Questions about Writing and Authorship
I’ve always been fascinated by the untold stories of ordinary women during extraordinary times. The WWII era has a rich narrative to explore resilience, courage, and the complexities of moral choice.
As a child I used to watch old black and white films from the period and loved listening to elderly relatives talk about their lives. My favourite film of all time is The Sound of Music, which carries a deep theme of war disrupting ordinary life. At school I fell in love with Carrie’s War, and later with the war poetry of both World Wars. Then as a young woman I read Helen Forrester’s biography series, a young woman navigating the Depression and WWII, and something clicked.
Alongside all this, I married a soldier, and it was to the stories of the women of this period I turned to in order to help me navigate the difficult life that comes with being a military wife. My ultimate conclusion is that these women not only did everything I was doing but did it all with rationing, bombing, no communication from their soldiers and the threat of war right on their doorstep. I wasn’t even close to having to deal with half of those things and still it was a struggle. My writing grew from a kind of catharsis, and a deep curiosity about what made them so extraordinary.
Research is one of my favourite parts of the process. I use a combination of historical documents, books, memoirs, museum archives, period photographs, and where possible, visits to actual locations. Getting a real feel for a place, its atmosphere, its light, its particular sense of history, is something I find genuinely irreplaceable when it comes to grounding the work in its time.
My characters are always fictional and never based on anyone. I find the pre-occupation that authors are putting every real person they meet into their work shows a distinct lack of imagination and thought. Characters are formed as brand new entities with their own desires and drives. Often, as you write and get to know the character, they start to become almost independent of you and say and do things that you didn’t consciously intend, which then takes the story in new exciting directions.
I couldn’t think of anything more boring than simply basing a character on a real person, as this is so limiting to what you can do and where a character can take you. Part of the fun is getting to know a brand new person from scratch, who will slowly reveal themselves to you as you move through the narrative.
This depends on a number of things; the type of book and how complicated it is, how much research it needs, what else is going on in my life at the time.
My first novel took a very long time, around nine years, because I completed a degree during that period, moved house multiple times, my husband went to fight in a war, and had significant confidence issues that meant I didn’t write consistently until the final year.
I’ve found that if there’s big issues going on in my life that are worrying me, making life difficult, or just killing any kind of creative energy, I get terrible blocks and can’t write anything. This is because it puts your mind and body into emergency mode and things like bringing creativity is not so vital to existence and therefore is shelved under not needed for survival.
I am trying to write more consistently so I can be more proactive and get books finished faster, but all this comes from a lot of trial and error, looking at my mistakes and taking some time to learn how to make things better.
After years of getting it wrong, I’ve now learned how to make the most of my schedule and get the writing done. I always try to do an hour of writing each morning before I start the home education and work day. This way the writing gets done consistently because if I don’t do it like this, I won’t end up getting anything done that day, as work, life and other demands take over.
It doesn’t always work, and sometimes I wake up and I’ve got a work issue on my mind, so I know I won’t settle that day because my mind is worrying about the issue. On these days I try to go with the flow and allow myself to go ahead and solve the issue that’s worrying me first.
Start with a period that genuinely interests you, because you’ll be living with it for months or years, so genuine curiosity matters. Don’t let research overwhelm the story. Use it to enhance your narrative, not replace it because if you don’t it makes for a very boring historical account; you’re writing a story, not a historical document. And finally, read widely in your chosen genre, see what current trends are, what people are buying and what structures and tropes people expect from your genre.
Balancing historical accuracy with storytelling. You want to stay true to the period whilst creating a story that resonates with modern readers. Sometimes historical realities can conflict with what makes good fiction, particularly when it comes to forms of speech, social attitudes and the way people interacted with each other.
For me, during the time I write it was very common for women to not be allowed to do the same jobs as men, get paid the same and also to suffer misogynist attitudes. It’s important to make sure all the people in my stories reflect their period and don’t have the same values and attitudes as today’s society, while also making sure they’re not just a book full of reprehensible people. This balance is tricky and one that often takes a few rewrites.
Writer’s block comes from one of two places, it’s either an external (life) issue or an internal (story) issue.
If it’s a story problem, I’ve often run into a structural issue with where I am or how to get out of a situation. In these cases, skipping forward and writing a later section can help. Sometimes you need to write forward to get unstuck and write back.
If it’s an external problem, something in life is draining the creative energy and channelling it into worry, it often won’t resolve until the underlying issue does. I was stuck for about five years once due to external pressures, and once those lifted, the block disappeared.
It’s about not forcing it, but to doing small things that help you stay close to creativity even when you can’t fully access it.
The best way is through my free Substack, where I share writing updates, research discoveries, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of my writing process. You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
I’m always happy to share recommendations. I sometimes feature book reviews and reading roundups on my blog, particularly focusing on fiction and creative books.
My top book recommendations would be:
- Twopence to Cross the Mersey by Helen Forrester (the first in her four part biography)
- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
- The Road Beyond Ruin Gemma Liviero (or any of Gemma’s books)
- The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
- Carrie’s War Nina Bawden
- The Forgotten Garden Kate Morton
Questions About Creativity Coaching & Creative Support
Creativity coaching is a form of coaching designed to help you move through creative blocks, develop your creative practice, and apply creativity more fully to your work, business, or life.
At its heart it’s about collaboration — exploring what’s getting in the way, finding practical tools and strategies to move forward, and rebuilding trust in your own creative process. Even if you’re not looking for formal coaching, the principles behind creativity coaching shape many of the resources and tools you’ll find on this site.
Creativity coaching focuses specifically on your creative life, the blocks, the confidence, the practice, the expression. Unlike general life coaching or business coaching, it sits at the intersection of emotional support and practical creative development.
Because my background spans creative writing, marketing, and NLP alongside creativity coaching, the support I offer tends to address both the emotional layer underneath creative struggle and the practical layer of what to actually do next.
Anyone who feels blocked, stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected from their creative work. Most people who come to this kind of support aren’t looking for coaching specifically — they’re looking for a solution to a problem. That problem might be writer’s block, fear of visibility, marketing overwhelm, creative inconsistency, or simply not knowing where to start.
If any of those feel familiar, the resources and tools on this site are a good place to begin.
I have an MA in Creative Writing (First Class), a BA Hons in English with Creative Writing, an Advanced Creativity Coaching certification, NLP Master Practitioner and Life Coach Master Practitioner certifications, and fifteen years of professional marketing experience. Full details are on the About page.
Yes, and so can many of the practical tools and resources on this site. Creative blocks usually come from either an internal story or creative process issue, or an external life issue affecting your energy and focus. Understanding which one you’re dealing with is often the most useful first step.
This is one of the most common questions, and a completely understandable one. Creative support isn’t about teaching you to be creative, it’s about helping you remove the things getting in the way of the creativity you already have.
Everyone is creative. The tools, resources, and support on this site exist to help you access that creativity more consistently, more confidently, and with less of the struggle that so often gets in the way.
Think of it like a garden gate. The gate provides a boundary, but within that boundary you can be as free, expressive, and exploratory as you like. Structure creates safety, and safety makes it easier to take creative risks. The right kind of structure doesn’t restrict creativity. It makes room for it.
Questions about resources and products
There are currently a few resources available, some free and some paid (with more on the way).
More tools and workbooks are in development and will be added as they become available.
Yes, I have a few free resources available. I’m working on a lot more free resources, which will be available soon.
All digital products are delivered as instant downloads via the shop. Once payment is confirmed you’ll receive immediate access to your download.
If you’re feeling creatively blocked, start with the Creative Blockbuster Worksheet, it’s free and designed to help you identify what’s getting in the way quickly. If confidence is the bigger issue, the Creative Confidence Starter Kit is a good first step. If you’re not sure, the Resources page gives a clear overview of everything available.
Still have a question?
If you haven’t found what you were looking for, get in touch via the contact page. I’m always happy to help where I can.