I received these emails a few days after my debut novel, The Library of Unfinished Business, launched last week. "Hi Patricia, I loved your book! I couldn't put it down once I got into it, and finished it last night. I think it’s brilliant the way you handle the plot with all its twists and…
Journalism in a Pandemic
We're in a hard lockdown here in New Zealand due to the Delta variant of COVID-19. It's working. It's hard and shitty for so many of us, but it's working. And unsurprisingly, journalists the length and breadth of the country (but mostly in the parliamentary press gallery) are frothing at the mouth with every new…
I’ve put this post off for weeks: A new way of looking at procrastination
I may be mediocre at many things, but one thing I am brilliant at is procrastination. I seem to make a lot of well-intentioned plans and set myself what I think are realistic writing goals, and I still find myself wandering round the house picking up and putting down ornaments when I should be working on my…
Writing small
I posted this wonderful quote on my Instagram account today. (bellbirdwords). This is so important, and it's an issue I help many of my clients with. It's closely related to the "show, don't tell" rule; another vital principle of good writing that I'm often reiterating to beginner writers. It's tempting to think you have to…
Cherish one another
It is barely 24 hours since Donald Trump became the next President-elect of the United States of America. Protests have started. Social media has gone nuts. Personally, I hold grave concerns for the next four years, and I am deeply disturbed that somebody like Donald Trump could win so much support, even though I understand -…
Patricia Bell, Author 