creative writing

Hey dear friends. This week I’m talking to author Ann Morgan again as we look at another writer’s first page. For those who are interested, the opening song in this week’s episode is a piece I call ‘The Uniform of the 10th Light Dragoons, 1794’. The show needs first pages to be submitted if we’re … Read more

Hey you! This week’s episode of Death Of 1000 Cuts has me and Joe Dunthorne talking about another first page. The show needs first pages to be submitted if we’re to have stuff to discuss – so hey, don’t rely on other people. Get critiqued! Read our submission guidelines then send me your work. You … Read more

Hey kids. Here’s this week’s episode of Death Of 1000 Cuts – a podcast for writers, readers and people who are nosy about how stories get made. Check out the archives for more episodes. Below is a text version of the piece we discuss in today’s show. If you’d like to submit an extract of … Read more

Hello everyone. Hope you’re having a good week. Here’s the latest episode of Death Of 1000 Cuts. I’ve got a few more episodes recorded with authors Joe Dunthorne and Ann Morgan which I’ll drip out over the coming weeks while I have gibbering conniptions over deadlines and project crush and other luxury problems. If you’d … Read more

Hi everyone! Here’s this week’s episode. I had a go at recording some two-player versions of the show in London. It’s my first time doing so, so still learning how to do it, but my two guests, Joe Dunthorne and Ann Morgan, were absolutely brilliant. I’m still going to do my usual one-person episodes as … Read more

Hello dear friends. Episode 6 of Death Of 1000 Cuts, the podcast, is now up. Thanks for spreading the word about the show. We’ve had over a thousand listens now, which – while modest by podcasting standards – is a lot more than I expected from some random bullshit that I’m learning how to do … Read more

Hark! A huge podcast is approaching! Well, just a regular-sized one actually, but density-wise it’s certainly unequaled in terms of raw creative-writing-technique-opinions-per-minute. Go! Listen! My multiplayer versions of this podcast are coming together – which is to say I’ve booked a date to record a bunch in London. Now all I needs are some willing, … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. Last night I did a talk at our monthly literary cabaret, Homework, about bad writing. I thought I’d adapt it for Death Of 1000 Cuts, because it’s on topic and people found it interesting and also … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. Each week we take a look at something to do with editing your fiction to make it less bad and more good. Like, for example, with that last sentence, we’d probably say ‘less bad more good … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. I have a cold. My throat feels like cactus and battery acid, so let’s just get on with it, shall we? Read the extract below, decide what you think works and what doesn’t (and how you’d … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. This is a weekly blog about editing fiction. Hello! Most weeks we look at the first page of a novice author’s novel or short story and see if we can think of ways to make it … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. This is a blog for fiction writers, mostly about making your stories better, sometimes about the hard process of making them at all. A new one appears every Thursday. Often, I’ll look at a novice author’s … Read more

Afternoon! Welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. I feel a bit funny this week. Nervous about my writing, nervous about other things. I think, in these situations, it’s best to acknowledge your feelings without giving them too much credit. Just be like, yup, I … Read more

Bonjour and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. This is a blog about writing fiction and rewriting fiction. Authors seem singular amongst the professions in their desire to hand out free, unsolicited advice on their craft and I, dear, faithful friends, am no different … Read more

Welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. Hope you’re well, dear friends. If this is your first time, this is a blog about writing and editing fiction. Most weeks we look at an author’s first page and find ways of making it better. If you’d … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. Do you want to hear about how busy I am? No, of course you don’t. That would be tedious and beside the point. Still, I feel swamped right now, what with gigs in Edinburgh, Bristol and … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. Every Thursday we look at the first page of a novice author’s novel or short story and think of ways to make it better. If you’d like to submit your work for consideration, please read the … Read more

Salut et welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. Each week I write about fiction writing with a focus on editing work to make it suck considerably less. Most of the time that takes the form of my looking at the first page of someone’s … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. Each week I write about writing, which might sound like a self-referential spiral whirlpooling up its own backside, but is actually less pretentious than if I used some other medium to talk about writing – for … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. It’s not been an easy week, for a number of reasons, including contracting some kind of gastric bug that has seen me lying in bed clutching my gut and grimacing like some ham actor milking his … Read more

I’m going to this year’s 9 Worlds convention – it’s my first ever con, and I am a new-minted Fantasy author, and I am nervous and excited and fully-expecting to sort of stagger round in a baffled haze, missing stuff. As part of 9 Worlds I am going to be doing the first ever LIVE … Read more

Good afternoon and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts, making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. I hope you’re all well. Sorry for the late posting of this and last week’s installment, and the missing episode the week before. We’ve had some sadness in the family and it’s been a difficult time. … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. I’m sorry I missed last week’s post, and that this week’s is late. It’s been a difficult time for a number of reasons, and we’ve had some sadness. Life is often like that, I guess. So … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. This is a weekly blog about writing and editing your work to make it better. Most weeks we take a novice author’s first page and look at ways of making it better. I’d love your first … Read more

Hello and welcome to Death Of 1000 Cuts – making you an awesome writer, one cut at a time. This is a blog for writers and readers who are interested in the craft of making text suck less. Most weeks we look at a novice author’s first page and suggest some ways of making it … Read more