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Coming up with fresh ideas as a writer and creative can be challenging.

Let’s talk the nuts and bolts of how to do it!

1. Take time out
When we’re busy, it’s more important than ever to allow ourselves to daydream.

This is an area that many of us neglect: we’re so caught up with what we’re doing, buried in deep work on our projects, that we don’t give ourselves permission to consciously build in moments of respite.

It’s too easy to use so much energy actually doing the work of authoring that we don’t step back to feed that process. This can deplete our creative selves: without input, there’s no output. It simply isn’t possible to keep going without recognising this and recharging our batteries.

Often, the connections we make and ideas we come up with happen when we aren’t actively working hard and thinking about something.

Switch off, take a breather. Let your brain tick away and do its thing while you’re doing something else.

You might be surprised by what you uncover!

2. Go to the source
What inspires you? What gives you that energetic, enthusiastic feeling inside?

No two people are alike in what floats their boat, so it’s important to find what works for you.

Dylan Thomas retreated to Laugharne in Wales to write, while George Orwell travelled to the Scottish island of Jura to work on his masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-Four. It’s no coincidence that those locations are elemental, beautiful and perfect for walks and uninterrupted space during the graft of putting pen to paper.

If there’s a particular place you like to go for inspiration – or simply to clear your head – make time to do it, even if it’s only for a few minutes a week. It doesn’t have to be miles away: somewhere accessible and close to home is just as good.

Stepping away from the workaday and going to the source is one of the best gifts you can give yourself as a writer.

3. Note it down
Any journalist worth their salt will tell you that always having a notebook to hand is essential. There are some excellent ways of noting something that catches your eye.

Creatives use handy apps such as Evernote, Notion or Pocket to record images, links, articles and anything else they’ve seen. Voice notes are immediate and save having to write anything down; the advantage is that you can go back over them later and properly absorb what’s been said.

If something piques your interest: note it, get it down somewhere online, screenshot or photograph it – or you might forget it.

4. Know your onions
One lesson we can learn from top creatives is that they never stop trawling for ideas and insight. In fact, they actively seek them out.

For example, Turner Prize-winning artist Sir Grayson Perry goes to galleries on weekdays when it’s quiet, so he can glean new ideas for his work and engage with what’s on show.

Try these for great fresh input:

• Keeping abreast of what’s happening in your field
• Keeping up to date with industry publications
• Surfing the web to check out others’ work
• Engaging with others online and offline
• Talking shop

Scanning news stories, interacting in online forums, groups, on social media and the blogosphere, as well as checking out creative writing and longform – all of these can be rewarding and a valuable source of support and inspiration for writers.

And this one is essential: read, read, read!

If you haven’t done that classic work of literature you’ve always been meaning to get through, or that novel or poetry anthology has been gathering dust in that TBR pile beside your bed, now’s a  great time to start.

If you’re seriously busy, just do a few pages or a chapter at a time. It’s perfectly fine to tackle it in chunks, especially if it’s a mammoth tome!

Study the maestros, because being exposed to great authors really can help your writing.

5. Mind map it
While Tony Buzan popularised the spider diagram in the 1970s, this method of thought trailing has in fact been around for centuries. It’s a freeing tool for creative brainstorming, because it isn’t linear thinking which can order and restrict your thoughts.

You start with a central topic, then work out from there in as many directions as you like. One thought bubble follows on from another, and you can find yourself coming up with ideas you hadn’t previously imagined.

This is a great way to create topics that you can then go on to outline for an article or longform piece. You can even use it to start collecting ideas to drill down into chapters for a book.

6. Creativity breeds creativity
The more you tap into your creative energy, the more easily it comes.

For example, following on from an article I wrote about inspiration, I took a moment to think of other things I could write about.

Within the space of a few minutes I came up with three story ideas: one related to that specific article, which resulted in this piece; while the other two fed into other potential content creation.

Once you start to build momentum, you get into the flow. As the late, great Maya Angelou said:

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

The trick is to keep going, and that happens with regular practice.

7. Prioritise your practice
If your creative cup runneth over and you’ve lots of ideas, trying to work out which one you should follow up can be tricky.

Go for the one that’s most feasible, interesting or time-sensitive right now, then pencil in the rest to do when you can. This way you can start on a realistically achievable project, rather than scattering your energy by trying to tackle everything at once and experiencing overwhelm.

Great ideas won’t go away, so you can sit on them for a little while – but do make sure they don’t get buried completely by the workaday stuff that you have to do.

It’s great you’re feeling so inspired, so enjoy it!

Being a writer can be a thorny old bugbear at times. We can be riddled with doubt, feeling anxious and insecure. We can nag ourselves relentlessly:

This draft sucks, right?
Am I a terrible writer?
Will people like it?
Will they hate it?
Am I wasting my time?
Should I even publish?
Is it worth it?
Why am I even bothering?

Feeling unsure of ourselves is part of the emotional landscape we sometimes have to negotiate as creatives.

Why? Because in producing original work, we’re constantly extending ourselves, coming up with new things, breaking fresh ground.

We’re always at the forefront of our own creative development – even if we don’t realise it.

When we put our work out there, we open ourselves up to being known… and fear of what that means.

What is a creative?
Being creative means, at a basic level, putting something out into the world. I know that sounds obvious, but it’s a good idea to remind ourselves of that fact, because it’s incredibly important – and a wonderful thing.

Once we’ve made a work, the world will never be the same.

We have changed it, even in a small way.

We take the act of creation for granted, but its significance hits home when we throw off the covers and expose our writing to the gaze of others.

At this point, our anxiety can go into overdrive, as it contacts a vulnerable part of us that we’re keen to protect.

Our work and process come from a sensitive, precious place – our source, who we are. So when we do go public, it can feel like we’re exposing our selves to critique (and criticism).

All kinds of questions can rear their heads:

What will readers think?
No one is going to buy my book, are they?
Am I going to get bad reviews?
What will happen if I do?
What will that mean?
Will people troll me?

– and on… and on…

Take a moment to think about creatives you admire. They could be those you know, or perhaps famous people at the top of their profession.

The one quality you can guarantee they have in common is that they’re adventurers. They’ve all ploughed their own, highly individualistic furrow.

And it’s hard to believe that none of them have ever faced moments of self-doubt in their working lives, or had to deal with criticism. Of course they have.

What they’ve done, to quote that old line, is to feel the fear… and do it anyway.

How to deal with being known
The bottom line is that if we want our writing to be seen, we need to strap on a psychological carapace and be open to the idea – at least to some extent.

I’ve written before about the courage it takes to be a creative person.

Solo flights can be scary, but that isn’t necessarily such a bad thing. If you’re feeling some trepidation, remember: it takes bravery to put your work out there.

The very fact you’re doing this says a lot about the lionheart you are.

Spirited. Original. An artist. 

The call to create is strong, and you’re being courageous enough not to shy away from it. Many do – and their work never sees the light of day.

Courage breeds confidence
Here’s something else to bear in mind. When we’re breaking new ground, we can feel horribly inexperienced. Which is true – but we’re also forgetting, at the same time, the experience we do have and what we can bring to the table.

In fact, despite any feelings of insecurity we might have, the act of showing our work increases confidence and self-belief.

It’s a concrete achievement. It gives us knowledge we didn’t have previously.

It also gives us valuable feedback: we’re in a much better position to know what works and what doesn’t. Finally, having stepped outside our comfort zone, we’re no longer confined by fear of that particular situation, and we’re able to expand our horizons even further.

There is a caveat to this. We must be prepared to stand by our work, 100 per cent – which has a very real bearing on quality, because we’ll be judged on it.

Being rigorous can help here. If we’ve taken the time to craft, analyse and critique our work, that goes a long way to allaying anxiety.

If criticism does come, we’re then in a better position to assess whether it really is justified, or simply a jealous put-down to be ignored.

How to get support
The good news is that writing mentors, book coaches and editors can ease this process. We’re trained in supporting you during your writing journey, and make sure what goes out of the door is good.

Working with a mentor, coach or editor is a much safer way for authors to deal with fear, feedback and critique, because these have containment within a highly skilled, professional environment. The collaboration is grounded in solid technical knowledge, empathy, focus and direction.

Authors feel much better by the end of the process, because they’re confident they’ve done everything they genuinely can, and have been guided to deliver their best.

Inexperienced writers who rush from first draft straight to proofreading and published are actually taking more of a risk, because they think their manuscript is fine when it might not be. Their book is exposed directly to public criticism, with potential for negative reviews.

That’s even more of a vulnerable position to be in, because by that stage the work is already out there… and there’s nowhere to hide.

Believe in you
If you really think about all of this, what is there to be afraid of?

Will people believe in you? Of course they will – why should they not, if you’re authentic and stand behind what you do?

Being real, making quality work, and contributing something valuable to others?

If that’s the price of success, surely it’s a worthwhile sum to pay.

If you’re ready to slay your fear dragons and publish,
I can help you get where you want to go.
To book a free discovery call, contact me!

‘I want my book to appeal to as many people as possible.’

It’s not uncommon to hear new writers express this desire. Reach is important: of course you want your book to sell well – who wouldn’t!

But when it comes to publishing successfully, trying to get your book to appeal to the world and their husband/wife/beloved pet is counterproductive, for several reasons:

• It lacks focus and purpose
• It doesn’t identify who the audience is
• It doesn’t speak to their specific needs or pain points
• It can’t provide directed, practical solutions.

The problem with trying to speak to everyone in a book is that it can end up not speaking to anyone at all.

And as mentioned above, it can create real issues with trying to decide on, write and organise your content well to meet the market.

You don’t need to write for everyone.
That’s right! Everyone is not your reader.

This revelation might come as a surprise, but it should actually be a relief because it will make your authoring life so much easier.

Instead, you can concentrate on what you do best: share your own fantastic, specialist expertise with your tribe, and start growing a loyal and happy readership.

Business books and practical guides often work best when they focus on one type of reader, covering one subject within a larger book market segment. When readers are shopping for a practical book, they’re usually looking to solve a particular problem, so directing your content to them achieves that.

For example, if you want to write a career guide for school or university leavers, why produce yet another generalist book that’s going to sit alongside the thousands of others out there in that sector – many of which are already well established, and have become the go-to canon?

Say you’re an experienced graphic designer. Instead, you could write one specifically for graphic design graduates who want to enter your field, or to uplift early-career designers considering their next options, guiding them on how to move up the industry ladder successfully.

Or if you’re a business consultant, rather than writing a book on general workplace productivity, you could share your expert knowledge of implementing Agile in organisations to help readers create top-drawer project management and high-performing teams.

In marketing, customer identification starts with creating an avatar for each target, and finding the right audience for your book is no different.

Ask yourself:

• Who is my ideal reader?
• What’s their demographic? Really drill down into what defines them.
• What’s their knowledge level – what gaps in the existing book market does mine need to fill?
• What do they need from me – what expertise, advice and practical pointers will specifically help them?
• What great value-add takeaways can I deliver?

If you’re in business – consultancy especially – your ideal reader may well be the kind of clients you’re already working with. Or the ones you want to work with, if your book is acting as a lead magnet and calling card.

Niche is good. Directing your copy is good. Being confident of what you’re writing is good too.

The one place you can leverage your offer and knowledge successfully is a book.  The big advantage is that it expert positions you as a go-to in your field. You become the person people want to seek out precisely because you’re so good at what you do.

Generalist books are already flooding the market in multitudes, you don’t need to add to them.

Step away from that sector, serve the niche and allow your unique gifts to shine!

For more superfast tips to boost your writing and editing,
check out my free mini-guides!

It was time. I was about to be hit with a big truth by people who really knew their stuff.

And it wasn’t going to be easy to take!

Sitting with 11 writers in a seminar room at The Hurst, the playwright John Osborne’s beautiful country house in Shropshire, was intimidating enough.

Then Rory MacLean and Jay Griffiths, bestselling, multi-award-winning authors, started the session with a bang.

‘Rule No. 1 of non-fiction writing: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! You have to write for your reader.’

When authors of that calibre speak, you shut up and listen…

That week at Arvon’s writing centre was probably the most challenging of my creative life.

I’d gone there to be taught by the best, because I was serious about wanting to edit travel writing. And the only way was to get stuck in and learn from the ground up by doing it myself…

Arvon residential writing weeks are full immersion. No internet. No TV.  Patchy mobile phone reception. Just learning in class, then going away to write and practise it.

The goal of an Arvon week is to step away from everyday distraction and pressure, and focus. Squeezing every last drop out of that precious time you have to think and write is what you’re there for.

In the morning, you attend seminars where your tutors deliver and you do exercises – some of which you have to read out in class for everyone else to critique. In the evenings, visiting guest authors give more readings, as well as discussion of the day.

Afternoons are given up to writing, and individual tutorials are scheduled with the course leaders.

At Arvon, you’re tasked to complete one piece by the end of the course.
The kicker? You have to read it out loud to everyone on the final night.

Some of the notes that came back to me during the process were really positive. Some of them stung. One day, after a tutorial with Jay, I went back to my room, eyes brimming, to lick my wounds.

Her feedback was right, of course. She hadn’t said anything that wasn’t perfectly valid or unhelpful. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I just hadn’t known what to expect, and wasn’t prepared for it.

Thing is, when we’re writing, we’re putting our source and selves into what’s on the page.  Writing is a deeply personal act, and it can be hard to distance ourselves from that.

But we have to – if we’re going to create a successful book. We have to pivot that lens from what we think to what readers actually want and need.

And remind ourselves that critique isn’t criticism!

That piece I wrote 10 years ago at Arvon, about travelling in Croatia, won a Wanderlust magazine competition.

Those whirlwind seven days changed my working life too. I specialise in business books and other subject areas, and I develop and edit travel books now.

It’s a genre I adore, from Bill Bryson to Patrick Leigh Fermor and more.

Short of going there yourself, there’s nothing better than travelling with someone on the page. The adventuring authors who take off and come back to write about all the crazy things and people that have happened to them are bold and bonkers and brave, and make for such a dang good read.

I love it!

I believe that every editor should write. I do. I blog regularly, have published articles on music, record reviews and pop culture; I write poetry and short form prose, and compose songs.

Editors must write, if they’re even to begin to understand what the author journey is really like.

If they don’t, something’s wrong – and missing.

If you’re an author, I get you. I understand what you go through to get those words on the page.

And as an editor, I have your back. These days, sometimes I have to deliver hard truths too. But they’re only ever in the service of making your book the very best it can be.

And to help you shine 🌟

Last time we looked at how to start writing. This time we’re going to take things a step further and look at editing and critiquing your work.

5. Edit, edit, edit
While every writer needs to be creative, they also need to know how to edit themselves. Many a publication has risen or fallen on how it’s been presented.

Your concept may be great, but the execution has to be good: unless the style, tone, language and grammar are sound and the structure organised, the end result won’t:

• look good
• make a whole lot of sense
• make people want to read it.

This is the stage where you take off your artistic hat and put on your analytical one!

Here, it’s relevant to write first then edit later, as it’s too complicated to try and do both at the same time. You can actually inhibit the process of writing well, if you try to edit as you go along.

So let the words flow first, then pull them into shape afterwards. Above all, give yourself a proper break between writing and editing – make sure you go back in with a fresh mind.

We’re talking days at the bare minimum, preferably weeks on a large text such as a book, if you can spare the time. This helps you detach from the process of writing and prepare mentally to analyse your work; it also puts you in a much better frame of mind to go back in and find solutions or deal with any niggling issues you might be experiencing with your text.

6. Structure it
One thing I’m asked as an editor is how to deal with structure. If you’re writing a piece, whether factual or creative, a cogent narrative is key.

I like the idea of ‘the silver thread’, which was introduced to me at an Arvon writing course, and always bear it in mind when I sit down to write a piece.

This is about the journey through the text: having a clear idea of where you’re headed, right from the beginning, through the middle to the end. It might seem incredibly obvious, but problems with  content ordering and argumental logic can manifest themselves in unexpected ways when that trajectory isn’t in place.

Making some preparatory notes and being sure of where you’re going helps you to avoid repeating yourself, veering off-topic and having to eliminate irrelevance.

Outlining is a great tool for this, as it can help you organise your content, give you direction and save you from writer’s block (more on this here).

Here’s a useful step-by-step process to follow:

1. Start with the macro: look at the big picture for paragraphing and overall structure.
2. Move into the micro, reading word-for-word for language, style and content.

Close analysis also helps you to focus in on consistency and spot potential howlers: for example, you don’t want to find that your leading character, who was born and raised in Baltimore, is a Bronx teenager in flashback several chapters later. Or that the Dr Smith you refer to on p. 1 of your article has become Mrs Smythe on p. 15!

7. Critique me
Now it’s time to steel yourself, gird your literary loins and take your writing out into the world.

Exposing your work to others for the first time can be nerve-wracking. And that’s perfectly normal.

While for many of us, writing is a private passion – and that’s totally OK, it’s not essential to expose our thoughts to the world if we really don’t want to – at some point if we are serious about progressing our work and looking towards publishing it, we will need to open it up to external critique.

How to do this? You could join a local writing group, or maybe find a closed group online. They’re usually small and informal and everyone is in the same boat, wanting to share their work and take it forward.

The important thing is to find a collective that feels safe and encouraging, where comment is constructive (a sense of fun doesn’t go amiss either).

When you begin to put your work out there, try not to confuse critique with criticism – it’s not the same. No one is (or should be) telling you your writing is bad, they’re just being helpful and making suggestions as to how you can craft it.

You might need to toughen up a bit for this stage (sensitive souls will relate to this!). Having said that, no one needs something as delicate as their inner process exposed to genuine negativity; if this does happen, just stay calm. If you feel it’s necessary, explain why you think the critic is incorrect and leave it at that.

Don’t get emotional, and don’t be drawn into any longwinded exchanges; it’ll only sap your energy and upset you. Your writing is what it is, and you have as much of a right to express yourself on the page and be heard as anyone else.

Creativity at its best is a collaborative thing, and it takes courage to show your work, so everyone should make nice.

Another way you can get feedback on your writing is to seek a beta read. They can be unpaid, and done by friends or contacts who are knowledgeable in the field you’re writing about, such as industry colleagues, fellow writers or people in your target audience.

It’s good to get feedback from several different perspectives, so think about approaching three to five people. Consider the kind of feedback you need on your writing, and put together a list of specific questions for your readers (more on this here).

If you aren’t paying your readers, it’s a nice gesture to offer something by way of a thank you (perhaps a small gift, or reciprocal trade of your time), so have a think about that too and how you could give something back in return.

If you’re serious about publishing and want professional feedback on your work, you can approach an editor to provide manuscript assessment for you. They can read your text, comment on what might need to be done to pull it into shape, then return it to you for further thought and revision.

Assessment can be a cost-effective way to get notes and directional advice to help you meet your publishing goals.

The process of developing a manuscript can be intensive, but it will hone your work in a constructive, focused way. It draws out your strengths, identifies any areas to be addressed, and helps to make your writing and text the very best it can be.

Critique as an exercise should help, not hinder. Taken positively, it can strengthen your ability as a writer, as well as reinforce your sense of what you’re aiming to achieve.

8. Join the club
Writing is universal: people love to write, and they love reading it! The internet has been an absolute gift to writers, because everyone has easy access to so many online resources and communities to talk about it, get information and tutoring, share ideas, find inspiration and read others’ work.

When you’re ready – and especially if you are a newbie:

• Seek out online writing communities you like, and get interacting
• Chat with others about your passion for the written word, whatever genre
• Seek out blogs and comment, and encourage people to comment on yours
• Stay abreast of writing and creative industry topics
• Consider taking a writing course, such as the excellent ones provided by Arvon and Guardian Masterclasses.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions, it’s how we all learn. Experienced creatives will be flattered that you’re seeking their expert knowledge!

Just pick up that pen or put hand to keyboard, and make a start.

Write that first word, and keep going. It could be the best decision you’ve ever made.

For more superfast tips to boost your writing and editing,
check out my free mini-guides!

If you’ve decided to write, it can be difficult to know how to make a start.

Here’s the first of a two-parter to get you off the ground.

1. Be yourself
This is the foundation from which you’ll grow and nurture your writing practice.

People want to read an author whose voice is unique: the topic you’re dealing with might have been done a million times before, but it’s the way you’ll write about it that’s different and makes them want to follow your words.

So, find your voice. Understand from the outset that the mould’s already been broken by the authors you might be looking to emulate. Forget trying to be the next Orwell or Hemingway, because they’ve already been there, got the T-shirt and received international acclaim for it.

Plough your own furrow – it’ll be far more rewarding in the long run!

2. Practice makes perfect
This is about getting – and keeping – going. At first, just give yourself permission to play: write small pieces, fragments, get anything down you want to write about or feel at the time.

The topic doesn’t matter, and the piece doesn’t have to be pristine or fully formed. This is just about getting your creative juices flowing, and yourself into the habit of writing.

I freely admit: I’m not keen on the regime advocated by books such as The Artist’s Way, which stem from Dorothea Brande’s seminal 1930s writing bible, Becoming a Writer.

Both books have a great deal to offer in terms of creative practice, but committing to a fixed time every single morning (yes, it really does have to be in the morning, as soon as you get up!), when you must produce X number of pages or sit down to write for Y minutes, might work for some as a brain dump or creative exercise – but not everyone.

Modern life isn’t always conducive to being regimented by that kind of routine. Plus people actually have lives, kids and other important personal commitments to attend to first thing in the day.

My own creative temperament certainly isn’t: I work regular hours as an editor, and client projects come first. If you’re in a full-time job, a carer or running your own business, no doubt you’re in the same boat.

It’s about finding when’s best for you, then committing to showing up for that.

It could be a few paragraphs squeezed in after the school run and before the rest of your day, or getting up an hour earlier to put hand to keyboard. Maybe you can write longhand or tap away at your laptop in a quiet carriage on your commute to work.

Perhaps you’re a night owl and feel more energised in the evening, or more open to creative flow on weekends?

Don’t agonise over how or when you write – just do it when and where is best for you. You’ll see quick results and sow the seed for even more creativity which, when you start to feel it, can be a real boost.

3. Read all about it
There are acres of books and resources out there which can guide you in pretty much any genre and writing form you want. While they’re incredibly useful, sometimes they can be daunting to the new writer because they’re quite technical.

If you aren’t conversant with the art of literature or journalism yet, tackling a book on how to plot a novel or pitch that long investigative article to a broadsheet isn’t necessarily the best place to start.

Listen to yourself first: tap into your own inner process, get writing, then seek out the learning you need to craft your work. Then you’re in a good position to work in your chosen medium.

Part of this process is to read other writers – as many as you can. Look at their language and style. Ask yourself what you like or dislike about it, what draws you to it and why.

Be eclectic: try to experience lots of different writers in different media, so you can see what they do and how they do it.

4. Go exploring

Willingness to experience internal spirit of adventure is a fundamental aspect of writing, but you don’t necessarily have to ‘sail away from the safe harbor’, as Mark Twain said – at least not at the outset!

Writing is a personal voyage, but taking baby steps towards your destination is absolutely fine.

Being open to inspiration, willing to try new things, is all grist to the creative mill – one of the easiest ways you can do it is to start a blog.

Writing regularly is good, because it exercises your creative muscles and helps you form disciplined habits.

At a Guardian masterclass on feature writing I attended, a magazine editor advised us that every writer should have a blog. It’s a great place to explore story ideas and test out your writing.

Short pieces like blog posts aren’t taxing to put together time-wise – a few hours at most – but they can actually take more skill to produce than longform, because there’s less space to cover your topic.

Short form is excellent training because it encourages you to really hone your text, drill down on structure, content and message, and look at what is or isn’t working.

What blog posts should not be is unfocused mind-spill. (Only the Beat Poets did stream of consciousness well, and even then it isn’t always that digestible!)

The key is: be prepared. Always carry a notebook or notetaking app on your phone to record ideas and thoughts, anything that occurs to you.  Apps like Notion, Pocket or Evernote are really useful for this.

Make sure you do it at the time, as ideas are best captured when they’re fresh – it’s important not to lose them, as you invariably might during a busy day! Then, expand and test them out later in a blog post.

The next four will follow soon. Stay tuned, and happy writing!

For more superfast tips to boost your writing and editing,
check out my free mini-guides!

Diversity and inclusion (DEI) has become a bit of a hot topic in editing.

Editors and publishers are actively discussing it, thinking about language and how individuals and communities are represented in the content we work on.

I’d like to share with you a practical example of positive reading for DEI, to show how and why it can be helpful for your book.

DEI in a family context
Over the last year or so, I’ve worked on a few scripts by different authors that referenced family situations. As part of the read, I found myself highlighting some potential diversity gaps in the content for the authors to look at and consider.

To be clear, just in case this might be interpreted as a political flag to wave or drum to bang (which would be an incorrect assumption!), I did it because it was obvious from the writing that the view was very much through the authors’ personal lens and their own lives – they simply weren’t aware of this, which is fine.

Here’s another reason why I delivered those notes: these days, diverse lives are a fact. Families are no longer necessarily the traditionally married, co-parented, nuclear norm. And how individuals are raised can manifest in so many ways: for example, some might have been orphaned, adopted, fostered or raised in care, or by a lone parent or perhaps an older-generation relative.

But also – and importantly – I noted this for the authors to consider because not including those potential audiences can be bad for business. It’s key to bear in mind that people from those backgrounds could well be reading their books.

If those readers don’t see themselves there, they might question whether the book is actually relevant to them (and perhaps feel excluded, possibly even silenced).

A book that isn’t inclusive of the diverse readership of today may not sell as well, or speak to as full an audience as it might.

It’s relevant to mention further that I wasn’t only referring to LGBTQIA+ communities in my notes. In the context of family, I also noted individuals who are child-free by choice and childless not by choice.

Childlessness can be a highly sensitive issue for readers, because pronatal language and scenarios assuming successful, natural reproductive ability as the norm – even as a/the definition of womanhood – can be deeply upsetting for those who have gone through the distress of, say, IVF or miscarriage.

(And of course, it’s worth highlighting that human reproduction isn’t the life choice of those who’ve taken a happy, conscious decision to be child-free.)

All the authors I was collaborating with took these constructive notes well. One told me how much she was enjoying the general process of working through the feedback and revising her script: in fact, exchanging thoughts on this particular point helped both of us clarify the book’s audience, and how to address them, even better.

The others responded positively too: one assimilated my suggestions for increased reach, while the other commended the feedback and went on to revise their script.

Is DEI in publishing really a ‘threat’?
Perhaps it’s useful just for argument’s sake, if we posit DEI reading as a ‘threat’, to think about why that might appear to be the case.

The thing about DEI is that it can present us with a different perspective from our own lived experience, and sometimes that can feel alien or uncomfortable.

Equality is now enshrined in UK law under the Equality Act 2010, which protects certain characteristics from discrimination and covers a range from age, sexuality and gender to disability, religion/belief, race/ethnicity and more. This is something that editors are obliged to look for and note, if it does happen to turn up in a script from a legal viewpoint.

Unfortunately, there has also been unhelpfully negative, knee-jerk sensationalism over sensitivity reading and DEI in publishing. Some of the brouhaha in recent times (such as this) isn’t fully representative of how authors are engaging productively with this topic, or the way that editors are working with them in this area on a day-to-day basis.

There is no need to feel confronted by, or afraid of, what DEI might present. It isn’t about getting in people’s faces; rather, a more gentle, measured and collaborative process.

What is true is that we’ve reached the stage where the written word needs to reflect (and in many cases, actively respect, due to historic wrongs), the reality of many lived experiences.

Put simply: when we publish, we can’t operate in a vacuum anymore.

DEI isn’t censorship
Let’s be clear: no good editor runs a bowdlerising pen over an author’s work – ever.

That isn’t our job or right in any respect.

However, it is perhaps relevant for author preparedness to be open to editorial notes. I’m not an authenticity or sensitivity reader by trade, but I’ve already incorporated inclusivity and terminology awareness into my work for some time as a matter of course – specifically per the legal aspect above, which is part of an expected (and accepted) commissioned editing brief.

It’s helpful for editors to work with writers on certain elements of language and representation, and to share why they’re so key to a fully-rounded result.

We want your book to be under as many noses as possible, and to sell well!

My job as an editor is to advocate for both author and reader. The book sets the intention, and how the reader is going to receive that is a crucial factor in its projected success. My neutral viewpoint gives a window on the text that helps to make the result an engaging, productive and useful experience for every reader.

Editors only suggest, and leave it to the author to decide.

Ultimately, the name on the cover shoulders what’s inside. It’s the author’s book, and we’re clear about that.

What happens after that is all part and parcel of the process of putting our words out there into the world.

ChatGPT is everywhere. On the internet. On social media. On your phone.

When new shiny new technology comes along, it’s so easy to be caught up in the excitement of it all. Something that’s going to help take the strain, make our lives easier, help us achieve our goals.

Great!

Thing is, this line has been spun over and over again since the mid-twentieth century about new advances in tech.

Remember those futurist TV programmes from the 1960s that depicted space-age humans in silver jumpsuits relaxing in white acrylic egg chairs, eating pills for lunch and living in wired homes where you could talk to your very own HAL 9000, while robots waited on you hand-and-foot?

At least some of it came true. We’re still not subbing capsules for cauliflower (although adaptogens exist), and we have smart hubs and the Internet of Things, where your fridge can tell you what you need to buy at the grocery store, and play Spotify while you whip up dinner.

But no, technology hasn’t brought us a completely easier life. Now we have to deal with the added complication (and malfunctioning) of all of this stuff we use.

Now we have yet another new technology that’s sweeping the globe – and is a major game-changer.

Everyone seems to be raving about ChatGPT… or are they?
The more we learn about what AI chatbots can do, frankly the more worrying it’s become.

How does this relate to writers? Well, you can use AI to lift you out of creative block with writing prompts, or help outlining your copy.  You can use it to get fresh ideas on a topic too.

OK, that’s useful! But what are the downsides?
Recently, the Washington Post (WaPo) published an article reporting ChatGPT going down a very dark path.

The WaPo reported that a lawyer ran a search for student sexual harassment cases, and encountered something extremely disturbing. ChatGPT dutifully came up with a list: the problem is, it named a real law professor in that list who had never been accused of the crime.

What’s worse, the lawyer found that the source stories at the WaPo for this alleged crime that ChatGPT cited do not exist.

Completely fabricated.

It isn’t hard to verify and disprove ChatGPT in areas such as the law, because this sector is so well reported in both mainstream media and official law reports – it has to be, for research and precedent purposes.

Obviously, this raises questions over just how reliable this program is for research: how it can drum up untruths from literally nowhere. More seriously, how highly plausible those untruths are, and their very real capacity to damage innocent people’s reputations.

What creatives are really saying about AI
I posted about this on LinkedIn, and the responses from fellow creatives – copywriters, writers, editors and others – simply added to an already-alarming picture.

Stories of using ChatGPT for research and finding that it had made up entire articles, DOI numbers (the unique reference number that publishers use to catalogue journal articles), citations and more.

Stories that when pressed and prompted further, it continued to produce the same non-existent references.

Colleagues have reported in online groups and on social media that when prompted skilfully, ChatGPT can produce computer ransomware. It can even give you something as horrific (and illegal) as bomb-making recipes and Holocaust denial.

My LinkedIn post went viral – which shows just how concerned creative and business professionals are about this technology and its potential in promoting unfettered disinformation. Especially among members of the public who don’t fact-check, but tend to take technology at face value.

The emerging stories descended further when BBC Sport reported that Anne Hoffmann, editor-in-chief of Die Aktuelle, a German newspaper, had been fired for using AI to drum up false quotes in a fake exclusive story about injured former Formula 1 driver, Michael Schumacher.

Lawsuits against AI companies have started
Defamation cases are being brought against OpenAI for disinformation in ChatGPT about real individuals, argued to be causing them reputational harm.

And artists have launched action against AI companies Midjourney, StabilityAI and DeviantArt for appropriation of their work. Wired magazine reported in late April that an upcoming ruling in the US Supreme Court could overturn fair use of images, affecting AI generators’ right to scrape existing work to create new ones.

The ruling has now been given, but it hasn’t set a clear precedent on law which could apply to AI reuse. It actually muddies the waters further, and doesn’t help people wanting to be clear whether they’re in breach by using image-creation programs such as Midjourney and Dall-E.

Altered reuse of images and artwork has always been a thorny area of intellectual property law to navigate. Often, cases stand on individual circumstances and the merits.

But now that regulation and test cases are coming to the fore over AI, your fun meme, social media carousels and posts, blog images and even website pictures could still risk being in breach without your even knowing it.

What issues do you need to know about AI and ChatGPT?

1. You can’t trust it to come up with reliable results.
The problem is that a lot of AI doesn’t just draw from a corpora of existing content and deliver that with links or existing, recognisable references. It amalgamates the results and churns out whatever it has created itself.

It’s great at telling stories. The problem is, those stories aren’t real.

I tested ChatGPT on analysis of poetry. Not only was the unpacking completely inaccurate, it quoted lines that don’t exist in the original verse.

This has ramifications for literary and creative writing too. If you’re researching a story, poem or other creative work, how can you rely on what’s there when it doesn’t even reference the actual text properly?

If you’re using ChatGPT to assist your writing, be sure to fact-check what it delivers.

Good journalism counts, and being able to verify everything that goes into your own copy is basic work that shouldn’t be overlooked, just because a machine generated it.

Be sure to find a good primary source, and use that as your reference instead.

2. You can’t trust it to operate inside the law.
Judging by the WaPo article, AI has the ability to openly and inaccurately name, implicate and defame. This also has potentially serious ramifications for doxxing and individual personal safety.

When drawing on AI-generated content in your writing, these are major red flags that shouldn’t be ignored.

If you’re working with a copy-editor, they’ll be able to help you identify anything in your text which could be legally problematic for publication, but fundamentally it’s the author’s responsibility to be fully across their content.

Your name is on the article or the cover, so it’s important to be aware of what AI chatbots can come up with here.

3. You could be liable for representing yourself as an author, when you actually aren’t.
Because AI chatbots draw from an existing corpora of content, they’re creating output from other works, which could mean plagiarism and intellectual property violation.

The risk here is that in using that content, writers may be representing themselves as its author without crediting the original work from which it derives. ChatGPT won’t tell you where it’s drawn that content from, so how are you supposed to know?

Moreover, at present, content created by AI can’t be copyrighted, because it’s machine-made. Copyright requires the substantial input of a human to confer legal right to paternity.

According to current law, anyone attempting to game the publishing industry as a ‘writer’ with articles or even entire books generated by ChatGPT do not actually own them. It is already happening, and their byline and credit are fake.

The only way to combat this is to be completely authentic. Write and own all of your content yourself.

4. You could be compromising confidential information.
It’s well-known now that if you paste copy into checking programs (e.g. plagiarism, writing and grammar checkers), that copy is no longer secure. You’re risking its privacy.

For example, some plagiarism checkers upload content and keep it to build a database: it can be recognised by other searches.

The same goes for AI chatbots (and image creators). Experts have been warning about the risks of entering sensitive company data and financials into them too, because AI chatbots use the information you input to train themselves. It becomes their corpora.

If AI/ChatGPT is being integrated into any other tools you use, be sure to check how that’s happening. Look for an option to refuse information-sharing with the AI company: it needs to be clear in the program’s interface, so you can click ‘decline’ and block any data you don’t want them to have.

If that option isn’t immediately obvious, contact the provider and ask them to clarify their policy and protection systems on AI. If they don’t have one, that’s a red flag.

Make sure your data isn’t going anywhere it shouldn’t. And never input confidential, personal, sensitive or important business information into any AI chatbot!

Bottom line: can you really trust AI chatbots with your writing?
So far, it seems that if you’re using them for basic, harmless tasks such as the ones mentioned above around generating ideas and outlining, fine.

But from on-the-ground reports of how Chat GPT is behaving around other, more serious aspects, it appears not.

Countries such as Italy have imposed a pause on AI chatbot usage until it’s possible to fully understand and identify their capabilities, which is a sane and sensible way forward. And regulation is under way in the EU to ensure that suitable controls are put in place.

However, the horse is already out of the stable… and bolted. The law needs to catch up – fast.

If you do want to use AI chatbots and image creators, proceed with caution.

Don’t be the person who blithely latches on to shiny new tech toys, rather than treating them like flawed betas that need to be treated circumspectly until proven legally compliant, functional and fit for purpose.

As a creative, making that mistake could cost you more than you realise.

Does jargon drive you up the wall?

A classic example for many in business writing is managementspeak. The economics journalist, Robert Peston, has a particular kind of loathing for meaningless business jargon. Especially when it’s used to dress up situations which aren’t quite as nice as they might appear.

As he points out: ‘Downsizing = sacking people.  Achieving cost synergies = sacking people.’ And so on…

As a professional editor, I’m trained to be measured and ensure the writing I work with for authors both conveys what they want to say and is clear for all their lovely readers.

But in my own everyday life, when it gets in the way of trying to understand really important things, my patience becomes – how can I put this? – ever so slightly strained…

Example: I was at a pharmacy to pick up a prescription. After taking my name, the assistant said:

‘OK, let me just see if that’s been disbanded.’

I have no idea what that means. I wait. She comes back.

‘I’m afraid we can’t get hold of that, it’s not on our system, you could try elsewhere – I’ll have to stripe it.’

Still absolutely no idea. So I politely ask: ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re saying?’

‘I’ll have to stripe it so it can be sent back. Just wait here and I’ll do what’s necessary to process it.’

What’s happening now – the prescription was sent direct online from my health centre. Is she returning it there? She reemerges with the script and hands it to me.

It has a handwritten note on it: ‘striped’. I leave, completely confused.

When you’re writing for your own tribe, generally they will know what you mean. They have the same level of education and information, and use the same terminology in their own work, so it’s reasonably safe to assume that ‘terms of art’ – the specialist lexicon used in your sector – won’t go over their heads.

The problem with jargon comes into play when you’re communicating something outside of your tribe – especially to the general public.

Here, it’s key to avoid the ‘curse of knowledge‘, which is assuming your reader has the same level of understanding as you as the subject-matter expert.

In reality this might not be the case, so using jargon and failing to explain what it stands for is a no-no.

The solution is to put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Ask yourself:

• What is my readers’ level of understanding – where should I pitch my text?
• Will they be familiar with the terms I’m using?
• What do I need to do to make sure my content is clear for them?

The safest course is to assume nothing and explain, otherwise your writing could leave them head-scratching. Worse still, jargon can irritate, exclude and even disengage them from your valuable input.

It’s counterproductive – works against your very laudable intention to help and inform your audience.

It also kills your message. The first rule of communication is clarity!

If you do need to use sector-specific terms for a lay audience, just be sure to define them at first mention so your readers can stay with you.

An audience doesn’t necessarily have to know specialist terms of art to access that kind of content – but if that is the case, the onus is on the author to actively clarify for them what it actually means.

If you’re unsure whether your content does translate or might be unclear, it’s always a good idea to get someone in your target audience to review it and give feedback.

This is key, because if you ask an industry colleague – especially someone who’s experienced – they can give you feedback on the expertise your content contains, but they’ll already know your industry lingo. They may fall into the curse of knowledge trap too… which isn’t the purpose of this exercise.

Beta reading is always a good thing to do whenever you’re publishing a book. If anything is confusing or unclear, your test readers can let you know. That’s a cue to go back and rework your text to make it crystal clear for publication.

For more superfast writing and editing tips, check out my handy mini-guides – they’re free!

Genius is the capacity for receiving and improving by discipline.

So said George Eliot, some 150 years ago. Eliot is the author of Middlemarch – one of the finest novels in the English language.

The thing is, life moves much more quickly today than it did back then. We suffer from information overload, sidetracked and distracted, with not nearly enough hours in the day.

We can find ourselves struggling with very real competing demands on our time, while still needing to fit in writing alongside whatever else we might have to do. For many, that can be a full-time job and/or caring responsibilities, running a business and other key commitments.

Fundamentally, getting it done boils down to three things: structure, discipline and focus.

Structure
Organising what precious time we do have is so important – whether it’s an overall schedule for a writing project, or simply committing to be at our desk (or wherever we feel most comfortable to create) at a particular time, for a fixed period, to get those words down.

Naturally, this needs to be flexible and work for our individual circumstances, because routine should never mean imprisonment – and, of course, life has a habit of happening while we make other plans!

But chaos isn’t a great facilitator – regularity is.

Structure gives us the freedom from which to let our creativity flow and imagination run riot. The basics are taken care of so, like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, our minds are released to reach a higher place.

Structure also gives us the space for self-care, thinking time, relaxation and balance – all of which are as just as important to our creative process as activity itself.

Discipline
As Eliot’s quote implies, we master our work by rolling up our sleeves and getting on with it. Refining our technique, self-editing, being rigorous: applying ourselves day-in, day-out.

Fundamentally, it’s about showing up in our own process and committing to whatever’s necessary to create.

It’s no coincidence that we call this our ‘practice’: our method and approach. Being dedicated to our craft, willing to learn, seek guidance and critique, try new things and face down those inevitable moments of self-doubt and insecurity.

Truly disciplined creatives show up regardless of how they’re feeling. At the end of an hour or so they might still be staring at a blank screen, or paper as white as snow, but they accept this is part of the process.

They might take a break, ease off and let their minds rest – but they come back and try again.

The difference between the successful and unsuccessful creative is discipline. As the writer Stephen King says, waiting for the muse is a waste of time:

Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.

While we’re twiddling our thumbs, hoping for lightning to strike, we could actually be writing. That old adage about backsides on seats is only too true here.

Staying power is what gets you to that last full stop of your manuscript. The sense of achievement is palpable – and wonderful.

Focus
This is about our sense of purpose: how and where we choose to direct our energy. So much potential for fantastic work can be frittered away through lack of focus and attention.

• Are we scattergun in our approach, or laserlike?
• Do we have a clear idea of what we’re going to achieve, what we’ve set for ourselves?
• Have we sketched out a plan of how we’re going to make a start and see it through?

Our ability to be productive relies on focus as much as discipline and structure. We might be showing up each day but if our work lacks focus, we might just as well be whistling in the wind.

As a writer, you know you already have the energy and ideas to make really exciting, original work. You have the motivation to reach and inspire others. Structure, discipline and focus are the tools to help you get where you need to go.

If you’re finding it difficult to shape your writing life, try putting these in place one at a time.

1. Focus – think about what you want to achieve and how.
2. Structure – give yourself the practical, day-to-day framework to implement it.
3. Discipline – commit to showing up to do that work.

The chances are you’ll find your productivity goes through the roof.

You’ll feel more organised and inspired.

The celebrated violinist and conductor, the late, great Yehudi Menuhin, said:

Do we not find freedom along the guiding lines of discipline?

As a great artist, he should know.