Writing Magazine

The saying goes that “everyone has a story in them” and it’s the mission of Writing Magazine to help you get yours out. Brought to you by real experts who know what it takes to improve your writing or get published, this monthly magazine is a must-have for all writers. Whether you write fiction, poetry, drama, children’s books, non-fiction or anything else, each issue features tips, practical exercises and real-life advice, that will not only help you get all that creativity onto the paper but also, get your name and profile out into the industry. With writing masterclasses from professionals, industry news, events listings, competitions where you can submit your work for fantastic prizes and real paid writing opportunities, Writing Magazine has everything you need to hone and improve your talents.

DEAR READER

Narrative • Making sure everything in a piece of writing is connected and possesses internal logic and flow is vital if you want to engage readers, argues James McCreet

GOOD haunting • As his new collection of ghost stories is published, author Adam Macqueen talks about his take on supernatural fiction and offers intriguing tips to get you writing your own spooky stories in the run-up to Halloween

REAL LIFE, great stories • Use your lived experience to make a point in a personal essay with advice from Jenny Alexander

Immaculate rejection • Every writer has to face rejection at some point – and it always stings. Novelist Julie Shackman offers advice, taken from her own experience, on how to overcome rejection and use it to work towards getting your writing published

DANN MCDORMAN • The post-modern mystery author tells Lynne Hackles about following the fun, and trying to remember the great ideas he gets when he goes running

GETTING THE FEAR • Debut novelist Raghav Rao describes his experience of pre-publication terrors – and offers coping strategies for fellow writers in a similar position

WRITING EVERYDAY VOICES • Draw on your background and experience to create authentic characters whose voices ring true, advises author K.L. Slater, whose own YA books and psychological thrillers are informed by her working class background

Skeleton keys • As the latest Kay Scarpetta novel is published, Patricia Cornwell, queen of forensic crime writing, talks to Tina Jackson about dead bodies, extreme research, and the possibilities of other life-forms

EXCLUSIVE CHRISTMAS OFFER

Your writing critiqued • James McCreet applies a forensic micro-critique to the beginning of a reader’s dystopian novel

THE BUILDING BLOCK OF CHARACTER: PART FIVE • Give your stories more depth and resonance by creating rounded antagonists, advises author and tutor Ian Ayris

HELEN HECKETY • The writer and performer describes how she wanted her debut to represent a realistic disabled person like her

Arresting developments • Characters can surprise you when you least expect it, says Lynne Hackles

NICK TRIPLOW • As his new novel is published, the leading exponent of UK noir picks five books that inspired him to cast a light on characters who exist in the shadows

The world of writing • What goes through a writer’s brain? Readers’ letters and dispatches from the wide world of writing

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: YOUR WRITING Pick an emotion

Subscribers’ news

GET THE write idea • Explore the narrative potential of specific items and obj ects in these creative writing ex ercises

Stage ghosts • Edward Carey describes how the beginning of his latest novel evolved with the idea of going to the theatre in a pandemic

ACE TRIBUTE • Alison Chisholm enjoys a poem about tennis star Roger Federer that takes an unlikely turn

Playing with the past • Margaret James looks at the timeless...