Writing
Beating Writerly Isolation
As I said in last week’s post about writing and mental health, isolation is a big problem for writers. It’s easier to find support at the beginning of your career. Writers groups and creative writing classes are a natural home for emerging writers. But when you publish a book, you move on to the next […]
Writing and Mental Health
Last Saturday, I took part in a very special walk, that started at 4am. The Darkness Into Light walk raises funds for Pieta House, a non-profit organisation which offers support to people who are suicidal. It was a deeply symbolic walk; the idea of starting in darkness and walking into the light was very powerful. […]
Things I’ve Learned on My Proofreading Course
As many of you who read this blog will know, I’m a compulsive word nerd and in the past 2-3 years, I’ve turned this passion into an editing and proofreading service. Recently, I decided to step up this side of my overall writing business and I embarked on a proofreading course, to help me hone […]
Have Fun Creating Characters
Creating characters is by far my favourite part of the writing process. It gives you an idea of what it must be like to be God, as you mould your characters into what ever images you choose. As you add quirky little details to them, like the funny way they hold their cup, or their […]
Why Buzzwords Drive People Mad
Every time I put up a post on Facebook or Twitter about buzzwords that annoy people, I get a huge reaction. People are delighted to have an opportunity to rant about phrases like “going forward,” “blue-sky thinking” and “no problem.” I tried twisting people’s minds recently by asking them to come up […]
How Journalism Teaches You to Write
I was once a journalist. Now I’m more or less not. It’s because I realised that journalism is not as compatible with writing as we’re led to believe. Still, the skills I learned as a journalist have been hugely helpful in my writing. Here are a few of lessons that our friends from the media […]
Why the English Language Isn’t Going Down the Drain
In the 15th century, there were 50 different ways to spell church. People wrote words down as they heard them, and they heard them in a multitude of different ways. So why are grammar Nazis getting in a twist about how words are being spelt on Facebook and in text messages? Language Revolution We’ve all […]
5 Words About Words
The English language is wonderfully complex. That’s why it requires wonderfully complex words to describe how it works. For this week’s blog, I’ve turned the spotlight on five words that describe the quirky ways we use the language. It’s fitting that these words are quirky in themselves. And here they are, these weird and wonderful […]
A Writer’s Love Affair with Her Notebooks
Writers have a deeply personal relationship with their notebooks. To them, notebooks are as valuable as their right arms. When an idea flares, they capture it in their notebooks before it takes flight. Many a great book has sprung from a humble notebook. Notebooks aren’t just idea stores for writers. They’re things of beauty in […]
High Speed Storytelling
I’m looking forward to a week packed with writing activities and opportunities to meet my fellow writers. There’s the social media panel, a radio panel on Saturday with fellow writers Orla Shanaghy and Mary Grehan. But first, I’m giving a free two hour workshop as part of Waterford Festival of Learning, to give people a […]
