Dawn Meredith - Author

If there's one thing I'm great at, it's starting a novel. Finishing it presents a far greater challenge! And then there's the middle of the middle section - ARGH! But in the last two years I've developed a system (yes, an organised system ) that helps me: Develop the characters so that I really know them develop and maintain plot elements such as tension keep track of those tiny but important details readers will complain about not lose my head reduce stress make it simpler, easier and more transportable allow me to jot down ideas in a way that I can actually FIND them again Sound good? So,what do you need? 1. Buy a white board. Doesn't have to be big. Also some whiteboard markers and a rub out thingy. You can hang the whiteboard on the wall, sit it on an easel and take it to other rooms when you feel like a change of scenery. Last year I wrote an 86,000 word novel in five months using this method. Normally it would take at least a year, per...

During the last school holidays we were saved by a fantastic website, http://www.storynory.com/  We did craft at the kitchen table while listening to entertaining stories and loved it! BBC journalist Hugh Fraser and Matthew Lynn founded storynory. " Hugh and Matthew knew each other (slightly) at Oxford University in the 1980s where they both worked on Isis, the student magazine. Hugh Fraser is Storynory’s editor and producer. He writes the original stories and adapts many of the myths and legends. He is also webmaster and oversees the development strategy for Storynory. This is what Hugh says about himself: “I used to be a journalist. I spent some time in Russia (1990-1993). I am planning a “magnum opus” for Storynory that will be set in Russia, but somehow I haven’t quite written it yet. I did ten years at the BBC World Service where I got my background in all things audio and started to write for the net. Now I try to get all that journalese ou...