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: the basic concept

Susie Helme The most important aspect of a novel is the Basic Concept, your novel’s Unique Selling Point. It’s a marketing tool; this is where you sell your novel. You gotta have a good idea. If the idea isn’t good enough, you could either waste years of your life writing something that never sees the…
Writing advice blog: writing about women

Ann McTaggart All the advice says ‘write what you know’ so as a women writer, writing about women, you do already have a certain heads up; a certain potential authenticity and empathy. I’m sure everyone would agree, writing is a totally immersive experience which requires curiosity, the skill to convey and a stomach for tons…
Writing advice blog: developing your characters with a character questionnaire

Susie Helme Here are some questions to get you thinking about your Protagonist’s character. This is not to say that you should work all this info into your text—God, forbid! This is merely an exercise for you, the author, to really get deep into the mindset of your character so you can make them interesting…
Writing advice blog: developing a character

Susie Helme Here are two great exercises toward developing your character: Character motivations establish the reader-character connection, and motivations reveal something about character. Examine your character’s motivations in terms of their needs by referring to Maslow’s hierarchy. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: 1. Physiological 2. Safety and security 3. Love and belonging 4. Accomplishment and self-esteem…
Writing advice blog: characterisation

Susie Helme One can never say enough about characterisation. What readers are most attracted to when making their book buy choices is characters.[1] This is why people love those Detective So-and-So series and even Teen Vampire Saga Books 1,2,3. They fall in love with the protagonist and want to read more about their (fictional) lives.…
Writing advice blog: family sagas

Susie Helme I’ve recently reviewed two novels, both of which are family sagas, i.e. the tale of Protagonist’s parents, and their parents and their parents. The first used the structure you’d expect: Part I dealt with Protagonist’s father and his parents and grandparents; Part II dealt with Protagonist’s mother and her parents and grandparents; Part…