• Overused Words

    As a writer, I’m more concerned with telling a story and taking characters and readers on a journey than I am with monitoring how many times I use certain words. However, once the first draft is set down and the editing process begins, then the spectre of ‘overused words’ rears it’s spectrely head like a spectre from another world entirely habited by spectres…

  • writer self care

    How to practise self-care as a writer

    Never has it been so important to look after every aspect of my life in this current incarnation. I’m going to share some of the strategies that have worked for me and other authors in this blog. Hopefully it will help you, and also serve as a reminder that I need to practice what I preach…

  • 150 Romance novel tropes

    Tropes are everywhere. In Shakespeare, Austen, everyday language and your favourite TV shows. Tropes are common situations in narratives that help structure a story. ‘Enemies to Lovers’ is a very popular trope which can be found in The Taming of the Shrew, Pride and Prejudice, The Hating Game, and You’ve got Mail. Tropes are commonly used story devices that we all recognise on some level.