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!
THE FICTION DOCTOR’S PHARMACOPOEIA : diagnosing symptoms and treating the diseases in your own or someone else's manuscript
THE TEN STRUCTURAL EDITS I MOST OFTEN SUGGEST : what it says on the tin. (£)
THE TEN LINE-EDITS I MOST OFTEN SUGGEST : what it says on the tin.
THE TEN THINGS WHICH MOST OFTEN GO WRONG WITH BEGINNER’S FICTION : what it says on the tin.
Itchy Bitesized 34: TEN THINGS WHICH MOST OFTEN GO WRONG WITH HISTORICAL FICTION : what it says on the tin.
Itchy Bitesized 10: TEN REASONS TO READING YOUR WORK ALOUD
MAKE FRIENDS WITH SYNOPSIS-WRITING : Why synopses are the perfect tool for developing and editing as well as selling your writing (£)
WRITING SYNOPSES FOR YOURSELF : perhaps the single best way to work out a plot, take an overview of a story, or un-scramble a novel that's got in a muddle.
Itchy Bitesized 32: TAMING YOUR DRAFT : are you drowning in scenes, files, feedback, hopes, dreads? This will help.
TACKLING REVISIONS AND EDITS : feeling as if you've got to eat an elephant, and your spoon is too small? Here's help.
Itchy Bitesized 40: THE SIX Ps OF REVISING AND EDITING
DON’T FIDDLE : how to stop yourself endlessly tweaking, poking, mini-editing and getting in a muddle, and instead keep moving steadily forward.
OVERWRITING: has someone told you your work is over-written? : here is what they might mean, and what you can do about it.
WHEN ‘WRONG’ WORDS ARE THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE : and how to diagnose what the real problem is. (£)
Itchy Bitesized 25: BEWARE OF HIDDEN METAPHORS
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS : why you're so often told to cut them, and why you shouldn't (always) cut them
Itchy Bitesized 38: NINE THOUGHTS ABOUT DESCRIPTION
HAVE YOU HEARD THE ONE ABOUT "WAS"OPHOBIA? : why cutting "was" from your writing isn't just a stupid idea, it's also a dangerous mis-taking.
Itchy Bitesized 12: DON'T PULL YOUR WRITING'S TEETH
REVISIONS: Taking down the scaffolding : many writers find it hard to spot the things which needed to be in the first draft, but must be fished out in revision. Here's how to spot them.
Itchy Bitesized 9: THREE THINGS ABOUT FILTERING a.k.a. HD FOR YOUR WRITING
‘FILTERING’: HD for your writing : an unhelpful name for the single, simplest way to revise your writing into greater vividness.
FILTERING, SCAFFOLDING & HOW TO PERFORM AN EXPLAIN-ECTOMY : more about how to get rid of the extra clutter which is blurring and smudging your story's impact.
THE WAKING-UP OPENING : Why it’s so natural, and so often a bad idea.
CUTTING, CONDENSING & FILLETING: what to do when your story is much too long.
WHEN DO YOU STOP REVISING? : how do you know you're not sending it off half-baked, without getting stuck in an endless loop of fixing things?
WRITE YOUR FIRST NOVEL Part Six: Revising 1
WRITE YOUR FIRST NOVEL Part Nine: Revising 2
