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.

Writing advice blog: Examples of suspense analysed

Susie Helme and Elaine Graham-Leigh In the last post, Susie Helme talked about techniques for building suspense in your writing. In this post, we’re taking a look at how it can be done in practice, by analysing some examples from our favourite authors. Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House Inside, the music thumped and wailed, the heatContinue…
Writing advice blog: Writing suspense

Susie Helme The art of writing suspense is all about building the reader’s expectation and then at some later point, either hitting them with it with a bang, or twisting it and hitting them with something they weren’t expecting. This can stimulate a pleasurable dopamine rush, so that your readers enjoy reading your novel. MysteriesContinue…
Writing advice blog: One hundred wonderful metaphors

Susie Helme Susie shares her favourite metaphors from literature and film. Which will inspire you to craft some wonderful metaphors of your own? shuddered as if something multi-legged and primal had stalked across his spine[1] a man of low birth whom Providence has thrown like dice[2] feels the soft, warm parts of herself being removedContinue…
Writing advice blog: Editorialising and qualifiers

Susie Helme When I worked as a journalist, we were taught never to Editorialise (express personal opinions or feelings). Our readers want to know Who, What, When, Where and How. They don’t care about what I think or feel about it. If I was lucky and they liked the piece, they’d look at my bylineContinue…
Writing advice blog: Writing wondeful metaphors

Susie Helme A metaphor is a literary device, a comparison between two dissimilar things, using descriptive or figurative language, for rhetorical effect. Metaphors are a great way to add colour to your descriptions and spice up your writing. By using symbolism, they tell us more about the subject than a literal description. They create aContinue…
Writing advice blog: Writing aliens

Elaine Graham-Leigh One of the trickiest but most interesting aspects of writing fiction, I find, is writing alien characters. How do you show your reader the differences between the alien culture and ours? While it’s only in science fiction that you might find yourself writing actual alien characters, this is a challenge you’ll face asContinue…