The Writing Coach
Literary Consultancy and Coaching for Writers from Jacqui Lofthouse
Our Founder Jacqui Lofthouse is delighted to interview Antony Johnston, author of The Organised Writer, published by Bloomsbury, 1st October. As one who’s fairly obsessed about productivity for writers herself, she was intrigued to find out more about Antony’s viewpoint. 1. What led you to write ‘The Organised Writer’? My own life and career, first …
The Words Away salon is on Monday, July 3, 2017 7:30pm – 9:30pm at The Tea House Theatre, Vauxhall Do you need some inspiration and motivation tips to get going and keep going this summer? What’s stopping you from finishing that book? Do you start but never quite finish? Would you like to be more …
Reading Jane Harris’s wonderful historical novel The Observationsthis week reminded me of one of my favourite writing exercises which I call ‘The Observer’. Here’s your writing prompt this Monday morning: A character stands in the street, looking up at a lighted window. The character observes the person through the lighted window and reflects on the …
Sometimes life can get in the way of writing, so I thought I’d help to get you in the writing zone each week by offering you a regular writing prompt. There are no rules. You may choose to free-write, to get as many words as possible down on the page (for later editing), or you …
Confidence for writers is such an elusive creature. Why’s that? Because we are working in a profession where rejection is often a part of the deal. We frequently work without a structure, sometimes without colleagues, relying on our wits and in many cases not getting enough feedback. I’ve worked with enough writers over the years …
This post about time management for writers originally appeared on my very first blog ‘Stubborn World’. It tackles the thorny issue of how to find time to write in a busy life, something that so many of us struggle with. I do hope that you find some of these ideas inspiring. 1. Set aside …
Question: What can a writer learn from an illustrator? Answer: The fact that we don’t have to know the entire plot before we begin. Indeed, we might know nothing at all about our story but if we have a strong ‘hunch’, it’s important that we follow it. Earlier this month my daughter and I attended …
Writing a first draft of a novel or any book is, you might say, the easy part. But it’s at the editing stage that we craft our work into something special. We aim to transform our material into work that will compel a reader. If you’ve recently finished a draft of a novel – or …
One of the main questions that I get asked in my work as a writing coach is “how can I become more productive as a writer?” Modern life is full of distractions and most of us are juggling many roles at one time. It is hard sometimes to set aside our other commitments and take …
