REVIEW / RETHINK / REWRITE

Where is your writing at?

Margaret James — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 11:47:48 +0000

Aside from our esteemed colleagues who have snared book deals, editors and mentors, of course… Who among us is still writing like mad, loosing the falcon of enthusiasm every day to hunt down morsels of inspiration? Who is still writing something every day, keeping the little blue bird of hope fluttering in their hearts? Who …

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Maggie: Is the Art of Line Editing Lost?

Margaret James — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 11:44:49 +0000

We all had better hope not! (Double click the excerpt below for full article…) Is Line Editing a Lost Art?

Maggie; My Brain Finally Got it…

Margaret James — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 12:49:40 +0000

I took a break from writing and editing over the Christmas period to read intensively from authors whom I respect and whose work I enjoy. I wanted to try to figure out why their writing is so much better than mine. I was stymied until I had read particularly engrossing passages three or four times, …

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Maggie: A thought-provoking essay on the evolution of Languages

Margaret James — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 11:41:32 +0000

I came across a thought-provoking article by an editor at The Economist who is also a linguistic specialist. According to him, I am a prescriptivist, rather than a decriptivist. In other words, I am fighting a losing battle trying to stick by the rules of language and grammar as I know them… *SIGH* https://aeon.co/essays/why-language-might-be-the-optimal-self-regulating-system ~ …

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HiRo: I done gone and done it

Hiro — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 16:32:58 +0000

Well, it’s happened. Jack sent my novel to Stephanie Thwaites this morning. It’s been a hell of a year, with starting medical school and trying to write and moving to a new city and oh my god, I’m so tired. Pray for my poor soul, folks. Thanks for all your help and support!

Maggie: 10 Tips From Jonathan Franzen

Margaret James — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 13:32:01 +0000

I have just come across this post sharing Jonathan Franzen’s 10 Rules for novelists… Jonathan Franzen’s 10 Rules for Novelists Not sure I agree with his views on the Internet, but 9 out of 10 isn’t bad… 😉 More and more, as I review and rewrite, I am coming to understand what veteran, successful, writers …

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Maggie: Hemingway’s Tips for Fiction Writing…

Margaret James — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 11:10:43 +0000

I’ve stumbled across a blog post which gathers together 7 Fiction Writing Tips that Ernest Hemingway shared, in various interviews and magazine articles he wrote over his lifetime… 7 Tips From Ernest Hemingway on How to Write Fiction How many of these things do you do already? 😉 ~ M.

Pitch slot

Joanne Clague — Sun, 11 Nov 2018 12:47:32 +0000

Hello all, I need the advice of my writerly friends! I entered a competition by DHH to pitch to one of their agents and have been given a slot. It’s a ten minute face to face with Broo Doherty (to enter the competition, I had to select one agent from DHH and email the usual …

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Joanne: Coming Home

Joanne Clague — Sat, 03 Nov 2018 16:18:36 +0000

THIS is the title of my book. The title it should have always had. It popped into my head while I was walking the dogs, and I ran back, did a four hour stint, wrote a new chapter, deleted an existing chapter, re-introduced some stuff from the ‘This is crap’ folder … Anyway, just wanted …

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Maggie: Feed me!

Margaret James — Sat, 13 Oct 2018 10:20:48 +0000

I have passed into a new stage of caregiving for my aged and ever more infirm Mother, and my daily routine has evolved. I still write early in the mornings, but I now have a window each afternoon in which I could be reading your stuff. Any of you. All of you. So let me …

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