‘So much of writing happens entirely alone and entirely inside our own brains… it can be very easy to lose perspective. Collaboration and community are so important because of that: they keep me sane, and often stop me from despairing. I also find collaborative projects to be really energising and sparky, and that excitement almost always bleeds into the rest of my work too.’
‘I sometimes think we forget the ‘social’ part of social media. Even when operating what essentially is a business account, it still needs to be engaging, represent you as an author, and connect with your book community.’
‘I see my non-fiction work as often being more advocacy-driven, often motivated by increasing understanding of particular issues or experiences, or trying to connect people through common experiences.’
‘To me, being a writer is about being part of the world and reflecting it back to readers; you’re not going to be able to do that in a well-rounded way if you restrict yourself.’
‘In terms of written forms, comics have the most in common with poetry. I find people with experience in poetry tend to take to comics the quickest. Both forms share an emphasis on minimalism and efficiency evoking emotion. There’s also a shared reliance on very direct visual writing.’
‘Editing can be playful and intuitive but it’s also a time to hold up ideas, descriptions, sometimes specific words. When you edit, you step back to assess how well the text succeeds and to come up with ideas to improve what’s on the page.’
‘We are all used to sitting down at our own desks and fighting the urge to do other things, but in a classroom with ten other people writing beside you there is another energy that can deliver the seeds of new ideas.’
‘Never underrate the power of intuition when it comes to knowing what to write next. Trust in your subconscious and watch the magic unfold!’
‘We read non-fiction for information and also for emotional engagement. Does your topic have the potential to reach a wider audience because it has ‘big human issues’ to share? By this I mean issues about resilience, survival, love.’
