by Marg McAlister | General, Grammar and Layout, Scenes and Structure
“The magic of layout…”??? Okay… “magic” might seem a bit over the top when you first read this article title. But believe me, although it doesn’t involve incantations or bubbling cauldrons, careful selection of layout does...
by Marg McAlister | General, Scenes and Structure, Writing Fiction
My lifelong habit, when choosing a book to buy, is to pick it up and read the first few pages first. I value this more than the back-cover blurb or the book description on Amazon. That quick look inside (whether it’s in a physical book store or on a platform like...
by Marg McAlister | General
For many years, I’ve been a tutor for students undertaking courses in writing romance, crime or children’s stories. In that time, I’ve marked thousands of assignments. I’ve seen hundreds of plots, thousands of scenes, millions of words. And if...