Fi Phillips

It's June already. Summer is here and I'm suffering as usual with hayfever. Still, it gives me an excellent excuse to stay at my keyboard and find some excellent writing advice to share. First off is this article from Kathryn Evans on Notes from the Slushpile - Highlighting the Heart of Your Story with Motifs . I found this an incredibly useful way to approach my novel and I've already worked out my motif, its significance and how to include it in my story. Second is this wonderful article from reedsy, What is Chekhov's Gun and How to Use It . Finally, I've been following Rae Elliott's website Barely Hare Books for a while now for its excellent writing advice. Here's Rae herself being interviewed by fellow writer Hannah Heath about her books and her writing process.

This July, I'll be joining Camp NaNoWriMo in an attempt to finish the final draft of my novel. I've taken part in the full-on NaNoWriMo in past years and a couple of spring camps too, but never in the summer. What I like best about Camp NaNoWriMo is the support I receive from other writers in my assigned (virtual) cabin. It's great to feel we're all tackling our writing challenges together. There are some brilliant writing resources from camp counselors too with advice on the writing craft. If you're in need of a little (or a lot of) motivation to speed through your work in progress, why not give Camp NaNoWriMo a go?

It's going to be a busy month with two family birthdays, Father's Day, client articles to write and a murder mystery to finish off for another client. Add to that the fact that we won't be having our normal June getaway because my daughter has exams and I don't think there'll be much of a chance for a breather this month. Having said that, I like busy. Busy pays the bills and keeps away the boredom. All that 'busy'  means that this month, more than most, I'll be planning like crazy. Here's my tick-list for June: Buy presents: For my son that'll probably be Overwatch related. Zenyatta is his current favourite character to play, plus he's now got a bank account and is very keen to earn interest on his money. My husband has had his main present already so we'll be looking for a selection of smaller offerings for his birthday and Father's Day, but nothing gimmicky so I'll be steering the teens away from the comedy socks. ...