Description really is the bulk of a story, and a lot of people try and sidestep it as much as they can. I must admit, I used to be one of those people. Description would take me much longer to write, and I'd have to really think about it, so I'd tend to whizz past where I could. I'm a type, type, type and never stop kind of person. But it really makes a difference when you slow down and take a look. The perfect balance with description can sometimes be hard to find. Too much

Dialogue shouldn't be the pain in the butt some people think it is. After all, we hear people talking all day every day, and we know our spoken language better than anyone. Once you know your characters and your voice for narration, dialogue should be a doddle. The thing most writers struggle with is making dialogue sound natural. I must confess, dialogue was the first thing I truly nailed when I first started writing, but I think that's because I write in a very casual sort

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! In celebration, I thought I'd list my top ten favourite fictional couples! Functional or dysfunctional, meant-to-be or doomed, who doesn't love a love story? Caine and Diana (GONE series) Cas and Anna (Anna Dressed in Blood duology) Cassie and Evan (The 5th Wave trilogy) Cathy and Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) Gaby and Rafa (Rephiam series) Hazel and Augustus (The Fault in Our Stars) John and Sarah (Lorien Legacies series) R and Julie (Warm B

Narration can be both the easiest thing in the world and the most difficult depending on who's telling the story. It's crazy how different characters can narrate in different ways. Some are eloquent and thoughtful and others just want to jabber away. Some implore the reader to understand, others ignore the reader completely. The only thing that matters is that you pick the right voice. I find narration can make or break a story. A 'voice' that I love will have me reading and

On Saturday, I was lucky enough to be invited to Instagram's first "Livestameet" where a few awesome people were going to be gathered together to go live on Instagram at the same time. Going live was bizarre, but kind of great. It's like talking to yourself, but people can listen, which I found strangely powerful. Other than falling into a Central Line tube train and almost landing on my face, I had an amazing day meeting some incredible people and catching up with my awesome