Category Archives: Arts

Do You Use Real Locations in Your Fiction?

Here at Bookends, we recently did a Vodcast about asking questions. Gerald Hornsby asked me random questions from my workbook: 100 Questions for Fiction Writers. (Coming Soon) One of them was; Do you use real locations or do you make them up? And it made me think of the use of location in our books. Are they realContinue reading “Do You Use Real Locations in Your Fiction?”

What is the most important question writers ask?

How many books have I sold this month? Do I get an advance?  Why is Amazon’s algorithm so complicated? Can I eat this cream cake as research? Is it ok to write someone I know into my book – and kill them? You mean I have to re-write the whole thing? Why is this soContinue reading “What is the most important question writers ask?”

Where the Magic Happens

Behind the Scenes 1 There is something magical about Theatre. About the anticipation as the lights dim and silence decends. That expectant hush; the audience sitting in a charged space waiting for the lights and music, the performers and settings, to transport them into another world.  Today, however, we are going behind the scenes toContinue reading “Where the Magic Happens”

How Creativity Can Save the World

‘I don’t have a creative bone in my body!’ Honestly, some said this to me once.  It made me sad that people could believe this about themselves and this is why.  I believe that humans are inherently creative. If we weren’t, we would still be living in caves and foraging for food. Human survival isContinue reading “How Creativity Can Save the World”

It’s Never Too Late!

‘I want to be a writer when I grow up,’ said a child version of myself.‘Don’t be silly, love. They have people who do that sort of thing,’ replied the responsible adult. I believed them, as children do, despite the fact that The Manchester Evening News had printed my stories and poems on its children’sContinue reading “It’s Never Too Late!”