From clearer thinking to the confidence that comes with mastering a skill to processing difficult life events – not to mention the sheer pleasure of creativity – here are some of the ways writing can give your mental health a boost.
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Want to write a memoir? My favourite piece of memoir-writing advice is from the late, great Carrie Fisher, author of bestselling memoirs and autobiographical fiction. And also Princess Leia.
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Writers are the masters of procrastination – it’s far simpler to type a search term into Google than it is to write the first line of a novel. We all procrastinate – but you can overcome it with practical strategies. So stop putting off your dreams and reward your future self, says Bec Evans.
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Productivity isn’t just a way to show off to colleagues and suck up to your boss. Getting things done allows you to spend more time doing the things you love and want to do. Bec Evans shares her favourite tactics to make short shrift of the long to-do list.
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Develop your craft with these 10 essential books for writers. How many have you read? And which others would you recommend?
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Feeling overwhelmed by your writing goal? Chris Smith of Prolifiko says you can achieve big things by thinking small. Here are his top 7 tips for incorporating a ‘small thinking’ methodology into your writing process.
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Are you surviving NaNoWriMo? Here’s your second week of writing prompts from Sarah Salway to keep you going!
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Have you been visited by the Muse lately? If you’re an indie author, you need more than one source of inspiration. Tom Evans looks at the Nine Muses needed for self-publishing success.
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From unfriend to selfie, social media is clearly having an impact on language. The words that surround us every day influence the words we use. Since so much of the written language we see is now on screens, language now evolves partly through our interaction with technology.
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If you’re writing romantic fiction, sooner or later you’re going to have to write a sex scene. How can you avoid cliché, embarrassment – and a ‘Bad Sex’ award? Write in your usual style, and stop worrying, says Mitzi Szereto.
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Social media has been key to Emily Benet’s success as a writer. Her first book, Shop Girl Diaries, started life as a blog; her second, The Temp, as a serialised novel posted online; and her latest, #PleaseRetweet, is a comedy about social media obsession. Social media is a wonderful tool for writers – but it has pitfalls too. The key is to use it, and not let it use you, as she reveals in her top pros and cons of social media for writers.
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Whether you’re interested in writing drama or comedy, plays or sketches, BBC Radio 4 commissions hundreds of hours of original material every year – far more than BBC TV – and is always on the look out for new writing talent. BBC Radio 4 commissioner Caroline Raphael offers her top tips for aspiring radio writers.
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