Tag: creative writing Archives · Wendy Orr

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Deadlines – When Breaking them is the Best Decision
18th Nov

Deadlines – When Breaking them is the Best Decision

I take my publisher’s deadlines very seriously. In thirty plus years of writing, I’ve sometimes pushed them out by a couple of weeks, but last month I did something I never thought…
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Writing – It’s not all in the mind
10th Dec

Writing – It’s not all in the mind

Write every day, the writing gurus say. Just like an athlete in training, you must practise, practise, practise, to improve your craft. Discipline is key. Discipline, yes. Practice, yes. Every day? Let’s…
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My Top 5 First Draft Tips
21st Oct

My Top 5 First Draft Tips

With NaNoWriMo creeping steadily closer, I thought I’d give my top 5 tips on pushing through your first draft.  Sometimes I need to remind myself of my own rules, so even if…
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Dealing with Writers’ Block – Part 1: Letting go of the previous story
13th Jul

Dealing with Writers’ Block – Part 1: Letting go of the previous story

I’ve never really believed in writers’ block – but I do think there are a lot of different reasons why we might have trouble writing at any one time. And right now…
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Dragonflies: myths, meanings and mysteries
1st Jul

Dragonflies: myths, meanings and mysteries

Dragonfly photo sent by my cousin when she heard the title Happy birth day to my newest baby: Dragonfly Song. You’ve been a long time coming. The dragonfly theme in the book…
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Touching history
24th May

Touching history

I’ve just spent a day with the archaeologist Sabine Beckmann in Gournia, Crete. I’ve found and held sherds of pottery that are more than 4000 years old, held a stone tool that…
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Should you make the leap and become a full time writer?
19th Apr

Should you make the leap and become a full time writer?

The messy side of a writing life The biggest question I’ve been asked at talks to emerging writers lately has been about making the leap the from part-time writer to full time, seriously committed,…
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So many facts, so little time: researching a new book
1st Apr

So many facts, so little time: researching a new book

Sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish research from ‘bright shiny object’ distraction. When you’re planning a new book that needs solid research for its background, every new thread seems so exciting that it’s…
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Setting your characters free
11th Mar

Setting your characters free

(with a thank you card to my editors) There ought to be a word for the strange emptiness that comes with sending corrected proofs back to your publisher. Excitement and relief, yes,…
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Apps and Editing
23rd Feb

Apps and Editing

I never thought I’d blog about an app, but the proofs for Dragonfly Song arrived last week –the idea of a break has now been postponed – so I’ve been proofreading and…
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Taking stock in a writing life
11th Feb

Taking stock in a writing life

The new book, Dragonfly Song, is now with the proofreader, and after spending the last eighteen months saying that I was on a tight deadline, I feel as if I’ve re-emerged into…
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Asking questions to turn thoughts into story ideas
29th Mar

Asking questions to turn thoughts into story ideas

Eleven year old Maddison wants to be a writer and has asked where I get ideas from. That’s a great question because every story has to start with an idea! Ideas come…
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