Ghostwriter Diaries 07

Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season. I certainly did. Now, with the wine rack looking sadly depleted and twelfth night just around the corner, it's time to take down the tinsel and hang up the ghostwriting schedule. It's a tight schedule, one that requires me to turn out an average … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 07

Ghostwriter Diaries 06

The clock is ticking! As of today, I'm in possession of the final storyline for the novel I'll be ghostwriting over the coming months. Contracts have been signed and exchanged, committing me to final manuscript delivery in the middle of April 2014. The timescale's so tight I've agreed with my client to serve up the … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 06

Ghostwriter Diaries 05

Talk about a great way to end the week! I just learned that I won the competitive pitch to ghostwrite a new trilogy of fantasy novels. Having submitted my three-chapter sample only four days ago, I thought I might have to wait a little longer before being told the outcome. I guess I must have … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 05

Ghostwriter Diaries 04

I'm done! My three-chapter sample for the fantasy novel is complete. I finished writing yesterday, edited the manuscript this morning, and I've just emailed the final draft to my client. All that remains is to sit back and perform the hardest task of all. It a challenge all writers face on a regular basis. Wait. … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 04

Ghostwriter Diaries 03

I'm two chapters in, with one more to go before I've finished this ghostwriting sample. After a false start yesterday, I've just blasted through a couple of thousand words in a morning. Are they the right words? It's hard to say until I read through them. But I'll hold off doing that until I've finished … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 03

Ghostwriter Diaries 02

I'm 2,000 words into my ghostwriting assignment, and just short of completing the first chapter. I'm overwriting, but that's standard operational procedure for a first draft. The hack and slash of editing will knock it into shape. My first session saw me trying too hard ... trying to impress, if truth be told. That's a … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 02

Ghostwriter Diaries 01

Listen up. I don't have much time. I've just been invited to pitch for a ghostwriting assignment and every second counts. So I'll keep this brief. The assignment I'm talking about is a trilogy of fantasy novels. My brief comprises an overview of the storyline, brief sketches of the main characters and a comprehensive outline … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 01

Fishing for the Right Words

When I started out writing fiction, I thought all kinds of things were clever. Like using lots of different words. Better still, using really long ones. Like antidisestablishmentarianism (OK, maybe not that one). Over the years, my tastes have changed. Now that my hair is a little greyer and my joints are a little stiffer, … Continue reading Fishing for the Right Words

Your Free Writer’s Monologue

Suffering from writer's block? Fed up with that nagging internal monologue that distracts you from the process of writing? Fear not! I've created the Writer's Monologue®, a patent-pending system guaranteed to keep your fingers on the keyboard and your mind on the job. To use the Writer's Monologue®, simply record yourself speaking aloud the script shown … Continue reading Your Free Writer’s Monologue

The Writing Radio

When you write stories, the ideas don't come from you; they come from the ether. You're not a writer; you're a radio. You might think you're making things up but you're not. You're listening to them as they come in over the airwaves. You're making sense of the signal and recording what you hear. You … Continue reading The Writing Radio