View All Posts of August 2014

Do You Need Copyright Protection?This is one of those things that new writers often worry about. So, from the outset I’ll make it clear – copyright protection is automatic under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA), for both published and unpublished work. However, where there are issues of infringement of copyright it may be ...

How to Choose Your Characters’ Names You’d think giving your characters names would be really simple, wouldn’t you? But it’s not. Naming characters is an important part of the process of creating your story and giving it authenticity. Think about it. You are planning a novel set in working-class Victorian England and you want to use Star Me...

Ten Top Tips for Writing DialogueMany novels and short stories get rejected because they do not include enough dialogue – or the speech their characters use sounds stilted and unrealistic. So here are some tips to help you make the most of what your characters say1. When your characters start talking they must say something important – so...

Tips on Writing a Family History Every time you turn on the TV there seems to be a programme helping members of the public or celebrities to trace their ancestry. It’s fascination stuff and it’s big business for the many websites that – for a fee – give access to records and information on the subject. But what if you just want to quietly c...