Authors Electric

Last month I reviewed two writing related apps (Story Lines and Name Dice) and as the feedback was favourable I thought I'd repeat the process. However unlike the two previous apps these provide inspiration for the poet. So here goes... Poetry Creator Developer: Tiny Mobile Inc. Free to download with in app purchases I love this app. It's fun, easy to use and really does push the creative process. Think fridge magnet or rip it poetry. When you first open the app you are supplied with a number of words on a 'board' which gives you the starting point for your poem. These words you simply drag into place to create your poem. If you struggle there is a pull out 'drawer' (found on the right hand side of the screen) which contains additional words which you can pull into play. You can increase the number of words by going into the 'mix-tionary' and  just slide the selectors.  You can download additional dictionaries (shown as installed on the image o...

When I started to write professionally just over 15 years ago I read that apparently the average author earned £10,000 per year. Recently I read (sorry can't remember where so unable to include a link) that this figure has now dropped to £5,000 per year. A scary figure and one that unfortunately in my experience appears to be true.   I started writing for magazines when they paid a fair amount for the work involved and didn't expect world rights. Some magazines are now paying less per page than I was earning 15 years ago and are demanding full world rights. This means I'm no longer able to boost my income by selling the same feature abroad.  Publishers are lowering their advances and I've noticed some are even saying they no longer offer advances. So I have had to diversify. I've returned to teaching, something I was able to stop for around two years whilst my writing actually earned me a living. The way I teach has also changed. I not only teac...

Last month I blogged about how I'd started to take photographs to support my blog posts - Picture It . I received a few positive comments (thanks folks) however the one left by  Bill Kirton  really struck a cord: " A great idea, Lynne, and I bet, as readers of the blog looked at each, ideas for stories started nudging into their minds. That's certainly what happened as I read it. Wouldn't it be interesting to post just one of them and have people submit 500-word flash fiction stories inspired by it.  Great displacement activity." So whilst I've been out and about with the dog (we do a lot of  walking)  I've been  taking  photographs of the 'odd' things people have left behind . I guess you know what's coming next. Yep I'm throwing down the  gauntlet . Here are three images I'm hoping will inspire your muse. I'm not expecting you to craft a 500-word flash fiction story (but don't let me stop you if you get that urge) but...