Liz Monument

World-building is great fun for us writers, but if we put too much of it on the page, it can get a little bit heavy for readers. Readers want to connect with a vibrant story set in the world a…

This article was written to support ‘Voice & Style’ month, April 2023, the international UNWC (Jericho Writers).

Genre is a terrific tool for labelling fiction. It’s vital to publishers’ marketing strategies, and it also helps us writers understand what to…

Three places where the prose slows down: love, death, and magic.

Editorial is often about paring things back. It might mean removing unnecessary words, sentences or even paragraphs which seem to slow a story down. It could mean reducing dialogue…

Feedback from clients tells me that while ‘show don’t tell’ is something of a writer’s mantra, it can be tricky to find specific information relating to the mechanics. Here are some brief examples, with explanations: 

Showing – this is anything…

When a Jericho Writers blog on 'writing sex' arrived in my inbox this morning, I just knew I had to share. It's written by Jacqueline Silvester, and it answers all those questions aspiring debut authors might feel awkward about asking. 

…

The feedback I’ve had recently from literary agents is that they prefer debut novels to be no longer than 80-90,000 words in length. This is because agents know from experience that long debut novels often contain too many characters, too…

Which POV?

Point of view (POV) refers to the angle from which a story is told. To follow are some useful tips and resources for choosing which POV would be best for your novel or short story. 

I - first…

Visual fiction and written fiction share many things, including compelling characters, a developed plot with a clear quest and conclusion, and genre conventions (crime thriller, romance, historical or science fiction, for example). Anybody familiar with visual fiction might instinctively use…

Harry Bingham founded Jericho Writers in 2004. Jericho offer worldwide editorial and educational services for writers of all genres. 

Harry's August 2021 blog echoes exactly what I was told when I set out on my writing journey, many years ago…

One of the most important skills my first writing coach suggested I learn was how to ‘read as a writer’. It didn’t come easily, and it took longer than I’d expected (about two years of concentration and application, to properly…