What is that picture ?

You may well ask. Is it roadkill? Is it someone’s brains? Is it the result of a crazy genetic experiment? Would you touch it? Would you eat it? Click the picture to find out.

Context is everything.

Always remember that writing is meant to be read. Unless you are writing a private journal, the chances are that what you write is intended to be read by someone else or read aloud to real people. You should always have your audience – your reader – foremost in your mind.

You need to make your writing clear and understandable for the reader, otherwise you are wasting your time. Your reader just won’t care a fig for all your hard work. (You did know it was the insides of a fig – right?)

A clear, plain, simple title can do wonders. A good title will set the context for everything that follows. It sets the readers mind up for what is to follow.

A good title, or working title, will also help you to focus on what you are writing.

So think about what you want to say and start with a good title that sets the context of your piece of writing.

Dave’s Wedding Speech – My Life as a Rat Catcher – Farming Today – Innovation in Microprocessors.

You know what’s coming when you read titles like these. When you’ve written your first post modern experimental novel, then you can think up a fancy title. Meanwhile whatever you are writing, choose a sensible and simple title. It will keep your mind focussed open the job and in context and give you reader the first clue to be able to decode your text and really get your meaning.

It’s true! All you need is a pen and a piece of paper. As soon as you start putting words down in some kind of order, you are a writer or an author or whatever you want to call yourself. The only thing that makes you different to the person at the top of the best-sellers’ list, is that they are professionals who do it everyday as a business and they are getting paid oodles of cash! There’s no reason for you not to join them.

Anyone can be a writer.

All you need are the right tools and a bit of practice. That doesn’t sound so hard, does it? What you do not need are massively expensive university courses that teach you how to write in the style of the professor in charge. Why would you want to write like someone else? What your readers really want is you! They want your honest and individual voice speaking to them in a clear and understandable way.

There are many reasons for wanting to write something. It’s not just about fame and glory.

Some people want to pass down their family history – others want to write down the stories they tell their children – some have a school or college essay to write – some have a speech or a difficult letter hanging over every waking hour of the day, and they’re putting it off because they don’t know where to start.

Many people panic because they don’t know how or where to start their writing project. Many never get going at all, because they don’t know how to sustain themselves through the beginning, the middle or the end.

Don’t let this be you.

Never fear – Writerlicious is here!

Writerlicious is here to help you with the practicalities of writing. It doesn’t matter what you are writing – a letter to your mum, a masters degree or a plan of action for your local community – there are simple, practical lessons you can learn to help you plan and, more importantly, finish off what you began. So, start today, by subscribing to this site.

I’m Shoo Rayner. I’ve written over 130 children’s books, published by Penguin, Hachette, Hodder, Walker, Oxford University Press and many others. I’ve had millions of sales worldwide and translations in many languages. But, can you believe it, I came bottom in all my english classes at school. When I was sixteen, I took my O’level English exams three times before I achieved the minimum pass grades!

Over the years I’ve had to work everything out myself. I’ve learned many lessons and I’ve decided to share some of them here with my wonderful writerlicious audience. My time and advice it precious (people pay me good money to teach them) but I’m going to give away valuable advice here at writerlicious.com. The really good stuff is locked away, but you can get at it for free by subscribing to this blog.

Stop beating yourself up and make your life more Writerlicious!

Most things in life become easier when you learn the tricks of the trade. That’s what you’ll get here. The knowledge you are looking for – plain and simple – in fact simple is my key word and the subject of my next discourse.

Put an end to writing tedium and make your life more writerlicious!

The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair – according to Mary Heaton Vorse (1874-1966). She knew it then and nothing has changed since.

THE hardest part of writing is actually sitting down at a desk and doing it. Writing requires self-discipline, determination and stamina. No one else can do it for you. Only you know what is going on inside your head.

Sitting down and getting on with it is what sorts out those who do and those who don’t. It’s a truth that applies to most things in life.

If you have something to write – a wedding speech, a recipe, a novel or a report – at some point you have to stop talking about it and moaning about it and sit down and do something about it.

Once you have sat down, there is no point getting up again. You will only have to sit right back down again to do the work!

Make the decision. Get all you need together in one place, then sit down and do the work!

Set yourself a target. Aim to finish the first paragraph or page or chapter, then always go a little bit further. You will feel so much better about yourself and feel you have achieved something if you excel your target. (Don’t make the target too easy – you’ll only be cheating yourself.)

I often meet people who would like to be writers. “Do it!” I say to them. “Yeah, but…” they reply and follow up with a million reasons why they can’t. I think what they actually mean is that they would like to be rich and famous, but you can never achieve that kind of status by wishing for it and not doing something about it.

Writing anything is about you and the words. The words will never get out of your head and onto the paper unless you get your writing pants on and stick them firmly onto the seat of your chair.

Go do it.

Now!