There is a stereotype of British people that we're always talking about the weather. It's probably quite an accurate one. According to a recent survey, on av...

I've noticed a tendency within the flash fiction community to veer towards the darker stories - those with anger, pain, sadness and death at their hearts. Th...

When writing flash fiction, it's easy to focus on concision at the expense of everything else. With such a limited word count to play with, simply getting th...

A few months ago, I received feedback on a story I'd written. It focused in on the fact the central character spent time peeling potatoes and preparing tea i...

"You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family," says Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird." And there is, of course, a lot of truth i...

This month, I'm looking at stories with animals at their heart. We are blessed to share the earth with millions of species and the potential for a story-tell...

Food is such an intrinsic part of our daily lives that it's not surprising it features in many stories. When you think about it, the food we eat says a lot a...

Sometimes, you read a story and you think to yourself that it's beautifully written and the characters are wonderful creations and the setting is evocative e...

In writing, unlike other art forms, the visual has been stripped away. There is no sound, smell, touch or taste that is not evoked by the words on the page. ...

Love (requited and unrequited), romantic relationships in all their many forms, longing glances, first kisses, behind-bike-shed fumbles, one night stands, lo...

There are a lot of great writers out there - the famous ones, the ones who are quietly making a living, the ones who should be better appreciated than they a...

In my opinion, all good fiction should have an emotional core. It is what helps the reader connect with a story's characters and it infuses the narrative wit...

When the question is asked as to what makes great writing, there is a tendency to focus on literary fiction and to fail to acknowledge the existence of other...

During 2019, I'll be publishing a showcase blog post on the first Monday of every month. As a writer, I read as much as I possibly can and, since I am curren...