Writing Magazine

The saying goes that “everyone has a story in them” and it’s the mission of Writing Magazine to help you get yours out. Brought to you by real experts who know what it takes to improve your writing or get published, this monthly magazine is a must-have for all writers. Whether you write fiction, poetry, drama, children’s books, non-fiction or anything else, each issue features tips, practical exercises and real-life advice, that will not only help you get all that creativity onto the paper but also, get your name and profile out into the industry. With writing masterclasses from professionals, industry news, events listings, competitions where you can submit your work for fantastic prizes and real paid writing opportunities, Writing Magazine has everything you need to hone and improve your talents.

DEAR READER

OWN VOICE IN MY HEAD • Novelist Zoë Marriott describes how she discovered she was writing an #ownvoices story, and offers advice for other writers interested in exploring #ownvoices in their work

Sounds in place • Author Cate Baum explores voice and its influence on setting

VOICE COACH • Your unique writer’s voice is what will keep readers enthralled. Margaret James offers wise words on how you can find and develop it

5 Five quick questions

Lessons from Jane • As we celebrate 250 years since Jane Austen was born, Helen Stockton looks at what 21st-century writers can learn from the great 19th-century novelist

Transferable SKILLS • Debut novelist Emma Cowing spent 27 years in print journalism – here’s what it can teach you about novel writing

BAD TO THE BONE • Who says you have to write ‘likeable’ characters? Novelist Lisa Harding looks at how to approach creating toxic characters

CALL OF the wild • Novelist and publisher Jane Johnson tells Tina Jackson about the importance of place and its relationship with people and the natural world in her sweeping, immersive fiction

REAL LIFE, great stories • This month Jenny Alexander explores a picture made of fragments: writing a collage or mosaic essay

Subscribe and receive Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2025

Your writing critiqued • James McCreet applies a forensic micro-critique to the beginning of a reader’s manuscript

Description: PART TWO • Author and tutor Ian Ayris reminds writers that there are No Absolutes when it comes to showing and telling

DARIA LAVELLE • The debut author of a literary novel incorporating ghosts, food and love describes how it took way longer to get published than she’d first expected

The write company • Someone who gets it makes all the difference, says Lynne Hackles

SHELF LIFE EMMA COWELL • The bestselling summer summer reads author runs through five books that inspired her writing

Sisterhood and SOLIDARITY • Author Linda Newbery refused to give up on her latest novel and published it on her own terms. She discusses the importance of strong female friendships as writers and – now – as publishers

The world of writing • What goes through a writer’s brain? Readers’ letters and dispatches from the wide world of writing

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: GENRE

POETRY • Consequence

PROSE • Her Majesty’s Voice

WE WANT YOUR WRITING •  (and we’ll pay you for it!)

Subscribers’ news

Hazel Barkworth • The author describes the importance of getting the vibes right at the beginning of her dark new campus novel

Finding the link • Alison Chisholm explores the unexpected connections which give a poem its original slant

MIRRORING MY SOCIETY

ONE HUNDRED • Helen Walters celebrates a centenary of masterclasses by revisiting the first author she picked to write about, and reflecting on what she’s learned about the craft of...