Fi Phillips

During my time away from blogging to work on my novel, I reconsidered the use I was making of this website and I've decided to alter a few things. Tuesday Choice Words While there is a lot of brilliant advice out there for writers, what I've found in searching for new links and videos to bring to you each Tuesday, is that a large percentage of it is repeated advice, different slants on the same literary gem. So as of this week, Tuesday Choice Words will cease to exist. What I will bring to you instead is a monthly post of an article or video that I think really stands out from the crowd, something that has helped me personally. Book Reviews Although my writing has taken precedence recently, I love to read. I also love to share my literary finds. Expect more resulting book reviews. My Journey I started this blog (back in 2009) as a way to explore and share my own writing journey. Somewhere along the way, I seem to have lost that. Now that my novel is nearing the fi...

2014 is upon us but I didn't want to start this shiny, new year without reflecting on the one that's just passed. 2013 was the year when I proved to myself that 'I can' if I believe in myself. I can: finish that murder mystery play that's had me dumbfounded for over a year - Fresh Blood guest write for a professional work from home blog - Guesting on Work From Home Wisdom attract new customers to Murdering The Text and finish the third draft of my novel.  On a personal note, 'I can' lose weight and keep it off. Between June and December, I lost 2 stones in weight. I have more to lose yet but I'm confident that I can be down to my target weight  by the summer.  My word for 2014 is 'refresh'. I have so many good things in my life already but I feel that I need to look at many of them with new eyes. I have no new year resolutions as such, just an incredible amount of optimism and excitement for the next twelve months. I have two m...

Yes, that was me, heavily pregnant and still with book in hand. Now it should go without saying that if you want to be a writer, you should also be a reader. But you shouldn't 'just' be a reader. You should be an avid reader. Books Obvious eh? To know your genre, what's current, what's successful, you must read books in your chosen genre. A visit to the library will tell you what is popular and what the library service deem to be a book in your genre that has 'arrived'. A look around the larger bookshops such as Waterstones and Borders will let you see what is new and in the charts, who the most popular authors are and how prolific they are. Newspapers Both paper and online news will reveal current affairs, what issues are 'hot' and if you delve into the arts sections, you can keep track of the book charts. I find the Times book chart to be especially useful. Magazines What magazines do you read each month? If you're anything like me, you hav...