Do you write and self-publish ebooks? Have you thought about publishing an ebook? If you’re a freelance writer who spends any time on the net, the thought has undoubtedly crossed your mind.

Crime fiction is big business at the moment, but there are certain situations that have been overplayed so much that they have become genre cliches and everybody knows what to expect next. Here are ten cliches you should try to avoid and thoughts on how to subvert the cliches if you [...]

It’s been said that you should “write about what you know”. It’s also been said that doing that condemns you to a life of boredom as you’ll never grow beyond your current limitations. Not very helpful, is it?

The more I read how the successful authors do it, the more I realise that, like successful people in all walks of life, they all do things in common that contribute enormously to their success. So how can we learn from successful authors to ensure our own success in 2008 and beyond?
We can start by [...]

A. What Is Pacing?
Think about runners in a relay race. A member of the relay team starts running, makes a loop around the track, and passes off the baton to the next runner. A new runner grabs the baton, runs for a while, and then does something significant, which, in this case, is passing off [...]

I must be a real masochist.  Somewhere in the depths of my soul, in the core of my very being, lurks a distressing tendency towards ritualistic self-abuse by forcing myself to undergo more of these article-writing sessions in the company of one or more of my own characters.  I am convinced this tendency will see [...]

Brimming with confidence, you’ve just signed the check purchasing the rights to adapt John Doe’s fabulous, but little known novel, Lawrence of Monrovia, to screenplay form. Suddenly, panic sets in. “What was I thinking? How the devil am I going to convert this 400-page novel to a 110-page screenplay?”

…or maybe that should be ‘How To Shut Certain Characters Up, Particularly When You’re Trying To Sleep’.  Or what about ‘How To Stop Other Characters Barging Into Your Mind And Demanding A Job’.  Now that’d be worth reading, particularly with the multitude of characters that share my head space.  I did agree to let a [...]

Confused about conjunctions? Anxious about adjectives? Neurotic over nouns? Tremble no more as here is a simple explanation of all the parts of speech above, and even some you’ve probably never heard of. To get more intimate with interjections and positively amorous over adverbs read on…
1. Adjective. This is a word that adds a description [...]

Harry Potter. The name brings instant recognition from people all over the world. The books have sold over 350 million copies worldwide. Only the bible has more translations. The movies have gone on to grace the lists of the Top 10 grossing films of all time.
When Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in [...]