Nick Cross's Page

It's Christmas and what better way to celebrate than by murdering a much-loved poem? So, with profuse apologies to Eleanor Farjeon, here goes. You may want to look away now...

I write anywhere:
Kitchen table, office chair,
Planes and buses, moving cars,
On the top of hotel bars,
In queues and cafes, bathroom stall.
(but on a notepad, not the wall)

I have no shed or studio,
Or anywhere that I can go,
To hide awa… Continue

I have a chip on my shoulder about creative writing training. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if it's actually a phobia. I've always been suspicious of the "right way" to go about writing a book and have often taken a deliberately wilful route through the maze. I guess this is called "making my own mistakes", although sometimes it feels like winding up the window and not asking for directions, even though my wife is shouting at me and threatening divorce.

Somebody lent me a copy of How to W… Continue

I've found myself thinking a lot this week about what I enjoy about writing, often followed by an excess of sighing and "Oh why do I do it?" type statements to anyone in range. I spent hours and hours doing re-plotting yesterday and I think that is one of those things I do enjoy, the moment that the plot suddenly snaps into place. But more than that, the thing I find really satisfying is crafting the perfect metaphor. I've noticed them creeping into my blog posts recently and I hope that hasn't… Continue

So, I met with an agent last week. Note the lack of fanfare, although I did my best to work myself up about it beforehand. We sat down for an hour and a half, discussed Back from the Dead in detail and she thoroughly resisted the urge to sign me up until she's seen another draft. Which is fair comment, because let me tell you kids, I have a lot of work to do.

On the upside: my voice, setting, characters and humour are all great. The downside? My plot stinks. Well, not stinks perhaps, but it cer… Continue

And let me tell you, when all you are is a brain in a jar, that's a major problem!

Joking aside, I've just come back from the Winchester conference and there are so many writing ideas in my head that I'm seriously worried that some will leak out. It was such a liberating experience to talk about my book with likeminded people and as anyone who met me can testify, I talked about it a LOT! For me, that has really re-affirmed my self belief in Back from the Dead and the series that will hopefully… Continue