NEWS
Here you will find news and views on our three courses, why you should consider enrolling, and updates on absolutely everything!
A novel context
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and tutor at Creating Writers The four elements to every story are: context, plot, characterisation, and conflict resolution. In some degree, all play a part in every novel ever written. Over the next few blogs we’ll take a closer look at...
An original story? Don’t worry!
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and course tutor at Creating Writers. A big mistake for budding authors is to assume that their story has got to be utterly original. But the reality is different. Everything has already been written about. Whether it’s love, death, war,...
Don’t judge yourself, just write
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and course tutor at Creating Writers. "I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged." Erica Jong In her case, the judgement was favourable. She became the best-selling author of...
From thought to book
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and tutor at Creating Writers Many of us want to write a book but don’t know where to start. We’re not sure how to write characterisation or how to move the story forward in a way that will engage with readers. We also know that there will...
Gaining confidence
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and tutor at Creating Writers In writing a book, confidence is just as important as inspiration. It’s the confidence to write something, because writing is such a private endeavour. It’s the confidence to write, knowing also that your...
Writing bit by bit
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and creative writing tutor at Creating Writers To write a book, you first need an idea for what it will be about. But don’t worry if it’s just that – an idea. If you think it’s a good idea, start to think through how it might work. My...
The rule of three
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and creative writing tutor at Creating Writers A dictum commonly attributed to Mark Twain had three rules for writing. The first was “Write,” the second was “Write” and the third was “Write.” Another dictum involving a rule of three is...
Top tips for new authors
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and creative writing tutor at Creating Writers There’s nothing better than being given a bit of advice. That’s certainly true when it comes to writing a book. While good advice can come in all shapes and sizes, as an author, here my top...
Reading and practice
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and tutor at Creating Writers The best way to learn how to write a book is to read and to practice. Books are your teachers, so learn from them. Understand how a character develops as the story goes on. Try to figure out the jigsaw of...
Our Diploma course
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and tutor at Creating Writers There are lots of creative writing courses out there. Some are good, bad and ugly. Our Diploma course is, we believe, a little bit different. For a start, if you successfully complete the course, you get an...
Writing in good habits
Charlie Laidlaw is an author and course tutor There’s no magic formula to writing a book. It takes effort and perseverance. But like anything else in life, it’s always better to adopt some good habits. But don’t necessarily adopt the baits of some of some great...
To finish, you have to start
Charlie Laidlaw, author and tutor, looks at getting started. Many of us wish we could write a book. Maybe it’s a story for a novel that’s been swirling around in our heads for years. Or maybe it’s the story of your family, something to treasure and hand down. Or...