Symbolism in My Stories

Symbolism is the use of words or images to represent specific ideas or characters in stories. We can use symbols to communicate an overall theme of what you are trying to convey in the story or small gestures that can help a writer give meaning to a character or place within a story. I don't...

Guess what I found!

My book Savage Beauty is in the library! My first book, Savage Beauty is finally stocked in the Plymouth library. It feels great to see my book there for people (hopefully) to take out. The story is partly based in Plymouth in 1996 so it may be of interest to locals. Please support me by...

Bookmarks as a Marketing Tool for Self-Published Authors

Author Bookmarks Bookmarks don't just keep track of your page number, they are a great marketing tool too. Bookmarks are a low cost way of showing off your novel with handy hints of where people can find your work and more about you as an author. They also hit straight to the people you want...

A Scanner Darkly

I read Philip K. Dick's book, A Scanner Darkly (1977) in October. I have only read one other book by this author, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1968), which became the film Blade Runner in 1982. I am very interested in classic sci-fi at the moment if any one has any ideas of what...

How to Self-Promote once You Have Self-Published

Is it worth self-publishing? Absolutely, for me, it was the best decision I made. The control of your intellectual property can only come from self-publishing. I had complete control of how the book looked, the cover design and any financial gains. Unfortunately this means I also have complete control or responsibility in promoting my work...

Senses in Stories

When writing a personal narrative for a character, sensory details give a reader a rich experience of that character's perspective. The five senses are sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. Incorporating the use of each of these senses helps the writer build up a picture of their world. After breaking my nose at seven years...

The Antagonist in my Story, Savage Beauty

The purpose of the antagonist is to be in opposition to the protagonist of your story. They push the protagonist to achieve their dreams and create interesting drama in the tale. Without the antagonist there is no story. The main component of an antagonist is as a force that shapes the protagonist and generally gets...

Savage Beauty

Every Journey of Self-Discovery Begins at Home! I have finally done it! I have published my first novel. This work has been an ongoing writing project over many years, starting in my early twenties when I came home alone from back-packing in the Middle East. It is the project that taught me how to write....