Fi Phillips

I know, I know. I'm late in getting this post on here this week, but the joys of the Easter school holiday and the challenge of the April Camp NaNoWriMo writathon have kept me busy. One of the hardest concepts that I've had to face as a writer (and I still find it difficult) is that of the character arc. The two point of  view characters in my novel both change but it's subtle and I'm unsure whether it's enough for the reader, or authentic. On the Helping Writers Become Authors site, K M Weiland discusses just this topic in her post The Hardest Part of Writing Good Character Arcs - and How You Can Make It Look Easy! . It's well worth a read. How do you approach character arcs?

I enjoy naming my characters, both in my plays and in the novel I'm working on. Some of them come ready-named, introducing themselves to me in a way that they could never be altered. Others take some time to work out. Hartley Keg was one of the former. So was Blessing Hawkes. Cormac Moran, on the other hand, went through several names before finding the right one. In Naming your characters and settings , Roz Morris discusses the importance of name and how she finds them for her books.

My bookshelves are overloaded to the point of collapse with all the reading material my family have collected over the years. With each new purchase, I rearrange them a little. With each house move, I cull a percentage of them but that always makes me want to buy more. My children devour books so quickly that every birthday and Christmas present list includes at least one new book for them. There are some books though that I will never part with, however full the bookshelves become, because they're tied in with my life journey and soaked with memories. They're keepers. 1. On Writing by Stephen King As a writer learning the craft, I'm drawn to discovering how successful published authors have arrived at that point in their lives. I don't fare very well with instructive 'how to' books on writing. Sharing a writer's personal journey is the best way for me to learn. I've read several books of this kind but the best I've come across so far has be...

After the build up to Christmas and the day itself, my family and I are having a few days at home together. It's all very relaxed and with no real plans to keep to. Late nights, family games and good company. My husband and children are taking advantage of the lack of routine to have lie-ins so I'm usually first up, enjoying the quiet with my morning coffee. It gives me time to think and reflect on the year that's almost over. It's been generally a good one, in some ways quite magical, and definitely a year I want to remember. Back in January, I posted my 2015 reading list and my goals for the year . I didn't do very well with the reading list, only completing three of the fifteen (even worse than in 2014). I must read more next year. I did better with my goals. I revised and polished my novel and began the search for an agent. I returned to the partial first draft of my second novel which now requires a massive rethink because of changes to the first novel. Du...

Last year, life impinged on my reading time. This year, I decided to make reading a priority ( see my reading list here ) and as my first book for 2015, I eagerly picked up the children's book  The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. This is the back cover blurb, Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts. There are dangers and adventures for Bod in the graveyard. But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks for it is there that the man Jack lives and he had already killed Bod's family. Neil Gaiman's dark, rich imagination has always appealed to me, ever since I read Neverwhere . His tone of writing voice is thoughtful, poetic and often unpredictable, pulling you along through his stories. The Graveyard Book begins in a very dark way - murder. It introduces us immediately to the assassin, the man Jack and the peril that our protagoni...

From a reader's point of view, I love book trailers. They not only give a preview of what the book will be about but they also give an idea of how the writer wanted their book to be portrayed. One of the many things I'm looking forward to when my first children's novel is published (traditionally or self) is making a book trailer of my own. I haven't decided yet what form the trailer should take. I could use images from the book and quotes with some accompanying music like writer Kelly Hashway . I could have actors portray events in the book like my friend Suzanna Williams did in her book trailer. I could give clues to what the book will contain with beautiful photography and questions like another friend Heather Blanchard . Animation is quite costly but a series of drawings, like in Neil Gaiman 's book trailer, could work effectively with a voice over from the author. Alternatively, I could put my own face on the trailer and tell you what the book is about a...

It's a bitterly cold morning but the sky is a wonder of gold, lilac and pink. Not a bad way to start the day. When you're feeling down, I think it's always a good idea to look up (literally). One of my writing inspirations is Neil Gaiman - his unusual imaginings and his diversity in writing covering comic books, novels, children's books, films and now a game - so I was delighted to come across this podcast, Neil Gaiman's Advice to Aspiring Writers on brain pickings. Another writer I love to listen to (and read the books of too of course) is Steven Pressfield. As part of the launch of his latest writing advice  book, The Authentic Swing (which I'll be reviewing here soon) is this Q&A podcast, Ask Me Anything .

Okay, I know that #followfriday (or #ff) is a hashtag on Twitter but I reckon it's an excellent thing to do on a Friday blog post too. So here we go. #amwriting This started out as a hashtag for a small community of writers to converse on Twitter and flag up their posts to each other. Started by the writer Johanna Harness , the small community grew, the hashtag won an award (2010 Christopher Al-Asward Prize) and now #amwriting has a physical online presence. This website is an excellent resource for writers with an author directory, the opportunity to see your blog posts online, and many helpful articles. Although I've been using this hashtag since last year, I only recently registered on the website. You don't have to be registered to use the website but I think the free registration on this site is well worth the time. Have a look. Neil Gaiman Neil Gaiman is a writing hero of mine. I was introduced to his writing through the novel Good Omens  which was written jo...