Tag Archives: writers

Poem: For My Brother

It’s been a while since I shared a poem on here. Poetry just feels so intrinsically personal and emotional – maybe because I only ever write about the things that matter to me, and sometimes those things hurt. So here you go – this one’s for my brother. Who deserves everything he thinks he doesn’t. […]

Master’s update and new novel – it’s been a while!

Hello and welcome to this strange and tumultuous world in 2021. It’s been quite a long time since I last blogged (seven months in fact!) and while I’m disappointed not to have kept up my blogging schedule , I think I can be forgiven because, you know, it was 2020 and all. So much has […]

Creative Writing MA: checking in and freaking out

It’s about four months until I finish my Creative Writing MA and hand in my final project and dissertation, and although that seems like a long amount of time, I am sure, with a certain degree of dread, that the time is going to fly past. I promised that I would document my degree on […]

My tips for entering short story competitions

Look, I’m going to be honest here: I’m no short story competition expert. Of the 20+ competitions I have entered in the past year and a half, I’ve had exactly 0 successes – longlist, shortlist, somewhere-in-between-list. No luck. But I haven’t given up, and I continue to methodically and strategically apply to short story competitions, […]

How to stay motivated as a writer

Writing really is a strange and lonely occupation and, like many writers, my motivation ebbs and flows depending on how busy I am, what I’m writing, and my general mood. However, there are things I know that work to keep me organised and to keep me going. Here are my tips on how to stay […]

An ode to the first draft

Ok, I finished a rough first draft of a short story about ten minutes ago, and nothing felt more apt than writing a speedy blog post about just how much I love this feeling (and just how much I dread the next stage of the process). As most people know, the first draft of anything […]

Three things I’ve learnt from my Creative Writing MA

I’ve nearly completed the first year of my Creative Writing MA at Royal Holloway, University of London and although I still have a year left to work on my dissertation and big creative writing project, my taught classes are already over. I think one day I’ll find the words to write more about this whole […]

5 Problems All Writers Will Know

Or, at least, I hope I’m not the only one. When you think about it, writing creatively is one of the strangest things that you can do. Of course, it’s in equal parts terrifying, fulfilling and life-changing, but that transition from mind to paper can be a little tricky, can’t it? Here are the problems […]