The Latest Articles From The Litopia ® Author Platform ™
Where the Leftovers Go
Why was the new guy caressing a car at 3am?
A few words about awesomeness
At 48, I went back to college. Everyone else was 18. Instead of a generation gap, they called me The Bevster, dragged me to Harry Potter parties, and showed me what generosity looks like. One day, they’ll be running the world. It’s going to be awesome. #Hope #Kindness #NextGeneration
Baring My Celtic Soul
From Cardiff’s seafront to the peaks of Snowdonia, from Shirley Bassey to JPR Williams, this poem is about belonging, identity, and that Celtic spark that shines brighter than midnight stars. Read it, feel it, and tell me... where does your heart call home?
What should we do about them?
Self-publishing? Don’t skip the copy editor. Typos kill credibility faster than bad reviews. A polished book = a pro author.
On Slippery Foods and Stubborn Hospitality
A hidden village. Mysterious green tentacles. Two women wage war over a stranger.
After the epic journey, what's next?
The road goes ever on. How Tolkien changed me, and a phone app helped bring me closer.
And Still We Wait
I recently told you about a trip to A&E. This is how the night unfolded.
The Art of Waiting
Back in March, I regaled you all with tales of the bizarre night time world of the emergency department. Last night, we were back for more.
Let's put them to rest and be more creative
Let's put to rest tired old characterizations in our writing and come up with better plot points.
The Challenge of Naming Invented Creatures
Bearcats, hobbits and robots, oh my! The difficult art of naming fictional species.
Lives Well Lived
They Overcame
We've all got stories, tales, yarns to tell... fiction, faction or non-fiction, but few of us have life stories that last for a hundred years. This piece features snippets from the lives of a centenarian and his almost-centenarian wife.
The truth of writing with children.
Kids light up your world, but sometimes you just want a few minutes in the dark to get stuff done.
Joyous Enemies!
Adventures in Accidental Shakespeare
When the lesson plan goes awry, the teacher learns something too!
A Nostalgia Trip From the Back of the Stack
'There’s More to Love Than Boy Meets Girl', as The Communards sang. I learned this and more from the music of my adolescence.
Stakes
What is your character risking?
What keeps a reader turning the pages? From exploring the different types of stakes to top tips for heightening them, I delve into the world of risk, tension, choices and consequences.
Until I find You
The Quest for the Perfect Novel Title
On realising that the working title of my novel was Marmite - loved by some; reviled by many others - I set out on a quest to find a better one.
She Loved Me Not
The glint in her eye was too risky
A hapless young man's quest for love in limerick format (what else?) is thwarted again and again. Caution! No smut on display.
The Importance of Travel Writing
Got wanderlust? Social media sells the destination. Travel writing tells the story
How Royal Match gave me life lessons
TBH, phone games are not where I expected to get life-lessons, but I downloaded Royal Match and here we are. Turns out I'm not the kind of person I thought I was at all.
Why I Always Say Yes to Strange Fruit
The Shadow Durian – an innocent-looking durian with a secret agenda
The allure of arrogance
Confidence, self-belief, self-assurance. We like these words, yes. But imma go full-throttle and reclaim Arrogance as being the Diva word for them all. Think Tigger with brains. There you go.
peeps a-scoffin' al fresco pies
It’s sobering to think that while summer is celebrated in some parts of the world with music festivals, sporting tournaments, flower shows, fringe festivals, craft fairs, parties in the park, etc, people in other parts of the world are struggling to put nutritious food in their children’s bellies. And in yet other parts of the world, they are too busy firing missiles at each other. My poem, therefore, is sadly only about modern summer living in some parts of the world.
Falcon Theory
A Medieval Romance, a German Nobel Laureate, and Your Novella
What a medieval Italian falcon can teach you about writing compelling novellas, with a little help from 19th-century German literature.
Adventures in Short Fiction
While my first novel is tentatively making its way towards agents who already have too much to read, I’ve been wondering which other slush-piles might need feeding, and I’ve discovered the wonderful world of literary magazines.
What can a lowly independent writer do?
What can a writer do to promote their work?
Automated Pollination and Unexpected Ecosystem Interactions
When science fiction meets satire: A hypothetical field study on pollination drones and an unexpected complication.
How many can you identify?
Time to put your knowledge to the test! How many of these fifteen novels can you recognise just from their opening lines?
Aim for two point seven five
An old man's visit to the barber
The Querying, the Phone Call and the Edits
What's it like to get an offer of representation from a literary agent? What can the author-agent relationship look like?
Danger! Danger!
Where the Little Things Rule
What do locals dread most in Borneo's rainforest? Cobras? Nope. Sun bears? Nah. Clouded leopards? Not quite. Reticulated pythons? Think smaller...
A visit to the Isle of Wight
COVID restrictions eased, so we made a dash for freedom.
What does success look like?
What does success look like, and is it even achieveable?
A Daughter's Sacred Sacrifice
A goddess sacrifices herself to become crops after her brother's mischief brings famine. Today, her spirit lives on in festivals across Sabah, reminding us to treasure every grain. #FoodStories #IndigenousWisdom #Borneo
The Stories in the Stars: the stories in us
Katie-Ellen Hazeldine is a professional Tarot practitioner, writer and blogger in the UK, and has been an active member of Litopia since 2014.
She day 'ave enny otha bugga
A hapless man's quest for love through British accents.
When local heros organise to bring medical care to their town, no sacrifice is too great
This is for the litopia social postings-not my own. I dont have any in my own name yet.
Art and Music in All its Blueness
When you think of art and music in all its blueness, do you think of Joni Mitchell? Consider not her 1971 classic album, but 1994's Turbulent Indigo...
Her name was Meena
Sad memories of a tragic little girl I met briefly many years ago.
Because everyone deserves to be their own hero
Self-esteem is not something you must strive for: it is something you're born with but have gradually masked. Learning how the mind works can help with that unmasking process, so you can begin to unlock your true sense of self-worth.
Eyes on the prize.
Beta readers, the unsung heroes of the writing world, and why they need celebrating.
Great World Stories in the Stars
The Zodiac is a repository, a library of the world's greatest stories Here comes the season of Taurus, the second sign of the Zodiac, the Bull of Venus in all its green and verdant beauty. Taurus tells many a springtime love story, and a lot more besides...
The Long, Medium and Short of It
How can questions drive plot? Here’s a summary of what I’ve learned.
The Untidy Desk
A Villanelle
In an effort to repossess the poet’s soul I sold to Reality thirty years ago, I tackled a form with some constraint. Like a penance for my neglect all these years. So here's a Villanelle, initially as perplexing to me as her namesake in Killing Eve.
Character
Wants, Needs and Imperfections
Character arcs and emotional journeys...does your MC change and develop throughout your novel?
One Day in April
Shoeless garden frolics
Treasured memories of an April day in 2023.
Plotting
What I've Learned
What do bestsellers have in common? Which plot structure is the most popular in western culture? And what exactly ARE the four cornerstones of plot?
Sarah Muses on the Death of an Icon
Recalling the news that broke on January 11th, 2016, Sarah muses on the death of an icon and the loss of family. Short fiction based on real events.
Using Perception and Mouth Feel to Increase the Palatability of Plastics
When science fiction meets satire: a flash fiction piece presented as a summary of a scientific study where we "solve" ocean pollution by...convincing people to eat plastic. #FlashFiction #FutureAbstracts
Research
Research: Google, books, experts and jumping out of helicopters...how far do you go as an author when it comes to ensuring authenticity?
???????? Spring Equinox = a cosmic reset! Aries season is here, launching a bold new astrological year. The Ram brings fire, courage & the call to adventure. Writers, take note: every great story begins with I am. #AriesSeason #ZodiacForWriters #SpringVibes