Fi Phillips

This was me at my wedding reception. It was a day of trips and falls, and laughter and leaps. I married the love of my life. My gorgeous children walked me down the aisle. Friends and family came together to help us celebrate (and got on tremendously well). It was also one month since I had had an operation in hospital. I was still recovering and ill. I'd lost a stone in that time which would normally have been a welcome development but on this occasion it meant that my wedding outfit was too big. Other things went wrong which verged on spoiling the day but what I remember the best are the small kindnesses that added to the joy of our wedding. We didn't have much money. When we started planning it, money wasn't a problem but as so often happens, life throws the proverbial detritus in your lap when you're least expecting it. All of a sudden, we had a photographer and a venue but little money for a cake, flowers or clothes (let alone invitations or dressing the...

A Writer's Pre-Flight Checklist on the Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing offers a check list to test your manuscript. Create Key Moments with Secondary Characters from the Live Write Thrive site discusses a method for the  creation of relationships between your main character and their supporting cast. How Much Do You Need to Describe Your Characters? from The Other Side of the Story is an interesting read on the subject of character description - a topic that I personally need to look into. Thinking in Multiple Drafts is an excellent article from Steven Pressfield about wearing 'a different hat for each draft'. How Much do you Need to Describe Your Setting? from The Other Side of the Story is a checklist on necessary setting description.

 On Tuesday, 27th November I will be taking part in the Small Kindnesses Blogsplash and writing out a special small kindness someone paid me in the past. Would you like to join me? The Blogsplash is organised by Fiona Robyn to celebrate the release of her novel 'Small Kindnesses' which will be free on Kindle on the day. All you have to do is write something about being kind - a memory of someone who was kind to you, a list of kindnesses over the past week, or something kind you did for someone else. It'll be a celebration of kindness in all its forms, especially those little kind acts that make all the difference. You can find more details here .

Have you tried Media Deprivation? by Julia Cameron discusses the value of uninterrupted creativity. How to write a fairy tale is a Squidoo lens written by Tolovaj. An answer worth the journey: plot and story from This Itch of Writing discusses the difference betwenn story and plot. Storyteller Saturday: Anne Rice is a talk from Anne Rice on advice for writers on the Mindful Banter site. Living in My Head: Crafting Natural-Sounding Internal Thoughts on The Other Side of the Story discusses getting inside a character's head.

Or should that be the 'write' teacher? This post could apply to almost any course you take but I'm specifically thinking of writing courses today. They come in all shapes and sizes and modes of transmission. Some follow a specific theory. Others are tailored to an event. The trick to finding the one that will offer the most learning value to you is two-fold: 1.   Discover the learning vehicle that suits you, and 2.   work out what kind of teacher can instruct you the best. Learning Vehicle I've studied several writing courses in the past, some good, some not so good, and have looked into many more that I decided not to take. I know from personal experience that what works best for me is face to face learning in a classroom environment and reading books on the subject (although not all books - I'll expand on that in a moment). What appeals to me though, won't necessarily appeal to another student of words. Discovering what learning vehicle work...

Nine No's of Dialogue from diy MFA is an excellent examination of how we can strengthen our dialogue. Harness the Power of Words on the Finding Bliss site discusses the intentional and clever use of words to enrich our writing. Treasures in the Attic is the latest in the Making the Most of Ideas series of articles by David B Coe on the Magical Words site. How Stephen King Writes Imagery from Galleycat offers some excellent writing advice from one of my writing favourites. Stay On Target: When is a Subplot Leading You Astray? from The Other Side of the Story talks about the  value and danger of subplots.

165 years old today! Although he died in 1912, his name lives on as the creator of Dracula , a figure that, like Frankenstein's monster, has become entrenched in our cultural memory. I read the book as a young teenager and scared myself witless for a few weeks afterwards. Every tap at my window was a vampire intent on drinking my blood (of course it was actually a moth drawn by the glow of my nightlight). That shadowy figure staggering down an alleyway in the city where I lived was surely another blood-sucking villain (no, just a drunk on a mid-day binge). What many people do not realise is how prolific a writer Bram Stoker was, the author of many other novels (The Jewel of Seven Stars, The Lair of the White Worm, to name but a couple), short stories and non fiction. We see the mark of his classic vampire character in so many of our novels and films. The current trend for young adult vampire romance owes a great deal to this Irish writer. Bela Lugosi in 1931's Dr...

In the Beginning: Which Type of Opening Works Best? from The Other Side of the Story discusses the pros and cons of different kinds of story openings. Setting: The Stepchild of Writing Craft is a guest post by Blythe Gifford on the Erin Reel website suggesting five reasons that setting is such an important element to our stories. How Emerging Authors Can Make The Perfect Pitch: Advice from Katharine Sands on the bookbaby site discusses pitch-craft. Secondary Characters Have a Life of Their Own from the Live Write Thrive site talks about your novel's supporting cast. The Scene Conflict Worksheet - Developing Tension in Your Novel from Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing is a useful checklist to bring more depth to the conflict in your novel.