Tommy in grave peril (geddit?!)
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Jan | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | ||||
I’m busy working away on the third draft of Scream Street book one, and it’s been an interesting experience. I’ve discovered that, as a result of writing three further books in the series with the same characters, I’ve developed both their individual voices and a style for the series as a whole. This style wasn’t […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
First drafts, eh? That initial piece of work that has finally been torn from your subconscious, kicking and screaming, onto paper. Trust me, it will be bad. Really bad. Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is sh*t!”, and I agree with him. But, you know what, it’s necessary. Before we go any further, let […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
From time to time, I’ll be posting writing exercises here for anyone who visits and wants to put pen to paper themselves. Eventually, I might put them all together in a separate site but, for the time being, you’ll find the exercises in this blog. For today’s exercise, take a well-known children’s story or fairy […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Another chance to kick-start your writing today, and this exercise is great for combatting the dreaded writer’s block (something I’ll be discussing in-depth in a future post). Have a look around the room and pick out an object. It could be a lamp, a door, an ornament – anything at all. Now, write about it. […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Settle down class… Today’s topic is fan fiction – the stories written by fans of a particular book, film or TV series that features their favourite characters. Innocent enough, you might think – or is it? Put simply, writers spend years developing their settings and characters. The books or scripts they write are their lives; […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
All work and no play makes Tommy a dull boy at the moment – still it, will be worth it. I’m just coming to the end of book four in the Scream Street series, having managed to fit in the third draft of book one and a swift polish of book three along the way. […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
One of the questions I’m asked most often (aside from ‘what are you doing in my garden?’) is how I got my books published. What’s more interesting than the question itself, however, if the belief and/or hope that there is some sort of magic formula or shortcut that I have found and can give the […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
It’s tough but, at some point, you’re going to get stuck. Happened to me yesterday… I was working my way through the second draft of the third book in the Scream Street series, and made quite a few changes to several of the chapters. All was going well until I realised that the original ending […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Another of the questions I’m asked by new writers is, ‘Do I need an agent?’, closely followed by ‘How do I get one?’ My answer is always the same. No, you don’t need an agent to sell your writing; I sold my first four books direct to the publisher. However, if you want your work […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
It occurred to me after reading back over the previous post about finding a literary agent that I neglected to include one vital piece of advice: finish the book first! It may sound glaringly obvious, but I’ve known so many writers who have an idea for a book and start to pitch it before they’re […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Are you thinking of booking Tommy for an author event? Download his free guide to school visits here!
Click on the cover below to get your FREE copy of one of Tommy's very first books - Boredom Busters!
©2007-2012 Tommy Donbavand | Powered by WordPress with Easel | Subscribe: RSS | Back to Top ↑