Category Archives: Writing

The chip of ice in every writer’s heart

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Della Galton

It was Graham Greene, wasn’t it, who said that every writer should have a chip of ice inside his heart. This has more than one interpretation, some of them not very nice, but I used to think it meant this: … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 12 Comments

Issue Led Stories

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Della Galton

Issue led stories are controversial – or can be? Should we write them? Especially for magazines. Or should we stick to nice safe subjects like weddings and car boot sales and summer balls. Not that I’ve got anything against these … Continue reading →

Posted in Short stories for magazines, Tips on writing, Writing | 10 Comments

To Plot or Not

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Della Galton

When you write a novel, one of the first decisions you need to make is how you are going to undertake to write it.  Will you a)  Plan out each chapter in detail so that you know exactly what is … Continue reading →

Posted in plotting, Tips on writing, Writing, Writing problems and solutions | 1 Comment

Getting the Grip Factor

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Della Galton

Have you ever been in a writing group and listening to a manuscript – possibly read out by one of your very good friends – and then realised that you’ve stopped listening. That you have drifted off partway through? That … Continue reading →

Posted in Tips on writing, Writing | 11 Comments

Do men write erotica – or is it a closed shop?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Della Galton

One of the letters I recently received for my Dear Della page was from a guy asking if erotica was a closed shop to men. He’d noticed that many erotica writers were female. Interesting question – I know what he … Continue reading →

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Happy New Year

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Della Galton

We all begin the year with various writing resolutions, but then real life gets in the way.  So why not have one resolution a month? January Don’t think about it, just write.  Set a timer for ten minutes and begin … Continue reading →

Posted in Tips on writing, Writing, Writing exercises | 6 Comments

Writing a Serial

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Della Galton

I started writing serials because the thought of making the leap between short stories and novels terrified me.   Writing a serial of around twenty thousand words seemed like a good interim step. Not quite as scary as embarking on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Tips on writing, Writing | 10 Comments

The Dunford Novelists’ Conference

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Della Galton

Gosh, it’s ages since I wrote a blog, and I have been meaning to tell you about the Dunford Novelists for a while. This is my all time favourite writing conference. Two reasons: one, it’s at the end of January … Continue reading →

Posted in Retreat, Writing, Writing conferences & schools | 2 Comments

The Short Story Writer’s Toolshed

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Peter

Does anyone remember my Writer’s Toolshed series in Writers’ Forum magazine?  It ran for a year and was a series of features focused on writing and selling the magazine short story. Well here’s some good news if you missed it. … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Writing | 6 Comments

Tips on giving and receiving constructive feedback on your writing

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Della Galton

Constructive feedback is something that we do a lot in my writing classes, i.e. students read out work for which they’d like feedback.  For me it’s very valuable, and is the reason I still attend a writing class as well … Continue reading →

Posted in Tips on writing, Writing | 8 Comments