Category Archives: Tips on writing

Five Tips to Stay Inspired With Your Writing

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Della Galton

Got an idea for a story? Write more than one opening paragraph – it takes the pressure off having to get it perfect. Keep writing openings until you feel the inspiration kick in.  This can sometimes take me a while. … Continue reading →

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Is Your Writing Smelly Enough?

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Della Galton

Using the senses in your writing, especially the sense of smell, really helps to take the reader into your story.  However, it’s just as easy  to be cliché with smells as with any other writing so choose carefully and be … Continue reading →

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Writing With Emotion – Four Top Tips

Posted on December 27, 2015 by Della Galton

Writers are in the business of selling emotion. I forget who said that, but it’s true. We read – or at least I do – because we want to feel something. We might want to feel amused, uplifted, scared, touched, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ice and a Slice, Inspiration, Tips on writing, Writing | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Six tips for writing shorts for Nanowrimo

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Della Galton

As I mentioned in my last blog I’m busy doing Nanowrimo this month. But as usual I’m writing 50k of short stories in November not a novel. This is more useful for me, being as shorts are my day job. … Continue reading →

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How do I stop my romances becoming predictable?

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Della Galton

Here’s another question from a recent postbag at Writers’ Forum. This one comes up quite a bit.  We’re talking fictional ones by the way! Q A common cause for the rejection of short stories (I know, because I’ve received many!) is … Continue reading →

Posted in Dear Della, Questions from Dear Della, Short stories for magazines, Tips on writing, Writing, Writing problems and solutions | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Tips on writing emotion

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Della Galton

Writers are in the business of selling emotion.  I don’t remember who said that, but it’s spot on. If a reader doesn’t emotionally connect with a character they won’t care about them and they won’t read on. So getting emotion … Continue reading →

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Finding Time To Write

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Della Galton

As every writer knows, there are always a dozen more pressing things to do than actually write.  But if you really want to, then you will find the time.  Below are some suggestions which I have found helpful. What time … Continue reading →

Posted in Tips on writing, Writing | 4 Comments

Submitting stories to magazines – should I send a cover letter?

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Della Galton

Here is another question from my Dear Della page that I get asked regularly. Q Whenever I submit a short story to a magazine, I give basic details and contact information on the cover sheet. Is it always necessary to … Continue reading →

Posted in Dear Della, Questions from Dear Della, Short stories for magazines, Tips on writing, Writing | 6 Comments

Happy Ever After – or is it? How do you get a good end?

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Della Galton

For me, endings have always been the most difficult thing to get right.  But a bad ending can ruin an otherwise excellent story. There are all sorts of bad endings. You probably recognise most of these. They don’t really need … Continue reading →

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Three Questions I Get Asked About Short Stories

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Della Galton

Q How do I make my stories less predictable? Particularly if I’m using a common theme, for example, romance? What can be done to stop the reader from working out that the boy and girl who meet at the beginning … Continue reading →

Posted in Dear Della, Questions from Dear Della, Tips on writing, Writing | 9 Comments