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Improbable Press Blog — Natalie Conyer

Why Write What You Know Also Means Write What You Don't

Atlin Merrick Encouragement Natalie Conyer

Why Write What You Know Also Means Write What You <em>Don't</em>

Write what you know. Before I get to the debate I had with award-winning crime novelist Natalie Conyer on the ridiculous advice above, I'm flapping my arms over a lovely example of why you should write what you don't know: Úna Woods' Have You Seen the Dublin Vampire? Look at that cover! People rushing across Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge, while a glorious vampire in full regalia stands in their midst. Why I find this book a sweet encapsulation of write what you don't know (while building from what you do) is that Woods set her story in and around Dublin –...

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Stop Editing Your Book and Start Writing Rubbish

Atlin Merrick Natalie Conyer She Said/She Said

Stop Editing Your Book and Start Writing Rubbish

Atlin Merrick and Natalie Conyer share thoughts on writing, in their She Said/She Said series, entries alternating between Improbable Press and Clan Destine Press. NATALIE: For nearly four months now – yes, that’s right, four months – I’ve wrestled with the start of a new book. Every day I write something, agonise over it, pronounce it unworthy and delete it. It’s agony, and I’m getting nowhere.Then I realised I’m ignoring one of writing’s cardinal rules. I’ve been trying to produce the perfect draft straight up, instead of doing what all writers need to do; that is, to start off by...

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