Happy 4th Birthday to Boldwood Books, to celebrate here are 4 writing tips from me

I’ve been with Boldwood since just before their 2nd birthday – we celebrated birthday number 2 in an online Zoom. It was fab. Since then, I’ve met many of the authors and the ‘team’ behind the success of Boldwood in person. And, the other members of the Warrior Chronicles, Donovan, Peter, JC Duncan and me, try and have a chat once a month to share our knowledge, chat about random things and generally have a giggle. So, in the spirit of that, here are 4 (well 4.5) writing tips from me.

1. WRITE – it sounds stupid, but I do think it’s important to write, if not every day, then when you can fit it in. Routine is super important. As is setting yourself boundaries and deadlines. So, if you want to be a writer, you must write. It doesn’t have to be every day. It doesn’t have to be loads. If you’re struggling with the element of being an author that is writing, then I highly recommend taking part in NaNoWriMo in November of each year. I’ve been taking part for about ten years now. The lessons learned about routine will stay with you – and when they don’t – well, you can hop back on the NaNoWriMo train the following year.
2. BELIEVE IN YOUR WRITING – again, this might sound stupid, but it’s something I’m only really just starting to do. I’ve always been a little embarrassed by it all. And yes, there’s a very thin line between believing in it and being OTT about it – tread carefully.
3. PIVOT IF YOU MUST – my intention was always to write historical fantasy. When that didn’t work out as I quite expected, I moved to historical fiction – yes, it’s not that much of a move away, but it does mean I’ve had to stop putting dragons in my story.
4. NOT EVERYTHING WORKS – as I said above my first love is fantasy but that didn’t quite work out. Equally, I’ve tried to write other stories over the year and for one reason or another, they didn’t work. I have a number of unfinished manuscripts – a Tudor-esque fantasy, a sort of space-opera thing, and a more personal story – that I’ve started, many times, but for one reason or another, the time isn’t right for those stories, or the stories aren’t right for this time. As above – pivot if you must. You can, hopefully, always tell THAT story in another way, or if not, use elements of THAT story elsewhere. Which brings me to point 4.5 – never permanently delete anything:)

Happy 4th birthday Boldwood Books, and happy writing everyone!

(I’m going to share another post about my four most influential authors later today- you might not be surprised by how ‘fantasy’ they all are).

Author: MJ Porter, author

I'm a writer of historical fiction (Early England/Viking and the British Isles as a whole before 1066, as well as three 20th century mysteries), and a nonfiction title about the royal women of tenth century England. View all posts by MJ Porter, author