C. F. Iggulden is the pseudonym of successful historical fiction writer Conn Iggulden. Darien is the author’s first attempt at a fantasy series, and a YA series at that. Having never read any of his previous work, I went into ...
Read More »Narrative framing devices in film
I finally gave in to years of pestering from friends and watched Saving Private Ryan. Perhaps my reputation as a cold, dead fish should have clued them up to the emotional arc falling flat with me, but in my defence, ...
Read More »Pitching your book: Succinct and sellable
An unfortunate aspect of writing is marketing. Writers are not generally at ease with selling their work. Instead, we tend to be more the shy, retiring type, someone who likes to hole up in our dark study with copious amounts ...
Read More »Overused and unimaginative: The formula for YA dystopian novels
I can’t be the only one despairing at the lack of imagination in the countless numbers of YA dystopian novels. They have become so generic and formulaic a computer could easily write one. While I have enjoyed my fair share ...
Read More »Tips for successful editing
January and February are the NaNoWriMo ‘Now What?’ months. For those of you not in the know, every November thousands of crazy writers sign up to attempt writing 50,000 words in one month, which makes the better part of a novel’s ...
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