The first question a journalist asked me last week was why I made the decision to write my new book as fiction. Why I made the leap. Although Last Seen in Lhasa is a travel memoir, I used fictional techniques — creating character, plenty of dialogue...
If you have one of those days when you sit down and don’t know what to write, then find an object and write about that. Ideally choose something meaningful. Or quirky. Or precious. This exercise works for non-fiction and fiction. For travel memoir, pick an object that...
To make the publisher’s deadline for my new novel, I’ve been through an intense period of editing. At times it felt like running a marathon – except the finish line kept getting further away. At the end, when I should have had my feet up, I...
There are lots of things that stop us writing. A common one is fear. How much do we hold ourselves back as writers? What are we most afraid of? Here are some common responses: Rejection Condemnation from others Being judged Putting yourself out there Not getting the story right. Last weekend I...