Subversion in Literature Part 2
Subversion can be a ‘good’ thing at certain times, when the cultural norms become oppressive, and a ‘bad’ thing when those norms are...
The Refusal to Change
Protagonists grow and change, learn and develop: the story is the soil in which they do this. They are the part of the tree which is...
'Being' versus 'Doing'
Some writers ask me ‘What’s the difference between the action and plot of a novel and its ideas or theme?’ In the terms described at some...
Signposts in Fiction
Have you ever read a book which, in the first few pages, fails to make it clear enough whose point of view in the story you should be...
Words, Words, Words
One of the primary channels between your shifting, ever-changing and elusive thought-world and the more fixed, slower-moving and fairly...
Subversion in Literature
One of the most popular and highly esteemed novels in English literature, Wuthering Heights, published in 1847, sold very poorly at first...
Creating an Outline
Here are five tips to creating an outline for your story: 1. Set out five to ten pages, each headed with chapter numbers. You can do this...
What Makes Great Stories Great
Best selling author James Patterson tells us that the most common mistake writers make is not creating an outline and assures students...
John Steed and Mrs. Peel: a Dance of Archetypes
The Avengers, not to be confused with Marvel Comics’ superhero franchise, was what has become known as a ‘spy-fi’ British television...
The Magic of Marketing
In the world of dreams, a writer often imagines that the bulk of the work is done when the first draft is complete. It’s a persistent...