I've been giving some thought recently to the crippling self-doubt that seems to afflict many writers (and although I'm still in the almost- camp, I can definitely relate to that almost paralysing fear that what you've written is maybe, possibly, almost certainly utter rubbish) and wondering how I can benchmark my career as a writer. … Continue reading My writing bucketlist… or how will I know if I’ve made it?
I've just read the excellent Deadfall, by Linda Fairstein (one of my regular favourites) and it struck me that there are some books that go beyond merely setting a story in a specific place; the very tentacles of the story worm their way through the whole location. There's some extra special about that kind of … Continue reading Making more of your setting
I've been really quiet lately - a combination of ill health and the fact I suddenly had 20,000 words of various essays to be completed and handed in for the MA - but I'm back to wellness now and have met all my deadlines so yay me! When I first got accepted to the MA … Continue reading A year in the life of a Crime Writing MA
It's hard working out where to set a novel. Especially if you're hoping to have more than just one, it needs to be sustainable. I explained last time about how I'd been originally planning somewhere entirely fictional but was persuaded to choose a real location. I chose Sheffield because... It's Northern I felt very strongly … Continue reading Making my fictional home in Sheffield
When I started writing my novel, I was virtually certain that it was going to be set in a non-specific location (i.e. a fictional city) - after all, Susan Hill does it in the Simon Serailler novels and it works well - she creates a sense of realism in her place. My tutor however was … Continue reading A Sense of Place
I was listening to a podcast from The Bestseller Experiment in which Sarah Pinborough (currently topping charts and twitter channels with her novel Behind Her Eyes) was talking about how she writes. She said that as long as she was thinking about her writing every day, then it didn't matter that she wasn't physically writing every … Continue reading Finding the time and the mental space
Don't get me wrong. The process of workshopping is infinitely valuable and I am utterly and totally appreciative of all the effort others are putting into reading and reviewing my work. But emotionally? I am not cut out of this level of focus and analysis! I admit - I am not a person who takes … Continue reading Workshopping: My Personal Hell
Everyone has an opinion Which is nice. Mostly. Of course, when I say everyone, I mean, everyone. Even those random people who cross the road instead of even walking past a bookshop let alone contemplate going in. The metaphorically childless people who not only don't have a child, they don't even like children. Especially criminal … Continue reading Why being an almost-writer is like being a new mother
freyawolfe.com 