Writing Guides

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In this updated and expanded edition, Stewart Ferris uses his industry know-how to give you all the tips, tricks and inside knowledge you will need to become a successful writer, covering all types of writing from books to scripts and beyond. This accessible and informative guide is packed with advice to equip you with the skills you need to launch a writing career:

• Using your 'voice' as your USP

• Learning to love criticism

• Surprising solutions to writer's block

• Avoiding submission blunders

• Using e–publishing to sell your work

So what are you waiting for? Pick up your pen, open your laptop and fire up your imagination. Whichever tools you choose, the time to start is now.

 How to be a Writer is available as an  eBook and paperback from Summersdale. 

'I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As well as being an informative guide to the craft of writing, it is also a highly entertaining read. The author includes many inspirational quotes on writing, and anecdotes from his extensive knowledge of publishing and his own experiences developing the craft. He also touches upon many themes that are of interest to the would-be writer, ranging from developing the writing habit to the practicalities of writing in different genres, as well as submitting work to be published. The book is extremely accessible, and everything is laid out in a clear and logical manner, with useful summary points at the end of each chapter. For anyone who is serious about developing their writing, this book is a must-have.'

Inspiration is elusive and ethereal, and yet it is essential that writers locate and control it in order to be creative. Learn how to let inspiration into your mind, how to find the ideas you need, and how to think of the characters and stories that will bring your writing to life. Make writer's block a thing of the past with expert tips to keep your creativity flowing even when you're not feeling inspired. 'How to Get Inspired to Write' provides the tools for any writer to find the inspiration they need, and to equip them with the essential techniques to continue writing even when that inspiration is absent.

'Procrastination about writing is something of an `in' joke among writers. This might seem odd, since the desire to write starts from a love of storytelling. Yet every novelist faces times when they struggle to get inspired. When you're feeling stuck, even doing the ironing seems easier than wrestling the right words onto the page.

This book provides solutions that work. Techniques for firing creativity are set alongside advice on novel structure and how to build characters who virtually tell their own story. This reduces the author's reliance on `inspiration'. There's also excellent advice on editing your work once you've finished the first draft.

I read this after a week of not writing. I was feeling weary and stale (I'd been ill), daunted by the prospect of getting going again. This book re-ignited my creativity. I've even started getting scene fragments whilst dreaming.

I highly recommend this book: it's a short but inspiring read.'