Category Archives: Writing

To the Lighthouse: Week 6

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Karen Whitelaw

I’ve printed off the first draft of my novel and here it is! Today I’m up at the lighthouse reading it. Is it any good? No, it’s a first draft! Although the writing needs work – a lot of work … Continue reading →

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To the Lighthouse: Week 5

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Karen Whitelaw

Only one week left of my residency! It’s gone impossibly fast. People have asked me how they can apply for a residency. Here’s the link to Lighthouse Arts where you’ll find all the info you need. Karen Croft, the Director … Continue reading →

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To the Lighthouse: Week 4

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Karen Whitelaw

Writing is, in the main, a solitary pursuit, but there’s something about being up at the lighthouse, each creative artist in our separate studios, working together but apart, that gives us both a sense of creative community and the quiet … Continue reading →

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To the Lighthouse: Week 3

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Karen Whitelaw

Dredging up Ideas I spent a lot of time in the morning looking out of my window. If I hadn’t been so stuck with the next scene of my novel, I wouldn’t have noticed how many times the dredge left … Continue reading →

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Generating Writing Ideas

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Karen Whitelaw

One of the questions writers are asked most often is, where do you get your ideas? At the Newcastle Writers’ Festival I went to a great session on Microfiction where author Susan McCreery talked about her New Year’s resolution to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Lose the writing doubts

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Karen Whitelaw

A writer friend asked me if I would be her accountability partner. She has nearly completed her “autobiographical novel,” a beautifully crafted, honest and moving story of love, belonging and tragedy. She now rings me every Friday, and for half … Continue reading →

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Writing Colour

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Karen Whitelaw

This week I watched my friend Virginia, an intuitive painter, throw aquamarine and cobalt blue onto a green, purple and vermilion background, and then spray on water so the gleaming paint dripped down the canvas like rain. I could drown in … Continue reading →

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What is Microlit?

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Karen Whitelaw

Short shorts/ microlit/ flash fiction/ microfiction/ very short stories, by any other name would be as… umm… short. The deadline for the national Newcastle Writers’ Festival/Joanne Burns Award 2016 is gaining on us – 31st August. See details here. That might … Continue reading →

Posted in Short stories, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Speech Recognition Software

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Karen Whitelaw

Over the past year I’ve noticed that my hands and wrists are becoming sore from typing. Not just the soreness from overuse but there’s been some nerve pain too. So I started looking up speech recognition software on the Internet, … Continue reading →

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In Defense of Procrastination

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Karen Whitelaw

Some writers think procrastination is the same as being blocked. Some call procrastination thinking. I’ve just watched a Ted Talk by Adam Grant called ‘Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers.’ He conducted a study which makes a strong case for the procrastination-as-thinking camp. Grant is … Continue reading →

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