There is no right way to write. Some people chip away every night, others get up at 5am (not me!). But as life is short and books take a while, I encourage my writing mentees to find time to immerse themselves in their project. It’s...
This year it's all about trying new ways of getting my words into the world. I've been working on a family memoir with my mum about my parents' adventures through Africa in a Land Rover called Stan, pictured here in Lesotho. We've been going through her...
During my Unbound crowdfunding campaign to get The Pagoda Tree published in the UK, the value of my community has hit home. A book can take a long time to write, so it’s important to have the right people around you. This can be the ...
With the help of post-its, coloured pens and A4 paper, this exercise can give you an overview of your project. In her no-nonsense book How to Nail Your Novel, Roz Morris calls it: The Card Game. I use a mini version of this in my workshops...
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of my award-winning travel memoir, Last Seen in Lhasa, I'm giving away a Tibet-themed prize pack via my Facebook page. Visit the page in order to enter the competition. Below you'll find the Terms & Conditions for this giveaway. CLAIRE SCOBIE/LAST...
Writers often find it hard to finish a piece of work. I always encourage my students and mentee clients that until you’ve finished something, you can’t know if it works. Here five top tips on how to finish your first chapter Have a blurt! This technique...
You do all sorts of interesting things when you’re researching a novel. For The Pagoda Tree, I met a prince and rode on an elephant. Now I’m crowdfunding my book via the publisher Unbound so it can be published in the UK and other territories,...
Do you always fall into the same writing habits? The same tone, the same phrases? You’re in good company. At my lovely Creative Writing class yesterday I was explaining how writers have tics – not facial ones, although perhaps we have them too – the ones...