Over the past couple of months I have been thinking about writing a dystopian novel. I have played with the idea in my head and am letting the plot grow organically. It is not a project I see myself committing to this year so for the time being I am in the process of enjoying the thought of the storyline. The more I think about what I am trying to say through the story and the characters I want to create, I also have a sub conversation with myself. Dystopian novels by definition are quite…

The climate for writers has changed drastically over the past couple of years. As the line between publisher, distributor, editor and writer blurs writers need to have a range of skills to succeed. I look back now on my 4 years of hard sales (I was a street charity fundraiser who got people to sign direct debits to charities on the street) and I am thankful for the experience I received. Never did I think my days of being taught how to handle rejection and better position myself to handle…

When I first started writing I wrote purely to get out my own interpretation of the world and any feelings I wanted to put down on paper. As I grew and my English teachers started telling me that I needed to be 'objective', I learned how to write in a balanced way and see things from many perspectives. Writing from all angles was good until I decided that I needed to assert myself and get a deeper understanding of who I was. During my late teens it felt like I was losing myself to the world…