The brevity of Jocelyne Lamarche’s Ghost belies its complexity. Coming in at just 210 words, the story manages to pack in vivid imagery, establish a strong sense of character and weave its way through feelings of sadness, longing and hope. It is a story to be read again and again, one of those which yields… Continue reading Summer 2022 – Fiction
Author: Ned Vessey
Writing Tips – Setting and Character
This season’s writing tips post is going to focus on the relationship between physical setting and characters. I have come up with what should be a fun and challenging writing exercise which will allow you to consider the importance of these two important elements of fiction writing. Setting – by which I mean the physical… Continue reading Writing Tips – Setting and Character
Summer Prompts – Holiday Scripts
This blog post will help you respond to the following Spellbinder Instagram post: Write a script about a family summer holiday/road trip. You can go down the comedy route and have lots of absurdly annoying things happening. You could also have a thriller/horror twist at some point in your script, after of course tricking your… Continue reading Summer Prompts – Holiday Scripts
Summer Prompts – Water
This blog post will help you respond to the following Spellbinder Instagram post: “Experiment with artworks or photographs depicting water. How can you capture water’s colourlessness, movement and fluidity in a still image? Can materials such as fabric and glass help you create that illusion?” Water, along with clouds and the sky, are some of… Continue reading Summer Prompts – Water
Summer Prompts – Point of View
This post will help you respond to the following Spellbinder Instagram post: “Choose a scene or a chapter from your favourite summer read and rewrite it from a different point of view. You could also maintain the main character as is, but switch points of view (eg from the first to the third person). Think… Continue reading Summer Prompts – Point of View
Spring 2022 – Poetry
Cornwall – Lily Rose Winter drinking wine on the beachfront it’s that time between light and dark when the sea begins to look like an untuned television screen noise among silence pixelated, out of focus, flickering, i listen with one ear to what you say while the other is drawn to the sea, as if… Continue reading Spring 2022 – Poetry
Art Resources – The National Gallery
This blog post is all about the National Gallery in London and the inspiration it can provide. It will also focus on the Gallery’s website, which is an excellent place from which to draw resources. I was in London this weekend with my partner. It had been my responsibility to plan a day out but… Continue reading Art Resources – The National Gallery
Writing Resources – Character
Character is a key element of prose writing, whichever form – short story, play, novel – that might take. Characters are often at the heart of a story. They drive it forward. For readers, they are often the reason we keep reading something. We want to find out more about a character’s motivations or thoughts.… Continue reading Writing Resources – Character
Writing Tips: Mind Mapping
This blog post aims to introduce you to the concept of mind mapping, which is a really helpful tool to use if you are ever stuck on working out details of character or setting in particular. Simply put, mind maps are a way of tracking and organising information. They can also be really useful in… Continue reading Writing Tips: Mind Mapping
Spring Cleaning Prompts
This post will help you respond to the following Spellbinder Instagram post: “Write a script about spring cleaning. Whether it’s a literal wardrobe clear-out or a metaphorical soul-cleansing endeavour, what are the benefits (or negatives) of tidying, downsizing, and letting go? How can you convey with your dialogue the liberating (or empty) feeling the characters… Continue reading Spring Cleaning Prompts