Fictionfire - new directions for spring

What have you been up to lately? I ask because I haven't spoken to you for a while on this blog!

The truth is - and I think you'll recognise this - it's so easy to be pulled in multiple directions. It's also easy to see the days flitting past (and they flit faster, I swear, with every passing year.)

I hope 2016 is panning out well for you. Personally, I feel a blink of the eye has happened since I was drawing up my plans back in December.

I aimed to run more Fictionfire Focus Workshops and Retreats and I've done precisely that. The Simply Write Day Retreat and workshops on writing covering letters and synopses, plus how to improve your descriptive powers, all took place in February and March.

I've also been editing and mentoring - and am delighted to have been named by writing guru K.M. Weiland one of the top recommended fiction editors around: https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/good-book-editor/  

But early in the year, I made the decision that this was the year to take my business to a new level, in a new direction. If you're regular readers, then you'll know that I started Fictionfire Literary Consultancy back in 2009 as a sideline to my main work as an English Literature teacher. I gave up conventional teaching in 2012 in order to concentrate on Fictionfire, apart from teaching gigs on behalf of Oxford University and the University of Winchester.

So, I lead a multi-stranded life (and one, thin, often-overlooked strand is my own writing ...)

You wouldn't think I'd want to take on more, would you?

Wrong.

I've been working hard over the past months on a whole new strand to weave into the Fictionfire tapestry. I'm not saying more about it right now, except to tell you that if you're interested in finding out about it before anybody else, I recommend you subscribe to my mailing list on the welcome page of my website here, because I'll be telling subscribers first and offering them ...

Ssh...

All good things come to those who wait.

In the meantime you can join me in Oxford for the final Focus Workshops of the season: How to Write Short Stories on May 7th and How to Edit your Sample Submission on May 14th. Find out more on the Focus Workshops page of the website.

Or if you'd value some peaceful time to write, some great food, friendly support and inspiration, plus four invaluable workshops on creating and adding depth to your characters, then come along to the second Fictionfire by the Spires retreat weekend. The dates are 21st-22nd May 2016. You can opt to come for the full weekend or on a single day basis. Find out all about the workshop contents and the schedule for the weekend by visiting the Fictionfire by the Spires page on my website.

Remember, sign up for my newsletter at www.fictionfire.co.uk for news, articles, inspiration, exercises and competition news. Oh, and advance notice of that new thing I was talking about ...