‘I think you would make a good Sint-Michaël. New to the job, uncertain, young—and suddenly you’re in the greatest battle of all. Valiant, and frightened…’ He named the painting The Fall of the Rebel Angels. The Bruegel Boy is available now @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/tPLnmQK
“Because filtering gets in so naturally, and is nothing to do with the characters and events in the scene, it’s hard to spot,” What is “filtering”? Why does it matter? How do you spot it - and how do you perform a filterectomy? buff.ly/ozR6VoP
Ooh!: this new, handsome beast @brillpublishing has chapters by @annkennedysmith @kaddybenyon @paftersnu @Francesspalding Janet Browne, Bhanu Kapil & others Eek! checking my Prologue Phew! it still reads OK! From Darwin to Cornford: ed Jane Firman & Peter Maber buff.ly/N1fK4pH
Brand new on This Itch of Writing for everyone: what you can learn from books that are good-enough-to-sell-enough, or “Picked Up A Bad Book? Think Of It As A Good One!” buff.ly/aMEYrVr
Do you write fiction or non-fiction, or would like to? Do you have writing ambitions, hopes, dreams, problems, puzzlements, nightmares or just sheer curiosity about how it works? The Itch of Writing Tool-Kit has been helping writers since 2007, and it’s still here: buff.ly/WfTy5qD
There's no one certain route to better writing, but there are things you can do to help your writing develop faster and further, so what should you write to get through the ugly-duckling phase as fast as possible? More here: buff.ly/g256g1R
So the Director of Brand and Content at Bauer Media has emailed regular writers to say that in future the stories in Take-a-Break’s Fiction Feast will be written by AI, the author being given as “The Fiction Team”;
“Hodgson has done her research, but in the novel it’s embodied in the real, urgent business of storytelling.” From the new Book Post section of The Itch, why I loved Antonia Hodgson’s The Devil in the Marshalsea, and three reasons for a writer to read it: buff.ly/CdGw2Zq
Writing an 80,000 word novel involves 4,800 million decisions. Pressing Send to an agent, a publisher, a competition, or Kobo or Kindle involves only one. But it’s a huge one. Ten things which say your book is ready to go out on submission, and be brave and actually do it: buff.ly/ZbBqrRY
"The writing is incredibly rich and detailed. The reader sees Bruegel's paintings in an entirely new light and understands the dynamics and the daily realities of the violent and fanatical religious wars in sixteenth century Holland”—Alice Jolly @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/tuetgQ3
“The synopsis is your waggle dance: one sec for each km, one cm of upwards for the angle to the sun: the whole journey in miniature.” Brand new on This Itch of Writing: why synopses are perfect for developing and editing as well as selling your writing: buff.ly/bnrZ5Cm
“A compelling story of a life and a society in upheaval - brilliantly structured, richly detailed and deeply moving.” - Matthew Plampin The Bruegel Boy is available now @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/tuetgQ3
"Meticulously researched and, as if by alchemy, luring the reader heart and soul into the time and the place of this historical world. A triumph of a novel"—@essiefox.bsky.social Available now @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/tuetgQ3
Verbs are the engine-room of your storytelling, so working with them is key to raising your prose and storytelling from just OK to something special. buff.ly/HqV1304
“What an extraordinary novel this is! The canny Bruegel as he navigates the political and religious fervour in the 16th-century Low Countries, the story of Gil, his muse, who yearns to be accepted as a monk yet falls passionately in love”—Thanks @gill.paul1author.bsky.social buff.ly/CbaDX6I
I was asked in the Itch of Writing Live Chat about UNhelpful writing advice. My post “Sometimes” is all about how wrong the classic advice can be: Sometimes less is less and more is more; telling a story demands Telling, not Showing; point-of-view needs changing frequently. buff.ly/kFAZdVd
“A vivid, evocative portrait of a society broken by the tumult of ideological fervour—and of the human cost…Gillis, in particular, is a wonderful creation, but Bruegel and his studio, his world, are superbly drawn” Thank you @mathewlyons.bsky.social! buff.ly/WCQKnqW
You do not have to apologise for the writing you chose to write. At all. To anyone. You owe nobody any explanations; you need no excuse or ‘good reason’ to be writing this story, poem, article or book. As a reader, writer, mentor and teacher, there's something I want to say to you: buff.ly/iq4zBq7
“Packed with historical detail, The Bruegel Boy deals with huge issues, among them love, faith, brotherhood and art.” Rosemary Goring, Ten Great Books to Look Out For, The Herald Magazine The Bruegel Boy is available now @hollandhouse3525. buff.ly/CbaDX6I
That @andrewjrtaylor knows exactly what he’s doing, is currently in the bestsellers’ lists with A Schooling in Murder, and has won more Daggers than most of us have steak knives. Book Post on The Anatomy of Ghosts: what it is, why I enjoyed it, and 3 reasons for a writer to read it: buff.ly/4uJuRbT
Brand new on This Itch of Writing for everyone: Q&A: Braided narratives in first person; bones showing in your third draft; is it worth entering competitions? My latest pick of the Itch of Writing Ask Me Anything Live Chats: buff.ly/fETxaf2
My new workshop on mining a research text is now up! It's all about: Unearthing nuggets of inspiration Spotting the unexpected details to develop into scenes Developing characters from historical figures Recognising something worth following Using books, museums, podcasts & more buff.ly/a6hqhIt
Brand new on This Itch of Writing for everyone: Q&A: Braided narratives in first person; bones showing in your third draft; is it worth entering competitions? My latest pick of the Itch of Writing Ask Me Anything Live Chats: buff.ly/fETxaf2
Brain fried? Don't know what to write next in your story? Have twelve questions to help you write on that first - or next - scarily blank page: buff.ly/6vqQFzJ
Calling historical fiction writers, whether you're just dipping your toe in, or an experienced hand! My new workshop up at @chillsubs.bsky.social The Forever Workshop is all about truffling out inspiration, specifics, research details and big themes from just about any non-fiction buff.ly/a6hqhIt
Still too hot. Have another nice cooling picture. (In the unlikely event of you wondering why I keep posting Bruegel paintings, this is why: buff.ly/CbaDX6I )
It’s too hot. Have a nice, cooling picture. buff.ly/CbaDX6I @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social
Time and again in students’ work and my own drafts, there are sentences and paragraphs that don’t have the impact that they could and should: the elements of the sentence/paragraph are weakening your storytelling. Here’s what to do about it: buff.ly/sd3zIhr
"Beautifully written and with beautiful title pages, The Bruegel Boy is a clever and skillfully drawn story of love, art and faith set in a fascinating era alive with religious and political unrest” says @annamazz.bsky.social of The Bruegel Boy. More here: buff.ly/2QuN1Yi