Andrew Ferguson
Children's/YA Author
Archives
Throwback Thursday: 6 Mental Cobweb Shakers for Writers
Posted on July 16, 2020 Leave a Comment
Ever sat down to write and found your imagination covered in so many cobwebs that you can’t even remember how to pick up your pen? Ever sat staring at a blank screen for hours without even the faintest idea where to begin? Ever wasted your set writing time reading patronising articles on the internet telling you writers’ block doesn’t exist (when you know better) because you just can’t quite seem to get settled into your day’s work?
No?
Well I have, and whenever that happens to me I need something to quickly shake away the cobwebs to help me get off the starting block. Therefore, I am going to commend a few of my favourite cobweb shakers to you today. I don’t know if these will work for you or not but they work for me so… you might as well give them a go, eh?
Throwback Thursday: Daydreaming is an Essential Exercise for Writers
Posted on May 28, 2020 Leave a Comment
Daydreaming is a habit you should definitely get back into, especially if you plan on being a story-writer.
Throwback Thursday: Keeping a Writer’s Journal
Posted on April 16, 2020 Leave a Comment
However, even if you’re not the sort of person who normally bothers to keep a journal, you might find it useful as a writer to at least keep a writer’s journal– especially if you’re working on a large writing project such as a novel.
‘Oh nooo!’ I hear you cry. ‘That sounds too hard/time-consuming/pointless’ (delete as appropriate).
It needn’t be. You don’t need to fill it with epiphanies written in flawless iambic pentameter, you don’t need to handcraft your own leather bound volume to write in and you don’t need to write ten thousand words a day (having already written ten thousand words in your actual story). In fact (just between you and me), you don’t need to keep a journal at all if you don’t find it helpful, though I would recommend giving it a bash for a week or two to be sure that it’s not for you.
5 Writing Rules I Like To Ignore
Posted on March 5, 2020 3 Comments
Sometimes, however, you just need to rebel and write according to your own darn rules. So what follows are my top five common story-writing rules and wise sayings which I frequently bend, break and flat-out disagree with.
Throwback Thursday: What Do Your Characters Think of Each Other?
Posted on January 23, 2020 Leave a Comment
As we all know, characters are the beating heart of any good story. However, no character is an island. How they respond to other characters is often essential in making your plot work (indeed, this arguably is your plot), so don’t be fooled into thinking it’s obvious how your characters will respond to one another. Just because you would respond in a particular way to Character A doesn’t mean that Character B will respond to Character A in the same way you would. Even though you, as the author, know all the facts about all of your characters, you’ll still have your own narrow opinion about what sort of person they are just the same as anyone else. That is why it is vital to know what every character thinks about every other character if you want to create a rich, vibrant and believable story.
Fortunately, it’s easy to do this.
Throwback Thursday: A Colourful Approach to Brainstorming
Posted on December 5, 2019 4 Comments
This has proven a great help to me whenever I’ve been trying to come up with new story ideas (and you can use it during a power cut!).
Throwback Thursday: Why I Quit Camp NaNoWriMo
Posted on October 24, 2019 2 Comments
My novel was going nowhere (although he’s feeling much better now, thanks) and I noticed someone on Twitter remarking that they had just signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo.
Ah-ha! I thought, Now’s as good a time as any to give this whole NaNoWriMo lark a bash. Maybe it will help me complete my novel…
I was very excited about it. I was going to make progress and lots of it! I joined a cabin so that I could compare notes with other like-minded writers; I read all the useful ‘camp care packages’ that were sent to my inbox, full of useful advice to help me make the most of Camp NaNoWriMo; I perused the forums and all the articles full of helpful writing tips…
The one thing I did not do was write my novel.
5 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block
Posted on September 1, 2019 2 Comments
Writer’s block is not an insurmountable problem and should never be regarded as an excuse not to write… With a little diligence, you’ll be able to knock out those words each and every time you sit down to write whether you feel like it or not. And, just to get you started, I’ve listed a few simple tricks and habits you can get into to help you on your way.
10 Minute Story Challenge
Posted on February 24, 2019 Leave a Comment
I’ve picked a random writing prompt using Arc Apps’ Plot Gen Pro for Android and have given myself exactly ten minutes to write a zero draft based on it and post the results here, typos and all…. I’ve also filmed the whole thing so you know I didn’t cheat.
7 Useful Posts on Fiction and Writing
Posted on October 28, 2018 2 Comments
I have scoured WordPress for the last few days, searching out some of the most useful, entertaining or insightful posts on the subject of story writing and have compiled them here for your enjoyment.
Andrew Ferguson 