Writing habits

I've been leading writing workshops for over 20 years and am still gobsmacked by how stubbornly writers cling to certain myths that suck up a lot of emotional energy, and reinforce practices that undermine the creative process.  Read more

"Kill your darlings."

This venerable nugget of writing advice is often attributed to William Faulkner, though in fact the British writer Arthur Quiller-Couch said it first. In a 1913-1914 series of published lectures at Cambridge University titled On the Art of Writing, Quiller-Couch said:  Read more

This post is about another resolution, one I made some thirty-three years ago, at a real turning point in my life. My older son was six and the younger one just toddling around the coffee table. This would have been the cusp of 1986. My husband and I had been out of graduate school for a couple of years-he'd finished a Ph.D. in psychology, and I'd completed an MA in English/Creative Writing.  Read more

The first time I considered the relationship between fiction and research was during a writing workshop-my first-while I watched the professor eviscerate some poor kid's story about World War II. And yeah, the story was bad. I remember the protagonist being told to "take cover" and then performing several combat rolls to do so.  Read more

Are you serious about putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and finally starting that novel idea you've had for years? Costa and Orange Prize shortlisted writer Monique Roffey offers her top five tips for getting the best out of your writing process - including finding your personal rhythm, getting into the habit of drafting and how to edit successfully.