Writing can be a solitary activity but that doesn’t mean you’re on your own! These free guides, podcasts and interviews provide a wealth of advice, techniques and tips for being a more productive writer. Make sure you bookmark this page as we add new items every month.
If you’re looking for writing advice and support, you may also enjoy our short and self-paced courses and/or our 12-18-week tutored courses with 1-2-1 feedback.
Watch and listen to expert advice from writers including Jenny Offill, Kieron Gillen, Eimear McBride, Sarah Perry, download character and world building templates and explore topics from plot to character to dialogue.
Writing a novel requires stamina, resilience and an external eye. Getting started can be hard. It’s a little easier with advice from Laura Stimson, Julia Crouch and Sam Hacking.
Discover the methods of Eimear McBride, Jenny Offill, Motoyuki Shibata, Bregje Hofstede and Simon K Jones.
How can you bring your characters to life on the page? Sarah Perry, Michael Donkor and Joe Dunthorne share their tips. PLUS – download free character templates!
Nicola Upson, Okechukwu Nzelu, Inua Ellams and Simon K Jones share techniques for designing and wrangling plots.
Discover how to create your own unique worlds with Kieron Gillen, Abi Daré, Farhana Shaikh and Ian Nettleton.
How do you write engaging, convincing dialogue? Find out with Chris Beckett, Femi Kayode, Carys Davies, Hannah Berry and Taylor Beidler.
What is structure and why is it critical to the success of a story? Rob Shearman, Rebecca Watson and Chitra Ramaswamy have the answers.
Editing is critical to any successful novel. We talk to editors and writers about their process.
How we leave our characters is important and it can be hard to deliver a satisfying ending. Follow our guide to creating great conclusions.
Explore a range of research methods from desk research to more immersive and unusual ways of gathering insights and ideas.
Our selection of professional online writing courses are designed to give you more confidence as a writer, increase your productivity and better understand the writing process. Bite-sized chapters make it easy to progress even while balancing work, school or family commitments. All you need is a computer and a love of writing.
If you’ve always wanted to write more but find yourself getting distracted, or never finishing projects, then tutor Ben Johncock will point you in the right direction.
The world of publishing can be confusing and intimidating. This course is your map to navigating the different paths to publication, from the traditional to self-publishing.
All stories need good settings but science fiction has its own unique and particular needs, whether you’re writing in the past, an alternative present or the far future. This course guides you through classic sci-fi settings and explores ways to craft your own.
What to write short form poetry? Super-short forms of writing give us the gift of concision; the ability to drive straight to the beating heart of something.
Aki Schilz, editor and poet, guides you through new poetic forms, trends and traditions – including Instapoetry.
Our online courses offer young people the time to explore writing through fun, engaging prompts and activities – whether it’s poetry, prose or any other kind of writing they want to develop!
There’s always something new to learn about the nuts-and-bolts of writing. We’ve brought together a huge collection of advice from incredible writers.
An exclusive conversation between Margaret Atwood and local students Emily Webb and Grace Murray.
The editors of Granta explain how to maximise your chances of being noticed and published.
Costa Book of the Year award-winner Monique Roffey shares her techniques.
Crime writer and the originator of the term domestic noir explores how to engage your readers.
Amer Anwar’s advice for completing that first draft manuscript.
Nicola Upson, writer of the Josephine Tey series of crime novels, shares her secrets.
Want to write crime fiction? Don’t miss these essential tips from Julia Crouch.
Writer and tutor Eliza Roberton on how to write a short story.
Writer and tutor Mark McNay on how to get started as a writer.
Monique Roffey on her experience writing award-winning novels.
Writer and editor Lynne Bryan offers her advice on embarking on your first short story.
Ed Parnell discusses structuring his book Ghostland.
Watch our interview with Eimear McBride about her approach to writing.
Tips for researching difficult subjects, finding agents and working on a large project.
11 practical tips from the editors of Hinterland.
Simon K Jones on his favourite writing software and tools.
Detailed advice from published writers on how to create believable characters, design engaging plots and wrangle your novel’s form.
Claire McGowan on creating characters specifically for crime fiction novels.
Roz Watkins discusses developing characters over multiple books and how plans can change.
Winnie M Lee on structuring a book around a dual narrative.
Matt Wesolowski discusses his specific style of hybrid writing.
Nicola Upson on the challenge of writing historical crime fiction.
Michael Donkor explores how to create exciting characters.
Need some help with your characters? Grab our free templates!
Ayobami Adebayo discusses the creation of the characters in her debut Stay With Me.
Sara Collins discusses representation in fiction and her debut The Confessions of Frannie Langton.
The writer of The Essex Serpent shares her advice on character creation.
Okechukwu Nzelu explains his process for crafting a plot.
How to keep different elements of your novel connected.
Nicola Upson talks about her process for designing a good plot.
It doesn’t matter whether your story is set in the far future, the distant past or modern London – you’re going to need to depict a convincing world for your characters to inhabit.
Neon Yang explains the unique world building of their Tensorate novels and what ‘silkpunk’ is all about.
Writer and tutor Ian Nettleton takes a deep dive into building science fiction settings with Simon K Jones.
Writer and publisher Fahana Shaikh on efficient world building for short stories.
Kieron Gillen examines how he created the settings for The Wicked + The Divine, Uber, Eternals and more.
Getting the words down on the page is the first challenge for any writers. Here are some tips for getting started.
Writer and podcaster Tim Clare is here to help you develop a regular writing habit.
Amer Anwar on the challenges of finishing a manuscript.
Crime fiction author Elizabeth Haynes writes most of her first drafts during NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month. Find out what it is and how it works.
Tim Clare returns with more essential productivity tips.
Self-publishing has come a long way and is now an accepted and respected approach to publishing. We talked to the experts to find out how it works.
Joanna Penn is an entrepreneur and writer who runs The Creative Penn podcast alongside her fiction novels.
Mark Dawson is a phenomenally successful indie writer: we talked to him about how he does it.
Online serialisation is a newer form of publication – Simon K Jones explains how it works.
Children’s author Mandy Stanley turned to self-publishing after a career publishing traditionally – find out why.
Some of the most innovative writing is found in video games. We spoke to award-winning games writers about their craft.
Multi-multi-award-winning game HADES has one of the largest scripts ever written for a game. Lead writer Greg Kasavin spills his secrets.
The astonishing and award-winning exploration game Outer Wilds required a specific type of non-linear writing. We spoke to writer Kelsey Beachum about the project.
Inkle are the masterminds behind 80 Days, Heaven’s Vault and Overboard. We spoke to designer Jon Ingold.
Games writer Tom Jubert talks about his work as a narrative designer on Subnautica and The Talos Principle.
Tom Abba’s digital storytelling lab Ambient Literature is inventing entirely new forms of interactive storytelling.
Everything about writing for radio, TV, stage and film.
Novelist and screenwriter Tom Benn provides his top tips for writing crime for television.
Writer and tutor Molly Naylor takes a look at some common problems – and solutions.
We talk to author Stephen Michael Shearer and director John Hay about adapting An Unquiet Life into the film To Olivia.
Outside of the writing itself, being a successful author requires learning many more skills.
Tamsin Flower guides us through the options artists have for funding of projects.
CEO of NCW Chris Gribble goes into detail about how National Lottery Grants work for artists.
Editor Georgia de Chamberlet explains why editing is critical to the success of any book.
Editor Ashley Stokes outlines the editing process and how it fits into the creation of a novel.
Keiron Pim provides tips for grabbing the attention of an agent.
Travel writers Suzanne Joinson and Agustinus Wibowo share pitching techniques and stories from the road – including a near-kidnapping.
Agent Ed Wilson explains why writers need agents, and how to become an agent.
BookTuber Leena Norms talks about the online book scene and how you can start building your writer presence.
Poet Flo Reynolds talks about their practical tips for getting your work published, from zines and competitions to chapbooks and collections.
In and around the writing we all have unique experiences on our road to publication.
Carving out time to enable you to write is always hard, not least when you’re a new parent.
Carl Gorham wrote about rebuilding his life after the death of his wife and talked to us about his approach to bereavement.
The crime writing duo that forms Nicci French share their insights into writing as a partnership.
We talk to the co-host of the Bestseller Experiment podcast about their race to publication success.
Debut author Richard Lambert talks about the imminent publication of his book and the phase between completion and release.
Katri Skala talks about her work mentoring writers, and how mentoring can help writers identify their goals.
‘Iceland’s crime queen’, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, discusses her writing and how she balances being a bestselling author with having a day job.
Poet Cat Woodward talks about taking her writing seriously and why she publishes with small presses.
Ashley Hickson-Lovence talks about the creation of his debut novel The 392, and how he had to fit writing time in and around his job of being a teacher.
Mark Stay returns to discuss the challenges of Covid-19 lockdown and adapting to a ‘new normal’.
Young readers are a demanding audience requiring a particular approach to writing.
Indonesian writer and singer Reda Gaudiamo talks about translating her latest children’s book Na Willa into English.
Mitch Johnson talks with visiting Indonesian author Debby Lukito Goeyardi and Vicki Maitland about writing children’s literature.
Children’s author Mandy Stanley turned to self-publishing after a career publishing traditionally – find out why.
Packed with advice and guidance from experienced writers and our course tutors.
