Characters are the most important part of any story - without your characters, there is no story! Use the resources on this page to build your own character, and start to think about their strengths and flaws! Download and print out this worksheet to help you plan your character. Appearance Ask yourself some questions: What... Continue Reading →
Writing historical fiction is a strange process. You might suppose (as I did) that it’s a fairly boring task, with no room for inspiration. These people lived and died, their lives are a matter of record, and all there is to do is to recount those lives in so many words and try to be... Continue Reading →
You don't have to be a great writer to get published. You don't even have to be a particularly good writer. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that talent has very little bearing on one's chances of getting published. Let me qualify my statement. Firstly, I'm not complaining. This isn't another one... Continue Reading →
I'll say this for working at a school: the holidays are well-earned. It's quite popular these days to bash teachers and teaching staff for the amount of time they get off, but believe me: they deserve it. Imagine trying to do your job (whatever you do), with all of its paperwork, admin, on-line and off-line... Continue Reading →
Those of you who have been following this blog from the beginning will know that the relationship between character and plot is one of my favourite subjects. The way the two run together, informing and supporting each other, is what makes brilliant writing. In a recent post I mentioned that I had a run-in between... Continue Reading →
The question I most get asked is, "Where do you get your ideas from?" In second place is, "How do you do it? I could never write a book." There's a saying that everyone has a book inside them. I agree with this. But not everyone has the right combination of motivation, enthusiasm, inspiration and... Continue Reading →
The rather extraneous title of today's post serves to illustrate the feeling all writers get when their characters start running away from them in new and often unwanted directions. It sounds clichéd, but it really is true: your characters will come to have a life of their own. Hopefully this post will help you corral... Continue Reading →
So I've started work on the next book, wasting no time. I thought it would be fun to keep you all updated with progress reports, all under the banner of 'Lifting the Lid'. So far I have sketched out a rough plan and finished first drafts of the prologue and chapter one. This is as... Continue Reading →
Matthew Wainwright, Children's Author 