The Different Types of Writing Rejection (and how to deal with ’em)
Not all rejections are equal. Some knock you flat. Some linger like a festering wound. Some you can brush off with a ‘meh’. And some are almost as exciting as an acceptance – that feeling of ‘almost there’ that gives you hope and encouragement and help to make you a better writer. Look, we knowww rejection […]
5 Ways To Recover From A Knock-back
So you’ve written your thing and now you’re trying to get it out there. But sometimes the results of trying to get your writing noticed can be a real fucker. When you’ve been submitting for a while and you’ve been rejected too many times, sometimes another rejection feels like a knock-back too far. When you’re […]
When Creative Writing Courses Go Bad: a bullshit-spotting guide
At Writers’ HQ retreats, we talk to lots of people taking part in a variety of creative writing courses. Most of those courses are amazing, and give new writers tools and inspiration and a passion to work. But occasionally we hear about courses, or parts of courses, where the culture leaves writers feeling doomed. A […]
The 7 Stages of Literary Submission
Stage 1: Nausea Clamp your lips tight, clench your buttocks, and click the ‘send’ button while your stomach tries to escape through your throat and your guts play Cat’s Cradle. It’s gone. There’s no reclaiming it. You have officially submitted yourself to days, weeks or possibly months of morning sickness while your literary baby floats […]
Six tips for finding great beta readers
So your mum read your magnum opus and she thinks it’s great. It’s time to go looking for an agent, right? Not so fast. Unless your mum is brutally honest, reads the genre you write and/or is a writer herself, you need a couple of badass beta readers. And you need them now. It’s natural […]
Why You Must Keep Writing Even When The World Is Crumbling Around You
Writing and telling stories is more important than ever. We can’t allow the distractions of politics to let us forget ourselves.
Writing about S-E-X (omg Mum please don’t read this)
Hi. Uh. How’s it going? Cool. So. You wanna pay attention for a second ’cause we need to have a chat. No you’ve not done anything wrong. It’s just, you know, a little one-on-one time, just talking about, um, you know, personal relationships. You know, like sex and that, no big deal. Ha. Hahahaaa. Haaaa. […]