How To Write A Killer Synopsis

n recognition of our current ‘open to submissions’ status, we thought we’d share our thoughts on the crucial art of crafting a synopsis that shows off the best of your work… How to write a killer synopsis (in our humble opinion) “Please send a synopsis of your story”. Words which strike fear and loathing in […]

NaNoWriMo Update – Writer’s Block? What’s That?

So we’re well into the second week of NaNoWriMo – how’s it going for you? Me? Well, I had an initial splurge of activity, but then other stuff got in the way (as it so often can…), which then led to a period of scratching my head and desperately trying to get back into the […]

NaNoWriMo – This Time It’s Personal…

It’s November which, for many authors, means there’s only one question on their minds: who’s doing NaNoWriMo and have you won yet? For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is a not-for-profit organisation whose stated aim is to “help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page”. Since 1999 they have […]

Writer’s Block? Here’s how to beat it…

There’s no such thing as writer’s block. There, I said it. Don’t believe me? Are you currently tortured by a blank page, screaming at your screen: “Of course I’ve got writer’s block, dammit!!!”.  Well, read on, you poor, misguided soul…   The Myth of Writing There’s one thing that novice writers and so-called experts both […]

How To Write A Killer Synopsis

Please send a synopsis of your story”. Words which strike fear and loathing in the heart of any author. You want an agent or publisher to just read your story and then hand you a publishing deal, but before they’ll do any of that they insist on you sending them a summary of the book. […]

An Interview With Neil Lancaster

Today we have a special treat for you: an interview with Neil Lancaster, author of Going Dark, his debut novel which hits the shelves in just over a week’s time, on 17 April 2019. Neil is a fantastic guy who has led a hugely interesting life, with many of his experiences influencing Going Dark, a […]

How To Write A Crime Thriller

To celebrate the imminent release of Neil Lancaster’s debut crime thriller, Going Dark, we thought we’d share our top 7 tips on how to write a great crime thriller. The crime thriller genre is complex and we’re clearly not going to do full justice to it in one single blog post. There are some great […]

What We Learnt From London Book Fair 2019

The Burning Chair team were at the London Book Fair this week. And what an interesting time we all had. There were some great talks and debates and some interesting stands from all across the industry and around the globe. After much discussion, we think we can boil down what we learnt this week into […]

Guest Blog – The value of Creative Writing courses

To celebrate the release of Georgia Springate’s debut novel, Beyond, on 1 March, we asked Georgia to write a Burning Chair blog on the value of Creative Writing courses – she graciously accepted. Here are her thoughts:   So, before I delve into the what’s, when’s and why’s of my own experience, let me throw […]

An Interview With Georgia Springate – #2

A couple of blog posts ago we were overjoyed to interview Georgia Springate about her debut novel, Beyond, which is released on the 1st March. Georgia was such a great sport and interviewee that she gladly agreed to come back and submit herself to our questioning once again – this time talking about what inspired […]