodically see established writers be bluntly dogmatic about it: “If you write you’re a writer!” they insist. “End of!” Except no, not ‘end of’ …
I don’t agree with all of Jeanette Winterson’s advice in this Guardian article from the beginning of the decade, but I do like the following: Never stop when you are stuck. You may not be able to solve the problem, but turn aside and write something else. Do not stop altogether. She meant it about …
Although I now specialise in allergies and intolerances, before that I used to cover diet and nutrition. I eventually got a bit disillusioned with writing about this vitamin, that mineral and those antioxidants. Did my readers really need to know all this detail? Was being informed on such complex matters really necessary? In today’s food culture, I think …
“Don’t take it to heart.” “It’s them – not you.” “It’s nothing personal.” Share news of a rejection of your work to a friend or loved one and I’ll bet they’ll respond with one of the above – or a variation of. They’re just saying what is expected of them, and being nice. You know …
This may sound harsh but it needs to be covered. Nobody wants to hire desperate people. You’re a writer. Writers write. Writers want to sell their work. Every editor knows that. It comes with the territory. Wanting to sell is the default setting. Being desperate to sell is not the default setting. If …
Three or four times over the few years this blog has been running I’ve been asked ‘why don’t you write about writer’s block?’ – and I’ve never got around to it. Reasons? I feel a lot of it has been said already, and most writers who write about writing have had something to say on …
I’m guilty of this. I’ll know it’s time for another mistake-writers-make, but I’ll dither about which one to cover. There are dozens in my ideas file, so you’d think it would be easy. But no, that one’s not quite right yet, that one’s a bit advanced, I’m saving that one for the 100th… there’s always …
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