Here are some prompts to help those of you who are interested in writing memoir and personal essays out of any creative rut. They are

Tip Surprise, and wonder, are magic ingredients in fiction. I love to be surprised when I read, by anything from a small, peculiar detail to

Tip Folk tales tend to break all the rules we are taught about how we should write fiction. And yet, for many of us, they

Tip A lot of fun can be had from writing creative nonfiction, and putting an imaginary angle on the facts of your life. One lovely

Tip As writers in English, we are in a uniquely privileged position, being able to choose between two languages within our own. These are ‘head’

Tip All good writing has a tension to it. Something that is thought to be known against something that is yet to be discovered. A

Tip It’s one thing to get to know your character inside out – from what they eat for breakfast to their deepest, darkest secret. The

Tip One of the reasons that we can be endlessly creative with folk tales and folklore is that we can make new meaning out of

Tip What do we mean by uncanny, as opposed to spooky, or scary, or downright horrifying? The word uncanny comes from the German word unheimlich. Heimlich can mean ‘homely, intimate,

Tip Great opening lines matter for short stories – arguably more than they do for novels, though wouldn’t it be great if all novels opened

Tip Writing in a non-traditional narrative form can open up new possibilities and release creativity. Constraints tend to do this, but an unusual form will

Tip Weather can play an obvious role in the mood of a story. The dramatic climax of a movie is accompanied by a thunderstorm; the

Tip While learning to play the guitar, some years ago, I asked my teacher how I could play faster. He said, ‘do less’. A little