I Read From My New Bizarro Book At The Brighton Fringe And Didn’t Run Off Crying!

Hello popsicle sticks! I read my own work to an audience of complete strangers for the first time in my life, my new bizarro book 4 Rooms In A Semi Detached House, for the 2017 Brighton Fringe Festival. My hands were shaking, I was terrified.

Brighton has a lot of cool stuff in it so I made a little backstage video as well as filming the first reading (which has an impromptu Q&A at the end), and I also offer advice to any live reading newbies such as myself. My boyfriend Bill, who does my book covers, and our friend Steve had art showing in a gallery at the same time and I added clips of them discussing their work below.

Ta dah!

Fun times around Brighton, including books, rainbows and lots of tea:

The first reading, 11 am, at Made Cafe:

Bill discussing his work at The Round Georges:

Stephen Waring (LoFiGuy) discussing his work:

Writing, Kurosawa And Sex And The City: Interview With Me On ‘Losing The Plot’ Writing Podcast

Three posts in three days?! What fresh madness awaits.

I was interviewed for Losing the Plot podcast and had a jolly old time, I think we got on very well. We chatted about writing, writing tips, Kurosawa, The Greasy Strangler and owning up to the embarrassing stuff. Enjoy!

Episode

How To Reach Your Word Count Goals

Good day my little cocktail cheeses. I made a tiny video which is hopefully full of good advice on how to reach your goals when aiming for your daily word count. Enjoy, and feel free to visit my youtube for story readings (mine and other people’s), tips and general oddity.

P.S. yep my hair is gone. I have entered the Jazz age!

How To Get Story Ideas – Tips For Creative Writing And Authors

Hello my little slightly burnt quorn sausages which turn out OK once the surface has been scraped a bit. I trust you are well?

I made a little video of tips and advice that I’ve gathered from other sources as well as what works for me, so any writers out there will hopefully find this useful.

P.S. the T Shirt is by Betty Rocksteady, whose novella was published by Eraserhead Press the same time as mine.

7 Advice Podcasts For Writers Of Weird Fiction And Horror

I don’t know what I’m doing! Sometimes I think I do but, more often than not, the further into this writing game I get the more I realise I know far less than I thought. However help is at hand in the form of people who know a bit more than I do making words into microphones. Take their hand (don’t kiss it, it’s probably sticky) and follow them down a dark corridor. Or a well-lit one, whichever seems nicer.

Speculate!

Billing itself as the podcast for writers, readers and fans, Gregory A. Wilson and Bradley P. Beaulieu have been referred to as ‘the best interviewers currently podcasting about genre fiction.’ They’re also joined by Michael R. Underwood and all have a good background in writing weird. As well as in depth interviews they review books and discuss writing techniques and publishing.

Bizzong The Bizarre And Weird Fiction Podcast

If you like silly and daft you’ll feel at home here, but there’s a lot of information too. Frank Edler interviews a different weird writer each episode to discuss their work, life, and zombie Elvis.

The Horror Show With Brian Keene

Brian Keene seems like a nice man. He and his friends discuss horror fiction as a genre, the various news and points of interest facing horror authors and, well, pretty much anything else. It’s like having a nice cup of tea – except when they talk about something unpleasant, then it’s like having an unpleasant but interesting cup of tea.

This Is Horror

This is also an informative podcast! Authors discuss their personal work, outlining stories, getting published, getting self-published and everything it entails – pretty much anything a horror writer needs to know.

The Outer Dark

Winner of the ‘This Is Horror’ award 2015, guests are interviewed about their books and writing techniques followed by ‘news from the weird.’ This is any information weird writers may find interesting such as anthologies looking for submissions.

Dead Robots’ Society

Soothing and amusing, they chat with a guest on subjects ranging from beta readers, selling yourself, emotional arcs and mankinis with heels. 

The Horror Writer’s Podcast

Zach Bohannon and J. Thorn ‘discuss all things horror’ including an interview with the director of The Invitation, horror news and interesting TV. Bless their cottons.

Ta dah! Fill your ears with facts and interesting titbits and may it help you on your journey. Don’t forget to pack a lunch!

Deep POV—What’s So Deep About It

Hello my little munchkin fruit parcels. This blog post was sent to me by writer and artist lady Betty Rocksteady and I found it helpful, so I think you will too:

 

Discover what deep POV is and and how to use this popular viewpoint in your fiction and stories. Give viewpoint characters deep POV.

Source: Deep POV—What’s So Deep About It

New Surreal Advice Column Ask Maddie

Well hello there, so glad you could join me. Pull up a chair. Sorry, am I sitting too close? I don’t mean to, it’s just that your hair is so wildly attractive.

I’m researching surrealist films for my next post, and by researching I mean lying on my bed and watching a bunch of stuff whilst eating crisps. However, for now, you can contact me in my new advice column for Clash magazine. That’s right, you can contact me and I’ll stick your name beneath your question. I know, you’ll be waking in the night with excitement.

Here’s the link to all the columns so far. If you’ve any questions, surreal or not (preferably surreal), email me at evilpixie (dot) madeleine (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject line Ask Maddie. Toodle pip!

Writing Advice From Professional Authors

Oh, hello! You’re early! My my… I was just in the middle of baking macaroons. Erm, have a seat and chat with these well known author types until I’m finished:

Neil Gaiman’s advice for aspiring authors:

Octavia Butler on writing science fiction:

Ray Bradbury on writing:

Jeff Vandermeer on weird writing:

Angela Carter discusses her writing:

Jamaica Kincaid on finding her voice as a writer:

Bizart – Podcast of Advice For Writers And Artists

Good day! I trust you slept well. Time to brush away the cobwebs that have grown around you and have a listen to the latest podcast episode by myself and artist friend Steve.

We discuss making art on a budget, ways to earn money using your creativity and a story by one of our listeners. Feel free to send us your own unusual tale under 300 words, just visit the podcast site for details. Unsure if it’s unusual? Send it anyway and let us decide.

Next episode we look at making digital art and scams targeting writers and artists to avoid.

Link to Podcast

Real Editors Give Writing Advice

Merry morn to you all! Although, it’s probably not morning where you are. And maybe not so merry. But it will be merry with all these lovely advice videos I handpicked just for you!

Without further ado, the first one is called The Top 5 Mistakes Amateur Writers Make

This one is a crazy length (about an hour and a half) but just pretend you’re at a college lecture – Writing Tips And Advice From Lovecraft Ezine Editor Mike Davis

This one is from a friend of the ‘vlogbrothers’, who are two professional writers who also make videos. It’s called Dare To Suck

This one is called Writing for Magazines: Top Tips by Freelance Writer Linda Formichelli and Editor Laura Pepper Wu

This is from the same channel, called: What a literary agent wants! With Rachelle Gardner