writers

New blog post by Claire G You Don’t Know Me On The Honest Authors’ podcast, Gillian McAllister once mentioned that she was asked, “Do you really think that?” about something controversial she’d written in one of her novels. Her answer: “No, of course I don’t!” But at least in this instance...

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/14/writers-respond-story-written-by-ai-sam-altman-chat-gpt-tracy-chevalier-kamila-shamsie-david-baddiel

Writers often like to talk about how intuitive the writing process is, but in truth, building a book is a remarkably unintuitive task. Or, to put it more accurately, you need a lot more than intuition. You need plot and characters. You need a setting. You need a theme that is relevant and...

https://stockholmwritersfestival.com/enter-first-5-pages-prize-2025

This is a contest with Gotham Writers - a writing school in NYC who also does online classes. I've taken 6 online classes with them, and they've all been great. Not a bad prize really... 10 words for a free class. Here's the contest from their site: It may be apocryphal, but the story goes...

https://foxprinteditorial.com/2023/07/06/how-writers-revise-joni-b-cole-and-toxic-feedback/

https://foxprinteditorial.com/2025/02/27/editing-revision-and-giving-up-on-a-story/

New blog post by Katie-Ellen Hazeldine The Stories in Our Stars: The Zodiac for Writers We are now in Pisces Season. But what are its stars, what’s the ancient story behind it all, and what does it mean for writers? Time to go fishing with Pisces. Traditional Associations...

Why do writers write? Because it isn’t there. Thomas Berger

New blog post by Katie-Ellen Hazeldine Our Stories in The Stars- The Zodiac for Writers Story Archetypes of The Zodiac We are now in the season of Aquarius The Original Rain Man, Sign of All Humankind Whatever we think of astrology, and here we are talking about Western, so-called...

Writing is so difficult, that I often feel that writers, having had their hell on earth, will escape all punishment hereafter. Jessamyn West

New blog post by AgentPete Safeguarding Writers’ Mental Health In 2025 Writers are, by definition, people of heightened awareness and sensitivity. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t – couldn’t – be a writer. Yet in a world that increasingly seems to fetishize cruelty, revenge and malice – as...

This year’s Xmas Writers' Huddle was one of the best on record (our regular Saturday Huddles are pedal-to-the-metal intense – we need to kick back once a year and have some fun). We thought those Litopians who could not attend might like to share one of the word games we played… The Ant Game...

A cheery note for aspiring trad-published writers. The market may well be increasingly fragmented but there is hope! https://brevity.wordpress.com/2024/12/20/publishing-is-alive-and-well/

I have tons of regrets, but I think that's one of the reasons that push people to create things. Out of their angst, their regret, comes the best from artists, painters and writers. Sylvester Stallone

I’m pleased to say that we can again handle gift memberships. Litopia is nothing if not a warm, cohesive community, and the best way we can continue to grow while ensuring we stay true to our roots is to ask members (er, that’s you!) to spread the word among your friends and like-minded folk...

I could tell you which writer's rhythms I am imitating. It's not exactly plagiarism, it's falling in love with good language and trying to imitate it. Charles Kuralt

https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers?fbclid=IwY2xjawFp1lZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHfkyMv3YqL6XagdSQxl_yfVcVOleHS31-2YQNOpOEeCKXZEX4ix0VK12-w_aem_Y40T__T7aMYFGSnCtDUqnA

“If there is a special Hell for writers it would be in the forced contemplation of their own works, with all the misconceptions, the omissions, the failures that any finished work of art implies.” John Don Passos

Are in the news today... https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/michelle-paver-among-13-authors-featured-in-ghost-story-collection-from-sphere Will discuss the issues surrounding anthologies in the Huddle if requested. :) p.