I am five weeks into my Writing for Children & Young Adults course, and something wholly unexpected has happened. Let me explain: When I was younger I had the confidence of a small gnat. So, I looked for ways to ‘better’ myself – NLP, hypnosis, meditation, visualisation... (It was a long list.) I also clung… Continue reading An unexpected benefit of writing regularly
Cave painting photograph © Maxime Aubert An interesting thing happened this morning: I got up at 6am and went downstairs to make a cup of tea. As I waited for the kettle to boil, I checked the weather (to see if a walk was on today) and the BBC News (to see whether Trump had… Continue reading Are you being guided by something?
I’ve just realised I’ve been doing something totally ridiculous. In the corner of my bedroom sits a pile of notes for the novel I am writing/not writing (depending on which month you ask me). Every time I look at this pile (see photo above), I feel stressed. The pile itself cannot be the problem.… Continue reading Creativity, stress and made-up pressure
I have an admission to make: ‘how to’ writing books make me feel a bit queasy. You know the ‘classics’ you’re supposed to read? The ones that talk about grammar and style, and how to psychoanalyse your characters to within an inch of their lives? I have tried to read them. But two chapters in… Continue reading Why I am allergic to most ‘how to’ books on writing
The second I emailed my finished Oh Sugar! manuscript to the publishers, I vowed I would not write another book for quite some time. I was exhausted. And yet that very same afternoon I found myself pondering, Yes, but I did write another book, I wonder what it be? Later that day, after I had… Continue reading Will snowflakes help me write my next book?
I am 6000 words into my book. And I am gobsmacked. I mean, I really am actually writing a book! Not talking about it. Or thinking about it. Or spending hours researching it. I am actually parking my bum in front of the computer for anything from a few minutes to a few hours a… Continue reading My book is like a plate of spaghetti
Today I got up and virtually ran to the computer. I forgot about showering or having breakfast. The only thing I allowed myself was a gulp of water – it was imperative that I sat down in front of the computer and typed what was in my head. It felt like my life depended on… Continue reading The day I started writing a novel
Katherine Bassford 