Mark Charan Newton

It’s been on my mind, so I thought I’d dig up this old article on breaking writing rules, which is fantastic (and which I saw originally via Ursula Le Guin): The three most often repeated “rules of writing,” recited by rote and left uninvestigated and unchallenged in virtually every writing workshop and English class are [...]

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Amusing little article in The Atlantic: no, I’m talking about straight how-to books, most of which claimed to offer shortcut advice, practical instructions on “writing your say the genre,” and even in some cases “secrets” of the novelist’s or story writer’s or poet’s trade. That day, with Delores, I stood among the titles, amazed. Stack [...]

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To all aspiring writers: an idea, an experiment. Music gets remixed all the time, where an original track is altered by someone else. The new version can enhance that original piece, or sometimes tarnish it – but, mostly, something interesting is produced. Does the same work for literature? Is it simply re-writing? Who knows. So [...]

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I’ve yet to finish the copy edit, but here’s a flavour of City of Ruin. The prologue was first posted elsewhere, but chapter three hasn’t been seen yet. It’s new and shiny, and introduces a new character. Prologue It entered the deep night, a spider reaching taller than a soldier. Street by street, the thing [...]

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How do you write yours? Well, after a few years of hacking away with Microsoft Word, for my next book in the Red Sun series, I’ve decided to give Scrivener a go, and it’s proven to be a remarkable writing tool. Before I ramble on, this is a Mac program (come on, surely most writers [...]

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I’ve made it onto the social book site Goodreads. If you’re on there too, say hello. Don’t let me be Mr No Mates. Share:

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Twelve months ago, I was practically unknown online, and I had this weird little novel that no one could pronounce properly. Now, people still can’t pronounce it right, but at least I’ve got a bit of a name for myself. This blog has gone from having a several hundred hits a month, to nearly ten [...]

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The first extract from Book Two is available at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. Here’s a snippet: It entered the deep night, a spider reaching taller than a soldier. Street by street, the thing retched thick silk out of itself to cross the walls, using the fibrous substance to edge along improbable corners. Two, then four legs [...]

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Don’t get me wrong, I love writing books, and wouldn’t want to stop doing it. You’ll have to take this MacBook from my cold dead hands. But the medium of writing is a curious one, and there are some parts about the process which I really dislike. 1) I don’t like that you can’t improvise [...]

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How to write with style, an essay by a guy who knew what he was talking about. It’s a fascinating read, although I don’t agree with everything he says. Newspaper reporters and technical writers are trained to reveal almost nothing about themselves in their writings. This makes them freaks in the world of writers, since [...]

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I understand, when you’re putting pen to paper for the first time, the desire to become a published novelist. You maybe fancy yourself as a Bohemian type, having read the tales of Hemingway and Fitzgerald in Paris. There’s a deep sensation that’s difficult to explain – you write, and you want to see your words [...]

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The last post proved popular. Here are a few other things I didn’t quite know about being a writer. Perhaps I’ll be a little more open. You might not like what’s said. 1) Spin matters more than you think. Sometimes it matters which major magazine or newspaper reviewer is given your book. Like a lot [...]

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