Write for a Reason

Editing Your Manuscript

Hello and welcome to the video of a facebook live I did this morning, on the topic of editing your manuscript…

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Use Your Fears for Good

Remember that every story needs emotion. You can have a lovely idea for a story where a character goes through a series of adventures, but if there’s little emotion, you won’t engage your readers. Readers need to feel …

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Pace!

Hi, Janet here – welcome! I hopped on to facebook to do a quick live this morning, about pace. Here I give five quick tips – hope you enjoy the video and find it helpful. Please share with your friends

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Nine Tips for Writing in a Time of Uncertainty

If you find writing your novel too overwhelming right now, write something parallel. For example, write a letter from your protagonist to another character, write a snatch of dialogue that comes to mind (even if it’s not in the chapter you’re writing), write…

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3 Writing Exercises for You

With so much of the world talking about Covid-19, I can’t ignore it and sit here and talk about writing stories as if nothing was happening…

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Want to Have a Successful Story Plan by Summer? You Can!

Children have vivid imaginations, and pick up on the worries and fears around them as they hear the news, listen to conversations, see frightening images…

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Bad news…

Good morning! I’m currently writing with my son and his wife in self-isolation after returning home from China. These are strange times, aren’t they….

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Writing Workshop

Earlier this month I ran a writing workshop at the Eastbourne Christian Resources Centre, on the south coast of England. It was lovely to meet up with…

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Ingenuity, Perseverance, Desperation

Right, on to this week’s writing tip, which actually comes from writer-for-a-reason Donald Smith (thank you Donald!), who commented after a recent writing tip: “One of my favourite authors is Odo Hirsch. The protagonist…

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Your Story’s One Main Aim

Why doesn’t Cinderella, as well as wanting to go to the ball, also need to save a rare flower, search for a long-lost auntie and lose weight?…

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Beating Imposter Syndrome

Here are some of the signs you are suffering from Imposter Syndrome: you feel you’re not good enough, can’t do it, don’t belong there, shouldn’t be there… you feel a fraud, and that people will judge you. In your head you hear people saying, Who is he to be doing that? Who does she

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Do You Use a Thesaurus?

I’ve been asking around social media recently – “Do you use a thesaurus?”…

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Basic Story Structure – the Five Steps You Need to Follow

An essential writing tip today: Make sure, before you start writing your novel, that you are familiar with good story structure…

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How to Make Sure You Achieve Your Writing Goals for 2020

This week I have a slightly different type of exercise for you, to do with goal setting. Setting concrete goals is an excellent thing to do, because goals help us stay on track. Even if we don’t achieve everything on our list, we will probably have accomplished more by the end of the year than if we didn’t set any goals! So now is the time…

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Two Fun Christmas Writing Exercises!

I’m guessing that many of you won’t have time to work on your novel over the next few days… but here are a couple of fun, quick writing exercises for you to do when you have half an hour to spare. Perhaps when Grandad…

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Put Your Talent to Work in 2020

The course includes teaching, assignments, reading, and access to a private facebook group (so you can join other writers in the Write for a Reason community, ask questions and make comments). The course is hard work…

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Why are Goals So Important?

Do you set goals? Yesterday I was talking to a friend from church who is a recovering alcoholic. The process of setting goals has been instrumental in his journey. Short term goals help him…

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Christmas Stories

Christmas is a brilliant time for having some fun with your writing. Here’s an idea: Write down the names of everyone who will be with you on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Write a Christmas story involving all these people,

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Writing Habits of Authors

Last week we looked at how important it is to make writing a habit. This week, as promised, I have brought you some thoughts from published authors about their writing habits…

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Creative Writing Challenge!

The dictionary definition of a habit is: “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.” Like cleaning your teeth twice a day, exercise (for some!), kissing your…

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Tension – the Ebb and Flow

Are you good at building up tension in your story, then letting your readers relax again? It’s an important skill for story writers. It’s like stretching a piece of elastic… just when it’s about to snap, you let it go. Phew! This process helps…

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Watch that Spellchecker!

I recently wrote “Cat passed its MOT” on a facebook post, before realising I meant “Ca…

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Vital Prayer Support

If you are writing stories with the intention of reaching children with the good news of Jesus, you need to pray, because what you are doing is vital. I don’t need to…

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Children Save the Day!

Hello again my writer friends, and yes, it’s Monday again, so time for a new creative writing tip! This week I wanted to write about something which will help you with your stories, so I picked a topic which is essential…

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Three Reasons You Might Receive a Rejection Letter from a Publisher

Everyone hates rejection letters. Nobody likes being rejected! As a publisher, I hate writing rejection letters, because I know how much time and emotion an author has invested in their book, and I understand how tough it is to have

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Sending Your Book Proposal to a Publishing House

Hello and welcome to the Write for a Reason blog! Today I want to take a look at sending book proposals to publishers. This is a topic I have covered before, but it’s something I’ve been asked about recently by a Write for a Reason student who has now finished her novel…

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Writing to Help

Hello again my dedicated writer friends! This week’s creative writing tip is an idea on choosing theme for…

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‘Show Don’t Tell’ Practice

We look at ‘show don’t tell’ a lot here at Write for a Reason, because it is an essential technique for writing engaging stories…

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3 Reasons You Need Prayer Support

By the end of the Write for a Reason Academy you will not only have all the tools you need to write your best stories ever (for example, how to craft your beginnings and endings, create engaging characters, choose your narrative voice, weave your theme…

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Stories are Powerful

All through the ages and all over the world people have shared stories in their families and communities. True stories; embellished stories; fictional stories – all these can instruct, inspire and encourage us, as well as entertain (sometimes long after

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Three Things You Really Need to Know About Stakes

We’ve all heard the expression the stakes are high… but why do they need to be high in your novel? I don’t think I’ve ever written a blog post specifically about stakes (not steaks, hehe!) before… but stakes are a vital part of any story, so here are three things you really need to know:…

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Editing Your First Draft

People new to writing novels sometimes think that the words should flow straight out on to the page perfectly first time. This…

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Too Clever?

In today’s creative writing tip, I’d like to mention an issue that some of you may have noticed either in novels you have read, or perhaps TV programmes or films you have…

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The Best Way to Beat Overwhelm

If we want to build a wall, there’s no other way than brick by brick. Or if you’re more into cakes than walls (I’m thinking of Roald Dahl’s Matilda), the only way to eat

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Getting Better

The most common thing new writers ask me when I’m talking about Write for a Reason is “How do I know if my writing is good …

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Pigs, Wolves, and a Story Worth Telling

If three little pigs built beautiful houses of different materials and lived in them happily ever after, there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell, would there? But suppose a …

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3 Reasons to Set Your Novel in a Place You Don’t Know

A couple of weeks ago I posted a writing tip with 7 reasons to set your novel in a place you know. This week we’re going to look at three reasons you might want to set your novel in a place you…

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What do cooking smells, fresh flowers in a vase and a polished table have in common?

Showing not telling is a great way to add X factor to your novels. We’ve discussed it before, but there’s no harm in mentioning it again, because if you can use…

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7 Reasons to Set Your Story in a Place You Know

There are excellent reasons for setting your story in a place you know well. Here are seven of them…

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How to Turn Your Holiday into a Story

Today I have a thought-provoking creative writing tip for you! As you know, I’m always urging you to read. Well, following my own advice, last week I read Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier while on holiday in Cornwall. 🙂

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More Creative Writing Fun!

Following on from last week, I have some more creative writing fun for you! (To get the most out of this exercise, you really need to …

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Writing for Fun

Writing should definitely be fun! If you have a gift for writing, it will at times flow out of you as if you were born to it, and make you smile. Of course, there will be days when you have

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5 Reasons to Choose Third Person Narrative

Last week we considered five reasons we might choose to write our novel in the first person narrative voice (I, we, us.) If you’d like to go back and take a look at the post, you can find it here.

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5 Reasons to Choose First Person Narrative

When writing in the first person, there will be things your narrator won’t be able to see or know. For example, they won’t be able to see…

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3 ‘P’s in video format!

Jan Godfrey kindly suggested these 3 ‘P’s to help us get to the end of our novels… I’ve done a quick video of them for you. Hope it helps!

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Will You Be Successful?

Few authors make big money with their writing, but that doesn’t mean to say you can’t be successful. It depends…

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Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail!

Ever heard this phrase? Now, I’m a great believer in spontaneity, but there are times when I do love a good plan. For example, I make lists. If I don’t, I forget things – I just do. When I …

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How to Find Your Writing Voice – 7 Quick Tips

Mark, a writer-for-a-reason, recently requested input on developing a writing style/voice as an author. This topic can cause anxiety, and it’s something I don’t think I’ve ever covered, so really pleased to give you seven…

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Small Beginnings – Everyone Has One!

Whatever we do, we have to start small. Babies babble, then say a word or two, then gradually their vocabulary increases. We were all there once!

It’s the same for everything we do – we have to start small, learn how to do it, and persevere. There’s no other way to get anything done! You can’t just sit down…

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Easter People

I was talking about Easter yesterday, with my husband. Although we celebrate Easter once a year, don’t we live in the reality…

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Dialogue Tags

The latest Write for a Reason course has just come to an end… as always it’s been lots of fun, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know the students. One issue that has cropped up once again, as it often seems to, is the use of dialogue tags. I’ve mentioned this…

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Lovely to Laugh!

Hello everyone, and thanks for coming over! This week, instead of a usual brief tip, I have a ten-page pdf for you to download, all about how to include humour (or humor if you prefer!) in your stories for children

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7 Gleanings from Reading a Stack of Books

We all know that if we want to be writers, we have to read. We can glean all sorts of things from other people’s stories – both good and bad. Having recently read a stack of books I was sent to review, I’m going to share seven…

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3 More Things to Beware of when Writing Stories for Children

Last week I mentioned seven writing issues I noticed when reading a stack of children’s novels, that could have been avoided. Since then, I’ve found some more! So here they are (on to something more positive next week, I promise)…

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7 Things to Beware of when Writing Stories for Children

Over the last few months I have been reviewing books for a charity that puts Christian titles into libraries and other public places. So I have had the joy of having to read. 🙂 How about that for an excuse to read – sorry, can’t do that, I absolutely have to finish these books….

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Jan Godfrey, a Writer for a Reason

Jan Godfrey is an experienced writer for children with many published books, mostly Christian. (Although her first published work was a Camberwick Green annual!)…

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Writing Prompts IV

Hello everyone! Here, as promised, are seven more prompts to get your creative juices flowing (and give you something to do while the evenings are still a bit long…). Write about something that makes you angry. Like, really angry. Be

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Writing Prompts III

Hello Writers! At last the days are getting a bit longer, bulbs are coming up, and buds are growing… it will soon be spring. 🙂 So, more writing prompts for this week, as promised. How are you getting on? Are

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Writing Prompts II

Hello! How did you get on with last week’s writing prompts? (If you didn’t see them, scroll down to find them.) Hope you enjoyed doing a bit of writing for fun! If you learnt anything, jot your thoughts down in

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Writing Prompts I

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s writing tip… actually, it’s not a tip this week, it’s a selection of seven writing prompts, just for a change, to grow your writing muscles! Last year I took up running for the

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Getting a Bit Stale?

If you’re anything like our family, we have Christmas cake left way beyond Christmas (have you still got any in a tin somewhere?). That’s not a problem, because fruit cake will last and last. But have you ever gone to a tin and found a bit of sponge cake that was a bit dry …

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