Foreshadowing: what it is and how to use it in your writing

Foreshadowing: what it is and how to use it in your writing

Last updated Nov 30, 2023 | Blog

If you’d met her that day, you too would have thought her a good person. There was nothing to suggest otherwise. Welcome to foreshadowing: a literary device that’s used to hint at what’s to come. It’s designed to increase tension and keep us turning pages. As a...
Five tips for eliciting emotion from your readers

Five tips for eliciting emotion from your readers

Last updated Nov 30, 2023 | Blog

When we pick up a novel, we do so because we want to feel something. We want to have an emotional experience – to go on a journey alongside the characters, and within ourselves. The stories that stay with us long after we close the pages tend to be those that speak to...
How we stayed in touch: communication through history

How we stayed in touch: communication through history

Last updated Dec 14, 2023 | Blog

Since man first scratched his thoughts into stone, humans have found ways to connect with each other. From word of mouth to the written word and the telephone, here we will take a sweeping look at how people kept in touch through the ages (mainly in England) and how...
Five compelling ways to end a chapter

Five compelling ways to end a chapter

Last updated Nov 30, 2023 | Blog

The phrase “page-turner” is synonymous with our idea of a good book. Go onto any bestseller’s Amazon reviews and I am willing to bet a fair few say, “I couldn’t put it down!”. Think of all the really good books you’ve read to which you found yourself saying “just one...
Five compelling ways to begin a chapter

Five compelling ways to begin a chapter

Last updated Nov 30, 2023 | Blog

Deciding how and where to begin a chapter is an important part of writing a novel – but it can be daunting. As a writer, it’s your job to begin each new chapter in a way that grabs the reader’s attention, leaving them with no choice but to carry on reading because...