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Welcome to The StorySmith’s blog Anvil & Ink. Here you will find a mixture of my own fiction writing, writing opinion and advice. Honed by almost two decades of writing and editing experience and story consultancy. For the last ten years, I’ve been both a first reader and editor on the litmag circuit, a freelance editor and writing coach/tutor. I help writers gain perspective on their work, develop themselves and their skills on their quest to create excellent fiction, help them navigate the publishing sphere and avoid the pitfalls and scammers. You’ll also find my own pieces popping up in between either as entertainment, or as a study in the mechanics of creating fiction.
As it was once said to me back in my newbie days: writing is a journey, not a destination, and I truly live by that ethos. If you don’t love it for the experience it is, you are setting yourself up for a hard time indeed. If you are making decent returns for doing what you love, congratulations! You are very lucky!
I write whatever captures my fascination at the time. Sometimes it’s contemporary, sometimes it’s historical, sometimes it’s speculative, and sometimes its gobbledegook. I don’t believe in putting myself in a box.
Why subscribe?
The blog is free once per month, but if you feel you benefit from any of my musings, or the stories I publish for free, please help me keep the lights on. Premium subscribers gain immediate access to the NaNoWriMo – What Next? five part self-editing series, full access to the archives and can request access to my Story Structure Basics online class. This class introduces the writer to the three act structure, the structural role of story conflict, and how to develop the main character arc. It forms the starting point of my more comprehensive novel-writing course How to Plot Story Arcs.
And, of course, you will have access to all the usual Substack community features.
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