Hey, I've been there!

[John Dean]

What makes for good writing? Well, I think that good writing works because it triggers responses in its readers. The best writers get into the head of their readers (it is the theme of a creative writing course I am due to deliver in Kirkudbright, starting in a few days, and a ghost fiction workshop I am due to deliver in a haunted Scottish castle on Halloween).

I think writing works best when readers say ‘I have been in that situation, ‘I know someone like that’, ‘what a terrible thing to be faced with’ etc etc.

If readers feel like that, it means that they are being drawn into the story. They stand next to your characters, they fear for what is about to happen, they must know what is on the next page.

If a reader does not really care what is happening in the story then you have lost them and your story has failed but, if they feel part of it, they are experiencing the sheer power of the writer. That’s a terrific thing to achieve - and the way to impress publishers and competition judges. Oh, and readers!

If you wish to find out more about my courses, you can do so by visiting the section on the home page.