Avril Silk

5th February 2025

Unfortunately many of us have any potential enthusiasm for poetry beaten out of us by the school system, this week Avril Silk explains why you shouldn't hate poetry and why it could be time to give it another chance.

29th January 2025

We need to talk! Avril Silk discusses how to use speech and conversation in your writing, drawing on her experiences of teaching, writing - and talking a lot.

22nd January 2025

Avril Silk offers some tips for editing your novel including reading your work out loud: "If you run out of breath, trust me, you need to use a full stop, comma, colon or semi-colon – or a dash!"

4th December 2024

Avril Silk tells us about her experiences of playwriting and theatre including her take on the untold story of Dickens character Estella Havisham, 'Beyond Expectations' which played to capacity audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe.

20th November 2024

Avril Silk talks abut writing routines and prompts, and she'd like to know, what have you got lurking at the back of your magic wardrobe?

6th November 2024

This week, Avril Silk talks about the potential benefits of deciding to work on two novels at the same time.

23rd October 2024

Avril Silk suggests that once we actually get going and things are flowing beautifully, as so frequently happens, then writing is one of the most amazing things you can do, so why do we procrastinate so much? And what can we do about it?

9th October 2024

Avril Silk ponders whether, having created a whole bunch of people – who will sometimes clamour to be written and sometimes indulge in sleeping like the dead – how do you feel about them? Suppose you met them in real life? Would you like them?

25th September 2024

Avril Silk has always been puzzled by the instruction to new writers to ‘write what you know.’ What if she wants to write about an alien goddess from the Planet Zog, half lizard, half-human, with superpowers and purple hair?

10th September 2024

"Pssst! I know something you don’t know, but I promise I’ll tell you if you keep going." - Avril Silk tells us the secret to writing a good secret!

14th August 2024

If something interests you so much that you work hard to turn it into a story, a poem, a play or a song, then the probability is that others will be interested. Anything you can do to enhance their enjoyment is worth doing. Even maps.

31st July 2024

This week, Avril Silk talks about the highs and lows of writing, with some tips for overcoming some of the things that may be stopping you from finishing that novel.