This is the seventh of eight pieces I prepared for a writing weekend we held in Stow-on-the-Wold. I set out to explore the ways in which we can make readers care. It’s not a course but it is a guide that I hope you’ll find useful. This week I’m discussing what is arguably the whole point of creative writing… This week on the water I want to begin with a fundamental truth about creative writing that many writers forget in their eagerness to tell their stories: books are not finished products....
10 days ago • 5 min read
This is the sixth of eight pieces I prepared for a writing weekend we held recently in Stow-on-the-Wold. I set out to explore the ways in which we can make readers care. It’s not a course but it is a guide that I hope you’ll find useful. This week I’m digging into one of my favourite subjects: dialogue, and all the fabulous tricks it can perform. Coming soon ... Allow me a word or two Let me illustrate the principles of effective dialogue through concrete examples, showing how skilled writers...
17 days ago • 4 min read
This is the fifth of eight pieces I prepared for our annual writing weekend in Stow-on-the-Wold. I set out to explore the ways in which we can make readers care. It’s not a course but it is a guide that I hope you’ll find useful. This week I’m looking at the issue of historical and geographic accuracy in both memoir and fiction. This week on the water Here's a question that both memoir writers and writers of fiction frequently ask: What is my obligation to factual accuracy and how much...
24 days ago • 4 min read
Hello Reader, Last month, I found myself helping my half-Mauritian friend set the table for a lunch with her relatives in Point d’Esny – and getting it all wrong. ‘No,’ she said, ‘in Mauritius, we lay a spoon alongside the large knife, not a small knife. Mauritians like to use a spoon for rice dishes.’ I also learnt to place the baguette directly on the table, from where the lunch guests would tear off hunks and hollow it out, eating the crispy outside. And no table was complete without the...
29 days ago • 4 min read
This is the fourth of eight pieces I prepared for a writing weekend we held recently in Stow-on-the-Wold. I set out to explore the ways in which we can make readers care. It’s not a course but it is a guide that I hope you’ll find useful. This week I’m looking at an issue that some writers have great difficulty squaring with their desire to lead a peaceful life: conflict. This week on the water Kurt Vonnegut's observation that "on every page your character has to want something - even if it's...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
This is the third of eight pieces I prepared for a writing weekend we held recently in Stow-on-the-Wold. I set out to explore the ways in which we can make readers care. It’s not a course but it is a guide that I hope you’ll find useful. This week on the water This week I’m looking at the emotional architecture of story: While we often focus on plot mechanics and character development in our stories, the most powerful narratives are built on a carefully constructed emotional framework that...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
This is the second of eight meditations on the elements of a story that make readers care about the fate of your protagonist. Last week, I talked about the big emotional question that every story must ask and answer. In today’s piece I tackle voice: This week on the water What we all love in a story are characters who feel authentic, independent and alive. If we’re aware that behind the scenes a clever author is manipulating the strings that control their movements and their choices, we lose...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
The beating heart of your story Over the next eight weeks I’m going to be talking about how you can master the elements of story that make readers care. It’s not a course – although it is based on the remarks I made at our annual Stow-on-the-Wold writing workshop – but it is a guide that I hope you’ll find useful. This week on the water Here goes… Let me start with a simple observation that might transform how you approach your next story: every compelling narrative has an emotional question...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Hello Reader, We thoroughly enjoyed our recent memoir webinar "How to Tell Your Story" with Joanne Hichens and Merle Levin. The energy and engagement was incredible - from questions about navigating emotional truth to discussions about structure and the courage required for honest storytelling. Many of you shared in the chat how the session gave you permission to "just begin". Webinar Highlights Our conversation explored the essential elements of memoir writing, from overcoming the fear of...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read