A profile photo of Diana Jackson. She's looking into the camera, with dark grey hair and a small smile. She's wearing a brown shirt with in flight birds in a rotating pattern. In the back is an Indian style tapestry.

Diana Jackson

Views, reviews and muse related to my writing

An Image of my latest book Missing, Past and Present. Sat on a wooden table with a brown background.
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writing a novel

  • After Inspiration comes Planning~ Ideas on how to plan a novel

    I was scrolling through my draft blog posts with the idea of deleting some of them when I came across this one on planning. Although it was first drafted in 2014 it is as pertinent today as it was then and interesting to see how my methods adapted and matured with each novel. How do…

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  • Can You Leap Back into your Writing Life?

    Can you leap back? I’m not sure. I’m certainly striding forward in my hopes, dreams and aims for 2023. (see last post) Two weeks ago I searched for the unfinished manuscript for the third in my Mystery Inspired by History Series. (I finished writing it in October 2020, in lockdown, at the time I was…

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  • Themes in Novel Writing ~4 ~ Gender Inequality

    This is part of a series on Themes in Writing Novels, some we chose deliberately, some we develop as the novel unfolds and others we slip into quite by chance, but Themes are certainly worth thinking about for writing the back blurb or book description and for marketing purposes, to find your target audience. What…

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  • Themes in Novel Writing ~ Theme 3 ~ Racism

    RACISM IN NOVEL WRITING If you glance no further than the first few lines of this blog, then I can recommend reading Jodie Picoult’s Small Great Things. Never to be shy of controversy in her writing, Jodie hits racism head on (all types described below). I’ve only read about a quarter of the book so far…

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  • Themes in Novel Writing ~ Theme 2 ~ Mixed Marriage

    If you look back at my introductory post, ‘Themes in Novel Writing’ just over  week ago, I looked at why we need to be aware of themes running through our writing. These are usually premeditated, but some creep into our plot unawares. THE THEME WHICH INSPIRED MY NOVEL HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY As I have described…

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  • Novel Idea ~ It’s a Secret!

    How soon do you share the secret of your next book? You cannot imagine how wonderful it is to be writing fairly regularly again. I hesitated over the word ‘wonderful.’ Should I have said fulfilling, satisfying, rewarding ~ even therapeutic or a HUGE RELIEF! After eighteen months abstention (predominantly to settle into our new life…

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  • Characters in the Box ~ Guest Author Karen Dahood talks about her inspiring mystery characters

    Characters in the Box  What decides the physical appearance of a mystery series character? Does it change? Miss Marple, she is not. My American eldersleuth, Sophie George, is meant to be much more up to date than Agatha Christie’s revered observer of village life who is so good at upending unpleasant domestic affairs (including murders).…

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  • Capitals or not capitals – do lower case letters in a title irritate you?

    When I was looking at options for a cover design for my latest book ‘Murder, now and then’ a friend suggested I set the task as a challenge for design students at his college. The tutors are always on the look out for ‘real business opportunities’ to give their students experience of following specifications, meeting deadlines…

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