“My audience is always smarter than me.” Interview by Jo Ely, Literary Editor Sophia Blackwell was born in Newcastle. She read English at Oxford, where she started performing poetry with Hammer & Tongue. Now an established performance poet, her poetry has been anthologized by Bloodaxe, Nine Arches, The Emma Press, Sidekick Books and The Woven…
Tag: fiction
Woven Tale Press Editor Jo Ely | In Her Own Words
Writing My First Novel Jo Ely [dropcap]I[/dropcap]f truly committed, one can always find time to write–poet Salena Godden gets up at 4 am, and short story writer and novelist Jacqueline Crooks would write on buses and trains, commuting to her seven-day-a-week job. Not many people have that kind of commitment, and I am no exception. I…
Literary Spotlight: J.G. McClure
The Deer J. G. McClure [dropcap]G[/dropcap]lass. Glass and blood not his own. His own mistake—the drinks, the brakes too late. Too late for the deer sprawled in the dark, slick road. Slick roads, he thought, it’s these slick fucking roads. Not the drinks. The man stood in the road and watched the woman watch the…
David Gaffney | In His Own Words
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]avid Gaffney comes from Cleator Moor in West Cumbria and now lives in Manchester. The Guardian says that “One-hundred-and-fifty words by Gaffney are more worthwhile than novels by a good many others.” He is the author of several books of fiction and flash fiction, including Sawn-Off Tales (2006), Aromabingo (2007), Never Never (2008), The Half-Life of…
Writing—an elusive art of wisps and webs
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]riting is such an elusive art. Writers are often cagey about the origin of their creations when asked where the story started. Not every story is explainable. There are the kinds that start with a wisp of an idea, which is flushed out after years of research. Other stories draw the writer into its web,…
Richard Skinner on: "A Huge Influence on my Novel"
Who or what has been a big influence on your writing, be it a book, film, or mentor? “I started out almost as a documentary director and ended up as a producer of opera.” Michael Powell Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s amazing movie, Black Narcissus, was a huge influence on my novel The Mirror, which is set entirely…
20 Ways to Avoid the Word "Very"
By Amreen B. Shaikh of https://painttheworldwithwords.wordpress.com Writing is a very wise sagacious exercise. One writes to emote their thoughts, ideas and concepts to the world. But there are few words which hinder the flow of it when one reads, and actually are considered a cliche in writing. I recently read about the wrong in using the word “very” in…
Becoming Writer (The Cover Makes It Real)
By Sydney Scrogham This book thing is really happening, and I feel like I’ve stepped into my real body for the first time. This is what I was created for, and I hope you take the risk to chase what you’re created for, too. Trust me, it’s worth it. Even though the road to arrival…
Story-Telling’s 3 A’s: about, About, ABOUT
By Eduardo Suastegui of http://www.eduardosuastegui.com What is this story about? To write it, you have to know the answer to that question. It’s a simple question—deceptively so. But yeah, if you’re going to have any idea of what to write next, and if you’re going to write a semi-coherent story summary blurb, you have to know what…
How to Hang Onto Your Next Big Idea When You Need Sleep
You’re tapping that keyboard late into the night and tell yourself, “Man, I’ve got to get this writing out.” But your Wise shoulder angel slugs your Writing shoulder angel and says, “You’ve gotta sleep! There’s an early morning ahead of you.” What do you do? If you stop writing now, you can get some sleep…
Six Tips For Writing That First Novel
Writing novels when you have experience is daunting. Writing a first novel, then, can seem like an impossible task, especially when you have nothing going for you except desire and a head full of ideas. I recently commented on a book by someone who asked for a review through my Review Exchange offer. I could tell…
Why I'll Likely Self-Publish My Novel
I’ve been struggling to find a literary agent for one of my two fiction novels for more than a year now. I’ve pitched the story at conferences and via email, and received a steady trickle of rejections. Mostly formulaic responses, some nicer than others, one or two with encouraging words, but all the same rejection…