Category: Writing and Self-Publishing

Where to Write in Brighton

Liam Smith 3 Comments

As a Brighton-based writer, I’ve done my time in more than a few cafes and bars. They are great for establishing a regular writing habit. Also, coffee. Let’s take a look at the best places to write in Brighton.

Why I write in public

I think I’ve mentioned before that I prefer writing in public. Because I’m actively going out to write, it helps to define my time as writing time, and it gives me a sense of urgency. As in: I need to finish this chapter before they noticed I finished my coffee forty minutes ago.

I do the bulk of my writing before I go to my day job, so  I’m usually doing my thing between 0700 and 0830 in the morning. So when I take you on my tour of my regular haunts, remember that I’m not exactly going peak time here. My opinions are based on this.

What makes a good writing spot?

I’m going to rate these establishments on a few criteria. ♥ are out of five:

Ambience and Décor – how the place looks and feels. ♥♥♥♥♥ = luxury; ♥ = shithole

Noise – pretty important to a trying-to-concentrate writer. ♥♥♥♥♥ = silent; ♥ = squealing baby nursery

Coffee value – incorporating cost and quality of said libation. ♥♥♥♥♥ = 50p for a large Americano with one of those little biscuits on the side; ♥ = £5 for a chipped mug of instant

Without further ado, let’s take a tour.
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Why You Should List Every Book You Read

Liam Smith Leave a comment

Last year I began a little experiment.  I decided to make a note of every book I read. Why? I’m not sure; part of it was to see how many books I get through.  It’s never a bad idea to read more books!

I firmly believe that all writers should read many books – after all, it’s only by reading you see what others are achieving with language – and I wanted to see if I read as much as I thought I did.

What I found was fascinating.

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Out Now: The Greatest Show Under the Earth

Liam Smith 2 Comments

My latest horror novel, The Greatest Show Under the Earth, is released today. I’m hugely proud of it as it’s a bit more ambitious than my usual stories and it’s my favourite yet! I’d like to tell you a bit more about how I went about writing it. I can’t wait to hear what you all think about The Greatest Show Under the Earth.

Following the disappearance of a young girl at a travelling carnival, Zoe spots a pattern that will lead her on a journey fraught with danger, grief and horror. With time running out, Zoe must track an ancient evil and save her loved ones from a terrifying fate at the hands of The Greatest Show Under the Earth.
Roll up now and step right in…

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Reading William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist

Liam Smith 1 Comment

If you look up a list of the scariest horror films ever made, William Friedkin’s 1973 movie The Exorcist will most likely be on there.    And deservedly so: it’s an absolute shocker of a film, full of horrifying imagery and terrifying implication.  The Exorcist is more famous as a film than as a book, even though it’s based on an excellent novel by William Peter Blatty.  This Halloween I treated myself to reading the book and, as a writer, I learned a lot from it.

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What You Can Learn from Reading Bad Books

Liam Smith Leave a comment

Reading is wonderful. Books are wonderful. But some books are more wonderful than others. Some… are bad books.

We all have different preferences when it comes to reading. Sometimes it’s down to genre, or to what happens in a story, but mostly, I think, it’s down to a writer’s style and the way they construct a story.

I’ve just finished a book I found a struggle. We won’t mention any names here, but it was a genre I don’t dip into very often. But I like to read around and think that all writers should read widely, as you can learn just as much from a book you don’t enjoy as you do from one which is well-written and immersive. For one thing, you’re not so immersed in it as to stop thinking about the mechanics behind the book.

As a writer, you can’t please everyone, but you can still be mindful of a few pitfalls that make a book harder to read and harder to love. Here’s what I learned from reading what was, to me, a bad book.

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