There’s a new phenomenon out there for writers these days. It hasn’t got a name, but it’s there, and I suspect most of us have encountered it. You write a book. You decide to publish it yourself, spend a lot of money on cover artwork, proof-readers and so forth, and start revving up promotions on … More Why most books don’t sell much on Kindle
One of the big things authors need to think about these days is branding. And no, I don’t mean having some red-hot piece of metal searing the initials of the latest pop sensation de jour into your backside. I mean public image that sells books. What are you known for? Brand’s different from the way … More Why all authors need branding
I have a box in my garage filled with the stuff I used to write when I was a kid. It’s got the story that started it all – the story I wrote for a contest that won me a prize of 50 books (some of which I still have). There are the pencilled stories … More That box of old writing in the garage
It’s National Novel Writing Month again – an event I’ve supported annually the past few years, and so I’m re-running a few blasts from the past to help participants along. Starting with… Five ways to kick-start NaNoWriMo on its first day OK, so there you are with the plan you’ve made for your National Novel … More Kick-starting NaNoWriMo on Day 1
A couple of years ago I wrote a post about where to find good inspiration for National Novel Writing Month – or any kind of fiction writing. Looking for archetypal stories is a good start – and when it comes to a specific action genre it’s hard to go past a story that captured me … More Where to get a quick insight into good fiction writing for NaNo inspiration
It’s National Novel Writing Month in November – when writers from all around the world push to write 50,000 words in 30 days. That’s a push even for experienced authors. And it’s hard to begin with. But it gets easier – as I explained a while back: When the writing rules fade away One of … More How to make writing second nature
I’ve written a lot on this blog about writing, and some it deserves re-airing – especially with National Novel Writing Month around the corner. One of the big issues is what word count means for authors. What ‘word count’ really means for writers I have often railed about the misuse of ‘word count’ as a … More Word count and National Novel Writing Month
Given that National Novel Writing Month is looming up I figured it was worth re-posting this from my archives – how to plot a story. Cue the evil laughter… How to get a credible story plot and avoid the dumb ones One of the challenges of NaNoWriMo – or, indeed, of writing any novel – … More Novel plotting 101 – how to get it right
It’s National Novel Writing Month in November – a US contest, but it draw authors from all around the world. Which means a lot of writers are going to be sitting down right now, all around the world, and figuring out what to do. I’ve been supporting the event with advice and tips for years … More Getting started for National Novel Writing Month 2017
Call it lame, but to me word play is king when it comes to jokes. Groucho Marx was a master at it. Especially when it came to exploiting the dangling modifier. I could go all technical on this, but instead I’ll just cite one of Marx’s classics, from Animal Crackers (1930), where as Captain Spaulding … More How to make jokes with a dangling modifier
Matthew Wright 
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