If in exploring the Itch you meet a link which leads to Typepad’s ‘closed’ sign, don’t despair: virtually all important posts have in fact been migrated over here to Substack. We are still working our way through the massive job of updating the thousands of links in the hundreds of posts, but meanwhile just use the ‘search’ facility to find the Substack version of the post you’re looking for - and feel free to message us if you get stuck!
HOW LONG SHOULD THIS NOVEL BE? : And how much can you tell from ‘too long’ and other rejections for measurable reasons?
NOVELS VS SHORT STORIES : and why you don’t have to write the other one unless you don’t want to (£)
IS IT A BALLAD? IS IT A PLAY? : When a writing idea arrives, how do you know what form it should take?
WHAT IS LITERARY FICTION? : for writers, for readers, for the industry.
LITERARY SHOWING OFF : why it’s worth thinking about a fancy-pantsy, poncy, pleased-with-its-uber-literary-self book as a good book, at least temporarily
SO WHAT COUNTS AS HISTORICAL FICTION? : for writers, for readers, for the industry.
Itchy Bitesized 34: TEN THINGS THAT GO WRONG WITH HISTORICAL FICTION
HISTORICAL NOVEL? BIOGRAPHY? When is your life writing actually historical fiction, or vice versa?
CREATIVE NON-FICTION : including memoir, life writing, travel writing. What is it, and are you writing it?
CROSSING GENRES: The Perils and Pleasures : being rejected because your book is "neither one thing nor the other"? An exploration of the issues.
