My Feathered Pen

I invite you to come with me as I play with the craft of writing, as I work my way towards publication.

I am writing a YA fantasy novel.

Follow this thread to see what writing tips I pick up along the way.

I'm a plotter. I like the essence of the story to be flowing through my brain before I write it. Then I write a general outline. Once I have a chapter by chapter framework, a scaffolding, I start writing. Keeping an eye on the framework, I let the muse and my characters take me on MY writing journey. In draft one, I don't edit. I just write the story as if I'm reading it. I read somewhere that the purpose of the first draft is to exist. It doesn't have to be anything else because no one else is going to read it. I do enjoy first drafts. I love the flow of creativity, free from development police or grammar police. That all comes later.

I like interviewing characters, getting them to tell me about their lives and their world, their likes and dislikes, why they do what they do. This allows me to world-build around them, to turn them into real people in my head which I hope will add flesh to the words on the page. No one is perfect, and baddies need reasons for what they do. By taking the time to understand them, I hope it makes me better at writing them. For the reader to stick with the story, they must care about the characters too.

September 2021: I BECAME a member of Litopia on-line Writers Colony where huddles take place. That is where you can confidentially put up pieces of writing for critique and discussion by other huddlers.

2022: I put up a bullet-point plot. A criticism that my new WIP's plot had a backward step too soon in the journey sent me returning to the drawing board and character interviews.

February - March 2022

I was lucky enough to find myself with a place on a 'Grackle & Grackle' Writing Course. It was held on-line this year, so I had the opportunity of meeting fantastic fellow writers from Texas and beyond. The writing exercises and the critiquing of other attendees WIPs and receiving critique on mine were insightful and inspiring. I'd like to thank the course tutor, Georgina Key, for this opportunity.

Autumn 2024:

Having discovered and joined The Golden Egg Club, I met (online) other children's and Young Adult authors and took part in their workshops and Masterclasses. So, when their Write Your Successful Children's Novel course came up, I knew it would be a good thing. And it was. My storytelling skills greatly improved. (I also realised why a previous novel had been loved by agents for the writing, even received a full request or two, but no offers - my main character had plenty of stakes and plenty of external story, but not enough internal journey.)

2025:

My next step was a no-brainer. I applied for and was accepted onto the Golden Egg 12 month course which took a deeper dive into storytelling skills. This meant more tweaks to my WIP and all for the better.

2026:

For me, another no-brainer. I'm now attending the Golden Egg follow up course to their 12 month one. I've submitted my WIP to apply for acceptance onto their mentoring program. And waiting for an answer . . .

And, in case you're wondering, I'm still an active member of Litopia which continues to be a great asset for my writing.