Writing advice and short stories

Advice and comment on writing and some examples

This is where we share presentations from the writing group on all aspects of writing, from ideas to publication and everything in between. We also include some fiction writing as we try to put our advice into action.

  • The first 500 words

    I recently attended a ‘Slush Pile Day’, led by Alison May and Janet Gover of Fiction Tutors, where we polished our ‘first 500 words’ and read them out to a panel of agents.

  • All Points Imagination

    We’re very proud to announce Bounds Green Book Writers’ first short story collection, All Points Imagination. A doctor called out to a sick baby, a stranger chatting on a park bench, a warrior preparing to die for her Queen, a young couple falling in love… From writers’ group Bounds Green Book Writers, these are short…

  • Writing Humour

    As they say, one man’s meat is another man’s poisson. Or to put it another way, humour is in the ear of the beholder.

  • Openings – First Paragraphs

    So, assuming that your first sentence has fully grabbed the attention of the reader, your first paragraph (Introduction) must accomplish some basic objectives.

  • Openings – First Sentences

    If you want someone to read your book, you must ‘hook’ them by your first paragraph—ideally, by your first sentence. Potential publishers or agents may ask you for your first 3 chapters, but in practice they often read only the first paragraph before rejecting you.

  • Write Natural Dialogue

    The biggest mistake I see is sentences that begin with ‘You know…’ It is not natural for people to say things the other person already knows. Ask yourself—which bits of the speaker’s conversation are new news to the other person, the interlocutor?

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