The uncomfortable truth about what you want
You're chasing something right now that you don't actually want. I don't know what it is. The promotion. The lifestyle. The relationship status. The home in…
The invisible readers
Or: How publishing created a generation of boys who think books aren't for them I was in Waterstones at the weekend, checking out the competition in the Middle…
Even in Ultradia
I'm a big fan of Paul McKenna. It was reading and listening to his Instant Confidence and Change your Life in Seven Days books that gave me the tools to beat…
Help me fund it
For some time now, I've had the domain name helpmefundit.com and never really did anything with it. When the domain renewal came around the other day, it got…
You are what you click
Social media algorithms are manifesting machines. Click on anger, get more anger. Engage with outrage, receive endless outrage. The machine doesn't judge…
Rule of ten
When you're stuck, force yourself to generate ten ideas. Not three. Not five. Ten. The first few will be obvious — the same tired solutions everyone reaches…
Contraints create genius
Quentin Tarantino had $1.2 million to make Reservoir Dogs. No money for elaborate heists, car chases, or fancy locations. So he did what every good filmmaker…
The three questions you can always rely on
David Mamet distilled all dramatic writing into three simple questions: 1) Who wants what from whom? 2) What happens if they don't get it? 3) Why now? These…
Trust your readers
One thing I've really had to rely on while cutting the book down was the idea that your readers are smarter than you think. They don't need every connection…
Say it loud
Following on from yesterday's post on how I cut 45,000 words without losing my story, I've realised there's one more trick for getting your word-count down.…