Writing tips – Vanessa Couchman

A Novel Approach

I’m delighted to welcome my friend and fellow Ocelot Press author, Jennifer C. Wilson, to the blog today. Her latest book, aimed at writers, A Novel Approach, was published yesterday by Ocelot Press. She tells us how the book came about and what it aims to do. I’ve had a sneak peek, and I knowContinue reading “A Novel Approach”

Rolling in the Aisles: 10 Tips for Doing an Author Talk

Doing an author talk and reading or a public book launch can be intimidating if you don’t have much experience. And public speaking generally is daunting unless you’re one of life’s extroverts, which I’m not. I have done quite a lot of it in past incarnations, sometimes to hostile audiences, but it still makes meContinue reading “Rolling in the Aisles: 10 Tips for Doing an Author Talk”

Researching #Corsica: yes, but which one?

You’ve no doubt heard of Google alerts. They’re a useful way of keeping abreast of new items on a topic that interests you, without having to scroll through search engine pages to find them. You can try different keywords and set the alert to varying frequencies and in several languages.

8 Stocking Fillers for Writers and Readers

What would you like in your Christmas stocking this year? A three-book contract with one of the big ones, perhaps? You can’t get those at Amazon or Waterstones, unfortunately. Decorative notebooks are always handy, if a bit predictable, but I hate sullying them with my scrawl, so several unused ones languish in my desk drawer.Continue reading “8 Stocking Fillers for Writers and Readers”

Write Despite – Procrastination

Fellow Crooked Cat author Margaret K. Johnson has invited me onto her blog today to take part in her ‘Write Despite‘ series, in which women writers talk about their writing challenges and how they address them. So I’ve focused on a topic close to my heart – procrastination – about which I wrote on thisContinue reading “Write Despite – Procrastination”

In Praise of Procrastination

I am a procrastinator par excellence. My motto is, “Why do something today if you can put it off until tomorrow?” I wrote my university essays at midnight, fuelled by industrial-strength coffee; I submit my competition entries at the last minute; and I’m often to be found tapping away frantically with a client’s deadline looming onlyContinue reading “In Praise of Procrastination”

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I invariably break them before January is over. And there’s something about these worthy tablets of stone that kills one’s enthusiasm even before they are fully formulated. For a few years, I faithfully used to set out my writing goals for the year. I even tried to make themContinue reading “Milestones or millstones? Or how to stop beating yourself up when your writing goals elude you”