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Fiction

Masterclass fiction - LBF 2006

Thu, 28/07/2016 - 10:39pm
A special report from the 2006 Masterclasses at the London Book Fair

In four packed sessions at the London Book Fair, the Daily Mail Masterclasses provided excellent coaching for aspiring writers. Our second report deals with writing fiction.  Read more

Masterclass children - LBF 2006

Thu, 28/07/2016 - 10:39pm
A special report from the 2006 Masterclasses at the London Book Fair

In four packed sessions at the London Book Fair, the Daily Mail Masterclasses provided excellent coaching for aspiring writers. Our third report deals with writing for children.  Read more

Writing romance

So you want to be a romance writer?

You’ve made an interesting choice because, although a lot of people scoff at romance, it is the most stable genre of all and has continued to keep its faithful readers when other categories have changed radically and sometimes lost their audiences.  Read more

© Chris Holifield 2016-16

Writing historical fiction

So you want to write historical fiction?

Well, your timing is good, because historical fiction is fashionable again after many years in the doldrums. In fact it's so popular that it has virtually reinvented itself as a category.  Read more

© Chris Holifield 2016-16

Synopsis-writing service

Commission a synopsis which will present your manuscript in the best possible light for submission

Are you ready to submit your synopsis and sample chapters to agents or publishers, but worried about whether your synopsis is letting you down? A good synopsis is an essential part of the submission package, as very few agents or publishers will look at a complete manuscript.  Read more

© Chris Holifield 2001-19
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Gingko Prize for Ecopoetry 2020

Information

Closing date: 
31 October 2020
Entry: 
Open to all poets from across the world Entry fee: first submission £7 then £4 for each additional poem.
Prize: 
First prize £5,000, second prize £2,000 and third prize £1,000

The Ginkgo Prize for Ecopoetry is a major international award for poems embracing ecological themes.

The first prize is £5,000, second prize is £2,000 and third prize is £1,000.

Open to all poets of 18 and over fro all over the world.


Our Judges  Read more

Writing scripts

19 October 2020

‘Get on top of the computer program Final Draft. It's expensive and buggy, but it's the industry standard and for a first-time screenwriter like me there is something magical about the way it makes everything look like a Hollywood movie script. The other thing I have learnt is, the better the scene the less of it thee is on the page. It's what your characters aren't saying that's important.  Read more

'It's the most satisfying occupation man has discovered yet, because you never can quite do it as well as you want to, so there's always something to wake up tomorrow morning to do.'

— William Faulkner

12 October 2020 - What's new

October 2020
  • ‘Dear Aspiring Writer, you are not ready. Stop. Put that finished story away and start another one. In a month, go back and look at the first story. RE-EDIT it. Then send it to a person you respect in the field who will be hard on you. Pray for many many, many red marks. Fix them. Then put it away for two weeks. Work on something else. Finally, edit one last time.
  Read more