Writing Magazine

Better writing NOW

I’ve been writing the Under the Microscope pieces for around ten years now and I’ve noticed certain patterns. Apprentice writers always struggle with the same things – sometimes for years. But imagine if you could solve all of those problems in one go. You’d be a better writer almost instantly and save years of workshopping or rejections from agents and publishers.

This is not a fanciful notion. Most of the reasons for ineffective prose are simply addressed – often in a matter of minutes. The difficulty is twofold. One: accepting that one has a problem. Two: identifying exactly what the problems are and how to address them. The first is up to you. The second is my aim in this article.

Punctuation

I’ll be quite honest: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a piece of work from an apprentice writer who understood the rules of

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Writing Magazine

Writing Magazine3 min read
Get Published
In the 1970s and 80s horror fiction was huge, the genre dominated by bestselling titles by Stephen King and James Herbert, writes Gary Dalkin. Shelves were filled with books by Ramsey Campbell, Shaun Hutson, Brian Lumley, Mark Morris, Stephen Laws a
Writing Magazine4 min read
Short Story Competitions
Win prizes for short stories up to 3,000 words. The Fiction Factory Short Story Competition is inviting short fiction in any genre apart from children’s and YA. Enter original, unpublished short stories up to 3,000 words. The prizes are TBA. The entr
Writing Magazine3 min read
Madeleine Milburn
Madeleine Milburn taught English in Germany after graduating from St Andrews University. However, after a chance connection with a woman running a small independent publishing company, she changed jobs and learned all about the Frankfurt Book Fair an

Related Books & Audiobooks