Moving...

To all the wonderful followers and readers of the Scribbles,

Thank you SO much for travelling with me so far in my blogging journey here at the Scribbles. I know there are a lot of you who drop by, so I hope you will stick with me when I say that, very shortly, the Scribbles are moving home.

In future, they will be on my new website! 

I will post a link here as soon as it goes live, so you can link into it easily. The blog will still be known as Squidge's Scribbles, but you'll access via the website instead of here. Blogspot has served me well for a little over 8 years, but it's time for something different. Something that gives you the whole package of me as an author, not just my musings on life and writing. 

Watch this space!

(For historical purposes, here's a link to the first ever proper post I put up on the blog...Finding My Feet, posted Jun 29th, 2013)

Squidge's Guide to Super Stories (and Becoming a Better Writer)

I've mentioned my 'little' non-fiction project a couple of times, and that I've signed a contract for it with Bink. I reckon the time's right to tell you a bit about it!

I've written a guide to creative writing.

Called Squidge's Guide to Super Stories (and Becoming a Better Writer), it's aimed primarily at younger and/or novice writers, and captures the kind of advice I give on school visits or when giving feedback to novice writers. 

I wasn't sure about it to begin with. I mean, I write, yes, but was I really qualified to give advice? When I think of all the 'How to' books I own, written by BIG name authors with many more publications under their belts than me, how would anything I could offer ever stand up next to their advice? How could I dare to lump myself in with some of the amazing editors and writers I know personally, who offer writing advice to paying participants at conferences and workshops?  

I felt like an imposter. Unworthy. 

But gradually, I began to see things differently. I've watched writers I've given feedback to, or helped with editing, go on to be published and win competitions, even before I was published myself. On school visits, the things I've said about how to improve written stories has made a difference to the pupils and what they've managed to produce. And in more recent times, my help has been actively sought for and - to my surprise - I am being paid for it. I've enthused, supported, and enabled many other writers.

So maybe, just maybe, what I have discovered for myself over these years of writing can be of use to others, too.

I pitched the idea to Bink, and they said go for it. 

And I have! Not only have I written, I have drawn - the book will have little sketches dotted through it. 

Like these: 

I have covered idea-finding, process, structure, characters, world building, editing, and writing groups. I've provided prompts to work with, and examples of the kinds of things that I feel improves my own writing and which I hope will help others to make theirs better. It's not an instruction manual though - it focuses very much on the reader finding their own way to be a writer. 

I hope it will be fun to read, and make a difference to those who choose to read it.

Who knows, maybe it'll help write the next bestseller? Exciting times!