How to tell what story is worth writing. I know as a writer I always have so many ideas but I never have any clue which idea to run with; I don’t know about you but I’m not usually confident in myself enough to make that decision. Well I’m here to tell you there are…
Tag: writing advice
Freelance Writing series part 4: Business Set-up
Image from Canva Free Stock Images As you’ve seen in the previous posts, there’s a lot more to freelance writing than just writing. Setting up your business correctly is the first and possibly most important step to ensuring your success as you step out into the freelance world. In this post we’ll cover the set-up of some…
How to Create Fully Developed Fictional Characters, by Kate Lomas Glendenning
Image from Canva free stock images As a reader, it is incredibly frustrating to immerse yourself within a book with underdeveloped characters; as a writer, this flop is devastating. It is with frustration I must confess that there is no exact formula to create developed characters. Advice on the subject is varied and often contradicts itself, so…
What We Learnt in 2018
2018 was a big year for learning, and our editors were happy to discuss and share as much as they could. This post pulls together everything we learnt over the year about writing, reading and publishing. Take a look and check out the posts you may have missed or the ones you might want to…
Freelance Writing series part 2: What to know before you start
Image from Canva Free Stock Images Freelancing isn’t an easy gig. There’s no job security, no sick pay, no holiday leave, and you’re in charge of literally everything to do with your business. All those departments you see in an office are now you: legal, accounts, marketing, admin… So, it’s good to know a bit…
Freelance Writing series part 1: Types of Freelance Writing
Image from Canva Free Stock Images One of the most common topics we get asked to cover at Underground is freelance writing. It’s never a straight up question, rather it’s a somewhat vague ‘tips on freelancing would be nice’. When someone asks about being a freelancer my first question is always: what type of freelance…
Writing big topics for the small page, by Jess Gately
[Image Description: A silhouette of a soldier carrying another soldier who is presumably injured or dead across an empty battlefield. The text reads ‘The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick…
Writer’s Block. Is it real and how to get past it? by Jess Gately
Writer’s Block is the bane of all writers. Whether it takes the form of staring at a blank page not knowing what to write, or helplessly writing and rewriting the same line over and over again and never actually moving forward, writer’s block can be very destructive to those who allow it to rule them….
Writing: What You Need to Know for 2018, by Dylan Dartnell
If you are like me, a stupendous procrastinator with wild ambition, you might have exhausted Facebook’s ‘save’ function and now have an archive of writing tips and tricks, and a reading list longer than the Dymock’s Top 100. Soon, the heaping volume of saved articles, podcasts, and videos will be enough to incite an aneurysm….
3 Things I Learnt During NaNoWriMo, by Jess Gately
3 Things I Learnt During NaNoWriMo By Jess Gately Over the years I have participated or skipped NaNoWriMo as I see necessary. For me, NaNoWriMo has always been an opportunity to fully explore an idea and get the groundwork going for a novel. It’s also a great time to build your writing skills, identify your…
3 Tips for Generating Ideas During NaNoWriMo, by Jess Gately
Stuck for ideas during NaNoWriMo? Here’s 3 tips to get you back on track… Whether you’re pantsing it and having a bit of a dry spell or planning it and need a little something to fill the gaps, it’s almost a given that at some point in NaNoWriMo you’re going to be stuck for ideas…
7 Tips for Surviving NaNoWriMo, by Jess Gately
Are you ready? Tomorrow is November 1st and the beginning of NaNoWriMo! If you haven’t already, I sincerely suggest you head on over to our first NaNo post, Pantser or Planner, Top Tips for Preparing for NaNoWriMo, to get some tips on preparing for the month ahead. First, a recap, because there’s some stuff in…
5 Faux Pas That Will Prevent You Getting Published, by Jess Gately
5 Faux Pas That Will Prevent You Getting Published By Jess Gately At Underground, we deal with a lot of emerging writers, who are submitting their work for publication for the first time. This means that we’re generally pretty forgiving when it comes to some of the faux pas that new writers make when they…
How to Write the Beginning of a Story, by Kate Lomas Glendenning
How to Write the Beginning of a Story by editor Kate Lomas Glendenning 6 Things to Consider in your Beginning “How do I write the beginning of a story” is nestled within every writer’s Google history. It is almost a shameful struggle, to have an amazing plot in your mind thick with action and…
3 Ways I Trick Myself Into Writing More, by Jemimah Halbert
3 Ways I Trick Myself Into Writing More By Editor-in-Chief Jemimah Halbert If you haven’t already read last month’s blog post I suggest you read it now. It covers the basics of defining where and how you write, and without knowing those elements it will be difficult to make any of the following tricks work. All…
3 Simple Ways To Get Your Writing Started, by Jemimah Halbert
3 Simple Ways To Get Your Writing Started By Editor-in-Chief Jemimah Halbert I’ve been an avid reader and regular writer for most of my life. I have kept diaries, journals, date books, notebooks, Word docs and blogs as ways to keep up regular writing, although there have been long stretches when I didn’t write much…