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I’m about to give you the most important piece of writing advice you will ever get. It is this: Take all writing advice with a pinch of salt. (Except this bit, obviously. You should pin this piece of advice above your desk, or perhaps get a tattoo of it somewhere about your person.) Writing advice… Continue reading On Writing Advice

Behold! I am about to Impart Wisdom. This is because I was thanked for my expertise in a Facebook group this week. Now, I know that I’m an expert on EVERYTHING, obvs, but in said Facebook group, which is stuffed to the gills with people who’ve been editing for longer than I’ve been able to… Continue reading I’ll tell you where you can put your hyphens…

Since Cinderella taught me the importance of having distinctive footwear, I have been of the firm opinion that almost all of life’s lessons can, in one way or another, be learned from Disney films.

I’ve said this before, more than once, on this blog, but it’s the kind of thing that bears repeating. People are brilliant. I was feeling a bit glum this morning about a few setbacks that my business has suffered lately. I’m British, so I suppose I should have been more stiff-upper-lip-about it, but I’m also… Continue reading People are brilliant

“Hi. Are you the careers adviser?” “Yes. You must be Kia. Have a seat. So, we’re here today to talk about your career options. Have you any thoughts about what you might be interested in doing?” “I really like books. Is there a job where I can get paid to read books?” “Actually, yes, but… Continue reading Careers Advice

Two things happened to me last week. Well, lots of things happened to me last week, but two in particular made me think a little about the way my life is organised now. The first is that my car had to go into the garage. This was a very vexing thing on many levels, but… Continue reading Home is where the procrastination is

There are two great loves in my life (aside from the usual things, like my husband, my children, and sour cream and onion Pringles). One is, fairly obviously, words. The other is music. I've been a musician since I was a child, I live with a musician, and I worked in a live music venue… Continue reading How good editing can make you a rock star*

There aren’t a lot of words I dislike. “Chillax” is one. “Limpid” is another. But the one I hate above all words is “offend”. You can throw in all its variants too – offence, offensive, offended. It gets used a lot these days, and almost every time I see it, I want to throw things.… Continue reading No offence…

As I mentioned in this post, I spent a fair amount of 2016 feeling utterly confused and overwhelmed. I had this whole new career to launch, and there was so much advice about the best way to do that it kind of made me want to cry. I still feel like that at times, but,… Continue reading Some advice about dealing with all the advice

Happy World Book Day 2017! Books are great, aren’t they? And I’m not just saying that because they pay my mortgage. They really are wonderful things, and here are just a few of the reasons why: They stop your shelves looking naked. You can place them artfully on a table to make your home look… Continue reading Books Are Great