Royal Literary Fund Consultant Fellows

Many writers are guilty of rambling – it’s a common mistake. There’s an easy way to check y0ur writing to see if you’re rambling – and luckily, it is straightforward to fix too. This is the last top tip of 2016. More in the New Year! https://rlfconsultants.com/rambling-best-left-for-the-outdoors/

This week’s hint for writers is from RLF Consultant Fellow Anne Wilson, talking about how to gain a sense of empathy with your readers. As a children’s non-fiction author, I always consider how a child is going to approach my book. I imagine he or she will probably look at the pictures first, so the captions need to

Working with students, many of them tell me that they find the hardest thing is organising their thoughts. It’s tempting to rush straight into a writing task so that you feel you’re getting on with it, but spending time planning and structuring your writing is time well spent and saves time in the long run.

This week, RLF Consultant Fellow Chris Simms says that any skill can be mastered once it is broken down into simple steps – and that includes good writing skills. It is simply a myth that some people can write and others can’t. And as writers, we continue to learn all the time, from our own reading and from

When I was talking to the children at Winnersh Primary School last week, I advised them to read their work aloud to make sure it made sense and sounded good. I find this is essential. I usually find errors in the first paragraph of my writing. In my eagerness to get started, that first paragraph

This week, RLF Consultant Fellow Trevor Days talks about getting constructive feedback on your work before you send off your manuscript to the editor. Before you press the ‘send’ button, it’s always helpful to have another reader check  your writing to spot errors, inconsistencies or awkward writing that you have glossed over yourself. My readers usually

This week’s top tip for writers from RLF Consultant Fellow Esther Selsdon is aimed at students who get tied up in knots with their writing and lose track of what they’re actually trying to say. I also think it’s good to encourage students to collaborate and read each other’s work. And it’s helpful for all

This week’s RLF Consultant Fellows’ What’s happening? blog comes from Marina Benjamin. Whatever you are writing a novel, a thesis or a non-fiction book, you need to find your voice as an author. To do this, you bring your own subjectivity to your work: the filters that colour everything you think, see, remember and value

When you’re writing, it’s very hard to be objective. In today’s RLF Consultant Fellows’ Top Tip, author Jen Green explains how you can create a sense of distance from your own work. She also advises against inserting bits of research at the last minute. I would also advise printing out your near final draft –