5 Ways to Develop Your Craft

5 Ways to Develop Your Craft

Non-Academic Classes As a writer who has completed both an undergraduate degree and a Master’s in creative writing, I think there is a lot of value in higher education for the aspiring novelist. A course will teach you technique, provide deadlines to help you...
Ask an Agent: Charlotte Seymour from Johnson & Alcock

Ask an Agent: Charlotte Seymour from Johnson & Alcock

Charlotte Seymour is a literary agent at Johnson & Alcock and was named a Bookseller Rising Star in 2021. Editorially focused and passionate about literature in translation, Charlotte is building a list of literary and book club fiction, crime/thriller, and...
Wordiness

Wordiness

HOW TO CUT WORDS WITHOUT LOSING ANYTHING One of the key edits to complete when polishing a manuscript is a ‘wordiness’ edit. Cicero said, ‘Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind.’ Whether you’re looking...
How to Run an Effective Writing Workshop

How to Run an Effective Writing Workshop

Having participated in writing workshops at two universities as well as in an informal context, I have seen firsthand how they can motivate, forge connections, and most importantly transform a work-in-progress. Aside from the obvious benefits of receiving feedback,...
Should Fiction Writers Use a Thesaurus?

Should Fiction Writers Use a Thesaurus?

The Synonym Debate At secondary school, teachers often encourage students to use a thesaurus to find more interesting options for their creative writing and expand their vocabulary. If you study the craft at university level, though, most tutors will tell you not to...
Why Specificity is so Important

Why Specificity is so Important

Master of the craft George Saunders said, ‘As text is revised, it becomes more specific and embodied in the particular. It becomes more sane. It becomes less hyperbolic, sentimental, and misleading.’ It’s natural when crafting to think big picture,...