Category Archives: Writing

The Novel I Should Never Have Written!

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Della Galton

Writing The Morning After The Life Before was probably one of the worst commercial decisions of my writing career. I knew when I began it – after discussions with my agent – that this book would not be taken on … Continue reading →

Posted in Ice and a Slice, News, Writing | 20 Comments

Three Questions I Get Asked About Short Stories

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Della Galton

Q How do I make my stories less predictable? Particularly if I’m using a common theme, for example, romance? What can be done to stop the reader from working out that the boy and girl who meet at the beginning … Continue reading →

Posted in Dear Della, Questions from Dear Della, Tips on writing, Writing | 9 Comments

The New Year’s Resolution every writer will keep

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Della Galton

It’s that time of year again, isn’t it? We set a New Year’s resolution – this year we are going to write the novel, write every day, submit ten short stories a month to magazines. Will we keep them? Well, … Continue reading →

Posted in ideas, Inspiration, Wednesday Writing Spot, Writing | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

How much editing should I do?

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Della Galton

I thought it might be helpful to reproduce a few of the questions I’ve been asked about writing in my Dear Della column in Writers’ Forum over the last year. So here is the first: Q How much editing should … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 5 Comments

12 Attributes Every Writer Needs

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Della Galton

Have you ever wondered what attributes you might need to be a full time writer? Well, here’s a tongue in cheek list of 12 attributes every full time writer needs: Creativity. Persistence. An endless supply of patience. A second income. … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration, Writing | 6 Comments

Ten Stories NOT to send to Woman’s Weekly

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Della Galton

I was lucky enough to be teaching with the very lovely Gaynor Davies at Woman’s Weekly last Monday. Here are a list of stories she currently does NOT WANT because a) they have too many already or b) they’d been … Continue reading →

Posted in ideas, Inspiration, News, Short stories for magazines, Woman's Weekly, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments

What Do Your Short Story characters Look Like?

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Della Galton

Characterisation is the means by which you make your fictional characters appear to be real people. It is probably the most important part of any piece of fiction. If the reader doesn’t care about your character, he or she won’t … Continue reading →

Posted in ideas, Inspiration, Short stories for magazines, Tips on writing, Writing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Naming Characters – Wednesday Writing Spot

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Della Galton

For this week’s Wednesday Writing Spot – sorry there hasn’t been one for a while – I would like to welcome my good friend and fellow author, Kath McGurl, who many of you will know from her fabulous Womag blog. … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Posts, ideas, Inspiration, Wednesday Writing Spot | Tagged , | 9 Comments

How Many Books Will I Sell On Amazon?

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Della Galton

I get asked lots of questions about this subject via my Dear Della page in Writers’ Forum. So I thought it might be interesting to reproduce a recent letter on my blog. Q I am about to publish my first … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 7 Comments

Writing for The Friend

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Della Galton

Last week I was lucky enough to listen to a talk – as well as have a chat with – Shirley Blair, Fiction ed of The People’s Friend.  Fascinating stuff.  Here are ten things you may or may not know … Continue reading →

Posted in ideas, Inspiration, News, Short stories for magazines, Writing | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments