... and why goals are better than 'resolutions'. This time last year, I started the Exploring Authoring blog and set myself the goal of finishing the first draft of my young adult novel before my 30th birthday. In the past, I’d started plenty of years with the vague, non-specific, resolution to ‘do more writing’ or ‘make time to write’ - but I’d never had a concrete, measurable goal. Fast forward to January 2017 and I am not only in possession of a completed first draft, I’ve

It's nearly the end of March, which will mark three whole months since I embarked on my authoring adventure. Despite the sunshine, I woke up this morning feeling a bit disappointed in my relatively low word-count, so I gave myself a stern talking-to and tried to think of all the positive things I've achieved, and what I have learned. Some of the most important and useful things I've learned are the little tips and tricks that help the words to flow a bit quicker, but we'll co

Whether your end goal is to quit your day job and spend your days crafting literary master-pieces, or you are just writing for your own satisfaction, as an author you need readers. And, the truth is, those readers will not spring up from nowhere and beg for your latest novel. If you're lucky, your book might go to market at exactly the right time, be seen by the right people, and shoot to the top of the Amazon best-sellers list. Most of us, however, will have to work at getti

Making time to write can be challenging, we all know that. I don't have children but I do have a full time job, a husband, two pets, and a propensity to procrastinate. The thing is, for most of us, writing requires a level of solitude. Even if you work best in a buzzing cafe surrounded by people, chances are you don't want to be having a conversation with those people – they are there to serve as background noise. So, resisting the urge to play fetch with the dog, or watch Ma

I have nearly-blogged a lot of times in the past. Two years ago, when I first played with the idea of writing ‘properly’, I created an author website and wrote one post… then found I couldn’t really think of anything much to write about and stopped. The website sat there getting fusty, and sad, and outdated. And, eventually, I took it down and told myself I would start again later. So here I am, two years down the road with a fresh new blog, a renewed bout of enthusiasm and l