The pages I kept trying to delete.
Today, All Hands on Dick is published.
Stuart Wakefield: The Book Coach
I provide resources for fiction writers by sharing articles and tips that cover various aspects of the craft.
Subscribe:.rss.atom.json.md.m3u.pls
Live Last read · last published · next check
Latest episodes
Saves to your Listen queue, to pick up on another day or another device.
Your Characters Don’t Need Better Dialogue
Why argument scenes become compelling when characters change tactics instead of repeating themselves.
Why So Many Fictional Arguments Feel Fake
I read a lot of manuscripts as a book coach, and there’s one problem that turns up surprisingly often.
The Quiet Scene
Why Low-Action Scenes Still Need to Move
The phone call scene is never just a phone call
There’s a type of scene writers often apologise for before anyone’s even complained.
What happens when a powerful story finds its shape
I’m so pleased to share that Jaz Ampaw-Farr’s book, Because of You, This Is Me, has now sold over 10,000 copies. That’s wonderful in itself, of course, but it also feels very fitting, because this was never a book that was just trying to sit politely on a shelf and look nice. Jaz’s story was always going to go out into the world and do something. It was always going to find the people who needed…
The scene might start before anyone says a word
I’ve been thinking about doorways.
The Queer Story Engine
A Free Write with Pride Webinar
Your Story Has to Change Its Mind
Why the Middle of a Novel Is Where the Real Book Reveals Itself.
A Book Launch, A Glowing Birthmark, and One Very Proud Book Coach
Celebrating Eira Morgan-Jones’s YA fantasy novel Sentinel of the Sun (and the quiet, powerful work of getting a story ready to meet the world).