My last fiction blog focused on synonyms – words with similar meanings that lift writing and avoid the tedium of repetition. Examples such as: looked, walked, saw, said – illustrate how often many of us, including myself, over-use the same words, and that these are often verbs. So my thoughts today are on verbs. How…

My last non-fiction blog looked at thinking and asked ‘should thinking be on the curriculum? Yes, it definitely should. I ended that last blog by relating thinking to problem solving. So let’s explore thinking and problem-solving as a further dimension within my mastery theme. This week it is half term and my Year 3 (age…

In this series of blogs I am thinking about how to use language more effectively: to help breathe life and dimension into fiction. Synonyms are different words with same or similar meanings. It occurs to me as I write, how easy it is to repeat the same words all the way through a piece of…

We are still exploring mastery: and my last two blogs have been about the notion of ‘individualism’. A recent article by Dr Neel Burton, in the Spring edition of Families Magazine, explored ‘Why thinking should be a curriculum subject.’ This writer makes a valid point. Why are we not teaching our children to think? My…

Last week I blogged about trying to run before I could walk: trying to fill in the details of my story before I had a proper outline and structure. I also considered how to create three dimensional (as opposed to flat) characters and plots, building also on previous discussions about making fiction (even magic) believable….