The Creative Posts

My advice for new writers is to:

1. Make time for your writing
2. Set reasonable goals i.e. I will write a new story each week

If you want to know how to write for publication, you simply need to start thinking like a professional writer and begin to plan your work.

This isn’t always easy, I have had some of my writing students say that it depletes their creativity when planning and they enjoy writing when inspiration strikes. All writers enjoy that effortless time

When you are submitting short stories to magazines, are you sure that your story  best suits that publication? I can remember years ago having a ‘brilliant’…

Entering creative writing contests can become a lucrative yet addictive pastime for many writers who are spurred on by the challenge of pitting their wits…

Romantic suspense can bring additional elements to a traditional love story, it can add intrigue and doubt as the characters interact and can hook the reader as the story begins to unfold…

There is no doubt in my mind that writing short fiction accelerates the learning curve for writers when it comes to wordiness. We are all guilty of it, expanding our thoughts by adding in an extra little word here and there, padding out a story line to make

We all know the scenario, after fighting tooth and nail to find time to write, we sit down in front of our PC’S and…

   You are watching Creative Competitor Editor – Annette Young Can’t see the video? Click here to watch it on http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDMLPIA12ps Enter our Free…

I’m often asked how to become a writer and the answer is simple; dedication, commitment and passion. These are the key components but link those with a heightened sense of imagination, an ability to visualise and a great deal of enthusiasm and you are onto a winner. If you really wish to become a writer, then you need to start thinking like one, allowing your life to change dramatically

writing has always been a passion of mine, even from an early age and words used to flow like the proverbial river as I had so many ideas, thoughts and feelings and I never once used to suffer with writers block at al

Judith Barrow The dog is snoring on my lap; she’s used to these hours of immobility as I wait desperately for the next paragraph, the…

‘Write about what you know’. It is a piece of advice much used and abused…

The big problem with New Year Resolutions is that, by definition, they require the presence of resolve….

Murder mystery books are always a popular read and if you take a look in your local bookshop, you will see what I mean. We can learn a lot from published authors of this genre if we take the time to do a little

One of the main reasons that writers fail when writing horror stories is that they are not able to immerse themselves into the plot totally and by this I mean, that, irrespective of how the plot is constructed, the writer should feel the ripples of trepidation in a similar way to the reader.

Writing horror stories in a convincing way means having to scare yourself.

My inner critic has decided to out itself. No longer is it content to just whisper vile negatives

One of the good things about having a blog is that you get to rant occasionally and vent your frustrations and one of my all-time writing hates is when writers submit sub-standard work to publishers. Frankly I don’t understand it

One of the most important aspects of fiction has to be creating believable characters. It is also, I believe, one of the most difficult aspects of writing for many writers. We can all learn the correct techniques and formulas of fiction writing but creating characters that almost live and breathe

Why Fast Fiction Projects Work We have all moaned about having so little time and in this modern, fast-paced society we live in today, I…

If I said that writing can be a lonely occupation, I doubt there would be few who would disagree with me, but it doesn’t have…