Blog: Mel's Muse

The Power Of Platform: How To Promote Your Product Without Being Pushy

As a writer, and author of books, do you ever feel - as I have done - that when it comes to promoting your product, you simply don't have it in you? The prospect of booking speaking engagements is beyond you. The possibility of standing before an audience...

Posted at 08:02am on 6th November 2019

The Battle Of Conflict - My Writers' Group's Take On Story

BATTLE - OUR GROUP BOOK

The main focus of our meeting this morning - midst laughter and chat - was the final construction and distribution of the booklet we have put together as a group. Titled Battle, and told in narrative, poetic and comic form, the theme confronts some of...

Posted at 11:21am on 23rd October 2019

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Book Club Discussion: The Storyteller By Jodi Picoult & An Elegant Solution By Anne Atkins

Talk about being a lousy leader!

'We might find Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller a lighter summer read, rather than the one I first suggested,' I wrote to my Book Club.

That email was closely followed by another saying, 'Oh, no! Perhaps not. Some of the reviews say it is...

Posted at 09:25am on 20th September 2019

Creative Writing Workshop: Characteristic Conflict

In the last Creative Writing Workshop, we looked at the way in which we can go about Creating Credible Characters. Now I'm going to show you how you can bring creativity to the way you construct conflict. This is crucial when it comes to writing fiction and memoir...

Posted at 10:43am on 3rd August 2019

Creative Writing Workshop: Creating Credible Characters

When we looked at the issue of Crafting Character in the last Creative Writing Workshop, I said that Characters - whether in fiction or true-life stories - need:

Credibility - to be true to life Creativity - in the way they respond to conflict Complexity - the depth which makes them three dimensional

So...

Posted at 04:22am on 27th July 2019

Creative Writing Workshop: Crafting Character

Today we're going to look at Crafting Character, and its importance in terms of plot and theme. This was the topic of the previous post in this series - the way in which The Riverbed of Theme runs through the narrative of a story, be it fictional or memoir....

Posted at 04:18am on 26th July 2019

Creative Writing Workshop: The Riverbed Of Theme

We began this Creative Writing Workshop by asking Are You On The Right Track? We then moved on to think about the necessity of Digging Deep for Plots. I trust you found the list of prompts helpful - i.e. considering a modern take on a Bible story or...

Posted at 06:28am on 20th July 2019

What's Wrong With Human Rights? By David Cross - Book Club Summary

Quotes from the book are in italics.

Never, before, have I made so many highlights in a book! As my Book Club members said when we met yesterday evening, this was certainly a narrative that opened up debate, on a subject not often discussed. With so much material to...

Posted at 10:20am on 13th July 2019

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Can Drama Be An Aid To Wellbeing?

Oh, yes! BAFTA winning actress, Jessica Hynes, who starred in the BBC Comedy Drama W1A, with Hugh Bonneville, is campaigning for drama to be given greater prominence in schools. This, she believes, can boost mental health and wellbeing in young people. I'm convinced that she is right....

Posted at 09:37am on 30th May 2019

Bodacious The Shepherd Cat By Suzanna Crampton

'What I love about Book Club, is that it makes me read books I might never, otherwise, have chosen.'

So said one member of our group when we met, yesterday, to discuss our take on Bodacious, The Shepherd Cat. How right she was! A book, supposedly written by a...

Posted at 09:43am on 16th May 2019

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