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<channel><title><![CDATA[Lexical Peaks - Blog]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog]]></link><description><![CDATA[Blog]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 02:20:57 +0000</pubDate><generator>Weebly</generator><item><title><![CDATA[December 2025]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/december-2025]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/december-2025#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 14:49:26 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Lexical Peaks Updates]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/december-2025</guid><description><![CDATA[Hello!&nbsp;Welcome to my semi-regular update with all my writing, reading and editing news. If you'd prefer to get these posts in your inbox, you can subscribe via my Substack here.&nbsp;It&rsquo;s been a busy few months here, which is why I&rsquo;ve ended up posting this a bit later than usual. We went up to Barra in the Outer Hebrides for a couple of weeks at the end of the summer, which was lovely apart from the weather. Our tent did not survive the trip. But despite the sleepless nights and [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="paragraph">Hello!<br />&nbsp;<br />Welcome to my semi-regular update with all my writing, reading and editing news. If you'd prefer to get these posts in your inbox, you can subscribe via my Substack <a href="https://philippablewis.substack.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />&nbsp;<br />It&rsquo;s been a busy few months here, which is why I&rsquo;ve ended up posting this a bit later than usual. We went up to Barra in the Outer Hebrides for a couple of weeks at the end of the summer, which was lovely apart from the weather. Our tent did not survive the trip. But despite the sleepless nights and the broken tent poles and the endless, endless wind and rain, we had a brilliant time! Our toddler was overjoyed to rampage around lots of big empty beaches and was particularly proud of himself for dragging around a piece of seaweed bigger than he was. My husband and I were overjoyed to discover the cake honesty boxes, featuring the best rocky road I have ever had in my life. Worth the journey north for that alone.<br /><br />&#8203;</div>  <div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/uploads/1/3/5/2/135270697/published/northern-lights-in-barra.jpg?1764947480" alt="The Northern Lights, in green and purple, seen on Barra" style="width:313;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">Also worth the journey to Barra for an incredible sighting of the Northern Lights!</div> </div></div>  <div class="paragraph">Anyway, once I dragged myself away from eating rocky road and made it back to my desk, I busied myself with a big fantasy developmental edit and a few coaching slots. The topic of pacing has come up in nearly every conversation I&rsquo;ve had with writers over the last few weeks. With newer writers, this has often involved showing how to slow events down. This can be particularly necessary at the start of a story, when there&rsquo;s a tendency to want to cram in lots of events to make your story feel big and busy and exciting. In actuality, readers want to connect to a character, and it&rsquo;s tricky to build that connection when we&rsquo;re rushing through events and unable to experience each one properly.<br />&nbsp;<br />Conversely, the fantasy novel I was doing a developmental edit on had several points where the pacing could be tightened up. There were a few places in the novel where multiple paragraphs discussed minor details about village life, which were interesting but not really essential to the overall plot. Whilst every detail in a novel certainly doesn&rsquo;t need to be relevant to the overall plot (the fun, surely, of writing a novel rather than a short story where everything needs to be so much more precise and intentional), it&rsquo;s worth considering whether you&rsquo;re asking the reader to spend too long in mundane details, and whether you can convey the same key info/mood/vibes in a more concise way.<br />&nbsp;<br />If you&rsquo;re struggling with pacing, try re-reading your favourite novel and looking specifically for places where the author has manipulated the pacing. Which moments are slowed down, so it takes longer to read them than the moment would have actually taken, and how does the author do this? Which moments are skipped over using narrative summary? How would your reading experience feel if these moments were played out instead? (You can also <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/contact.html">book a coaching slot</a> if you want to chat about pacing in your own writing!)<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title"><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">In editing news</span></h2>  <div class="paragraph">&#8203;After the fantasy developmental edit, I worked on a copy edit of a long fantasy novel. This edit was for an author I&rsquo;ve worked with before; it&rsquo;s always really lovely to return to a world and characters I already know and see what they&rsquo;ve been getting up to.<br />&nbsp;<br />In between bigger edits, I&rsquo;ve fitted in some shorter coaching jobs and some short story edits.<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">&#8203;In writing news<br /></h2>  <div class="paragraph">Lots of short story writing and editing and editing and writing and editing and editing and&hellip; You get the picture.<br />&nbsp;<br />My toddler has finally, at twenty months old, started going to sleep in less than three hours every night, so I&rsquo;ve been enjoying slotting in an hour or two of writing in the evenings. It&rsquo;s been lovely to sink back into the cosy routines of winter: soft lighting, lots of reading time, and lots of time for stories to meander around my mind.<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">In reading news<br /></h2>  <div class="paragraph">I&rsquo;ve read so many excellent books since my last update that I&rsquo;m not quite sure where to start! What a treat it is when you get a run of excellent reads in a row. Some particular highlights have been:<br /><ul><li><em>The Everlasting </em>by Alix E. Harrow. I was just starting this in my last update, and am thrilled to report that this was even better than I&rsquo;d hoped. Alix&rsquo;s stories always hit just right for me, but I really felt her writing had stepped up a level in this novel. Strongly recommend.</li><li><em>On the Calculation of Volume</em> by Solvej Balle. I know everyone read this when it was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and I am probably the last to the party, but I really thought this was incredible. It is nothing about maths or physics at all (much to my husband&rsquo;s disappointment); it&rsquo;s about a woman who wakes up one morning to find herself suddenly trapped in time, living in the same day again and again. Stunning, stunning writing.&nbsp;And thinking back to it now has been a good reminder that I need to track down the next instalment&hellip;</li><li><em>Lost in the Garden</em> by Adam S. Leslie. A folk horror fever dream. I became absolutely obsessed with this and frantically messaged everyone I knew who had read it. Did not entirely understand it, did not care. I really loved how confident the story felt and the author&rsquo;s refusal to exactly what had happened.</li><li><em>The Rain Heron </em>by Robbie Arnott. A really gorgeous story about connection and community and the intersection of myths and reality.</li></ul><br />I always really love looking back over what I&rsquo;ve read over the last couple of months when I&rsquo;m writing this. Aren&rsquo;t books GREAT.<br />&nbsp;<br /></div>  <div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px;margin-left:40px;margin-right:40px;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/uploads/1/3/5/2/135270697/published/lost-in-the-garden-by-adam-leslie.jpg?1764947327" alt="Lost in the Garden by Adam S Leslie, next to a croissant-shaped black and white cat." style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">Lost in the Garden by Adam S Leslie, guarded by a cat.</div> </div></div>  <div class="paragraph">I hope autumn/winter has swept some good books and/or words your way. As ever, if you want to drop me a line about anything I've said here or want to recommend me a book, I'd love to hear from you. (And if you&rsquo;re interested in booking in an edit or some coaching, start <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/editing-services.html">here</a> then <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/contact.html">drop me a message</a>!)<br /></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[August 2025 update]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/august-2025-update]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/august-2025-update#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Fri, 22 Aug 2025 13:50:03 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/august-2025-update</guid><description><![CDATA[Hello!&nbsp;Welcome to my bimonthly post with all my writing, reading and editing news. I'm posting this one a week or so early because I'm off on holiday this weekend (hooray!).&nbsp;We've been so lucky with a long, glorious summer here in Eryri/Snowdonia, and I've enjoyed being outside as much as possible. The toddler has done his first wild camp and his first boat trip, and I've managed a couple of lovely and restorative toddler-free trips into the hills. The balance between family time and s [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="paragraph">Hello!<br />&nbsp;<br />Welcome to my bimonthly post with all my writing, reading and editing news. I'm posting this one a week or so early because I'm off on holiday this weekend (hooray!).<br />&nbsp;<br />We've been so lucky with a long, glorious summer here in Eryri/Snowdonia, and I've enjoyed being outside as much as possible. The toddler has done his first wild camp and his first boat trip, and I've managed a couple of lovely and restorative toddler-free trips into the hills. The balance between family time and solo time and work and hobbies and actually relaxing is always going to be a tricky one, but there have definitely been weeks recently when it's felt like we've finally managed to get it right. (There have also been weeks where everything has felt like complete chaos 24/7. It's a balance!)<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-medium " style="padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px;margin-left:30px;margin-right:30px;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/uploads/1/3/5/2/135270697/published/carnedd-dayfdd.jpg?1755871171" alt="Ascending a steep grassy slope, blue sky and summits in the background." style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">A perfect day meandering around sunny mountains with a good friend.</div> </div></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">on the blog</h2>  <div class="paragraph">Over on the blog last month, I was chatting about the <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/lexical-unravellings-the-importance-of-connection" target="_blank">importance of connection</a>. If you've got any thoughts on how connecting with other writers has been helpful for you, I'd love to hear them.<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">editing updates</h2>  <div class="paragraph">Goodness, I've been so lucky with the manuscripts I've been working on recently. These last couple of months, I've been busy with a developmental edit of a fantasy novel, featuring dragons and nature-based magic. It's been a joy to work on. I've posted some notes on Substack about how I do a developmental edit, and I'll probably turn these into a more in-depth blog post once I'm finished with it, in the hopes of demystifying the process a bit.<br />&nbsp;<br />I've also done a proofread of a delightful nature memoir. I've worked with the author right through from her first draft to the proofread, and it's been an absolute delight to see this book take shape and to see the author's skill and confidence as a writer grow. This book features lots of photographs, so I was delighted to see the proofs and finally be able to see all the photographs after reading so much about them. It's rare that I get to work on one book right the way through all the different stages, so this has been a real treat.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />And I've also just taken on a couple of new coaching clients. I'm excited to get to know them and to learn more about their writing! For <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/editing-services.html" target="_blank">coaching</a>, I particularly love to work with writers<br />who are passionate about the craft of writing and keen to hone their skills as much as possible, which both of these new clients definitely are. I&rsquo;m looking forward to working with them both once I&rsquo;m back from my holiday.<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">writing updates</h2>  <div class="paragraph">&#8203;I'm not sure I actually have much writing news this month. I've been tinkering away with edits for a couple of short stories, but with a busy work schedule and lots of outdoor adventures, it's been tricky to find much time or brain space for my own writing. That's okay; I always write less over the summer, and sometimes my brain just needs a bit of time to re-charge.<br />&nbsp;<br />Autumn feels like it's just around the corner, and I can feel a couple of new ideas already&nbsp;stirring. I've printed out a couple of drafts to take on holiday, which I can edit if I fancy or ignore if I don't. I'm excited to get back into a regular writing rhythm after our trip &ndash; lots to make progress on!<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">reading udpates</h2>  <div class="paragraph">&#8203;I read and quickly became obsessed with <em>The Second Death of Locke</em> by V. L. Bovalino. If you're on bookstagram, you might have seen lots of excitement recently about a run of "lady knights" books being released soon. This is one of that group, and it's absolutely brilliant:&nbsp;complex and nuanced characters, a slow-burn romance arc that avoids a lot of the usual romantasy tropes, a unique magic system, and plenty of nods to Arthuriana. One of the best things I&rsquo;ve read this year. Incidentally, I&rsquo;m just about to start Alix E. Harrow&rsquo;s <em>The Everlasting</em> and am <em>so</em> excited for it. She&rsquo;s one of my favourite writers and the blurb sounds incredible.<br />&nbsp;<br />I've also read and really enjoyed <em>Whale Fall</em> by Elizabeth O'Connor. The writing in this is so beautiful and careful; it's a stunning read. It's set on a Welsh island heavily inspired by Ynys Enlli/Bardsey Island. I'm always a fan of island settings anyway, and as chance would have it I'd actually been over to Ynys Enlli a couple of weeks before reading this which made it all the more enjoyable to read.&nbsp;And I&rsquo;ve just finished <em>Dream Angus</em> by Alexander McCall Smith, part of Canongate&rsquo;s series on myth re-tellings. The story flits between a re-telling of the original myth, and looking at how that myth might be re-imagined into the present day &ndash; it was an intriguing read.<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px;margin-left:50px;margin-right:50px;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/uploads/1/3/5/2/135270697/published/the-second-death-of-locke.jpg?1755871178" alt="The Second Death of Locke (cover)" style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">A new favourite.</div> </div></div>  <div class="paragraph">&#8203;And with that, it&rsquo;s time to switch my Out Of Office on and shut down my laptop for a couple of weeks. We&rsquo;re off to the Outer Hebrides, and I'm so looking forward to being somewhere so quiet and remote, to being outside the entire time, and to working my way through some good books, although there is a chance that I have significantly overestimated exactly how many books I can read during a two-week camping trip with a toddler.<br />&nbsp;<br />I hope all of you are also enjoying the slow transition into autumn and all the new starts that inevitably seem to come along at this time of year.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />Wishing you happy reading or writing or even just day-dreaming about stories, if that&rsquo;s where you at the moment. As ever, if you want to <a href="mailto:philippa@lexicalpeaks.com">drop me a line</a> about anything I've said here or want to recommend me a book, I'd love to hear from you.<br /><br />(If you'd prefer to get these posts delivered straight to your inbox, you can subscribe v<a href="https://philippablewis.substack.com/" target="_blank">ia my Substack</a>.)<br /></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Lexical unravellings: the importance of connection]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/lexical-unravellings-the-importance-of-connection]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/lexical-unravellings-the-importance-of-connection#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Tue, 22 Jul 2025 09:15:05 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Lexical Unravellings]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/lexical-unravellings-the-importance-of-connection</guid><description><![CDATA[    The view from our writing retreat.   When I was starting out as a writer, I saw so much advice about the importance of connecting with other writers. At the time, I ended up dismissing a lot of this; writing is such a solitary task that I couldn&rsquo;t really see why having writer friends was quite so necessary. I also find writing to be an incredibly personal thing (even when you&rsquo;re writing something completely unconnected to yourself), and the thought of sharing my work with strange [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:30px;margin-left:50px;margin-right:50px;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/uploads/1/3/5/2/135270697/pxl-20240127-095406640-2_orig.jpg" alt="The view out of a window from my writing retreat, ready with a laptop, book and notebook. " style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">The view from our writing retreat.</div> </div></div>  <div class="paragraph"><span>When I was starting out as a writer, I saw so much advice about the importance of connecting with other writers. At the time, I ended up dismissing a lot of this; writing is such a solitary task that I couldn&rsquo;t really see why having writer friends was quite so necessary. I also find writing to be an incredibly personal thing (even when you&rsquo;re writing something completely unconnected to yourself), and the thought of sharing my work with strangers for it to be dissected was rather horrifying.</span><br /><br /><span>A few years down the line, I now have quite a different perspective on this! People that I met through writing groups have turned into close friends, and I don&rsquo;t think I would have had a single story published without their insights and encouragement.<br />&#8203;</span><br /></div>  <div>  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <div class="paragraph">During lockdown, I took a genre-specific writing course. I hoped this would be a great way of getting a bit of writing focus back (the previous few years had been spent mostly climbing and mountaineering, with only very occasional bits of writing here and there), and I hoped that the feedback would help improve my writing.<br /><br />Two aspects of this worked particularly well, neither of which I&rsquo;d really contemplated in advance: the first was that doing a genre-specific course meant I connected with writers with similar reading and writing interests. The second was that the course was aimed at those specifically interested in the craft of writing. Rather than focusing on what makes a bestseller (no shade intended to courses which focus on that specific approach! It just wasn&rsquo;t &ndash; and isn&rsquo;t &ndash; where my interest lies), we spent a lot of time discussing the nuances of language and story. Again, this was partly valuable for what I got out of it, and partly because it meant I connected with people who had similar aims for their writing.<br /><br />I got very lucky in landing an excellent group of writer friends thanks to this course. &nbsp;We&rsquo;ve stayed in touch, and now &ndash; over four years later! &ndash; we still do a monthly Zoom. Although we&rsquo;re working on very different things &ndash; everything from a trilogy through to pieces of flash &ndash; we&rsquo;re all approaching writing with similar interests and goals. Sometimes we read and discuss a published story. Sometimes one of us will share a piece that we need some feedback on. Sometimes we just have a chat, celebrating successes and commiserating over struggles as needed.<br /><br />This group of writers are now very trusted critique partners. I know &ndash; and really appreciate &ndash; that I can send them early drafts I&rsquo;m struggling to shape, as well as pieces which I&rsquo;ve edited again and again and again and still can&rsquo;t quite get to work. Their feedback is invaluable, and I am always very grateful that they&rsquo;re happy to tell me both when something isn&rsquo;t working and when it is.<br /><br />It's so hard to get enough distance from your own work to evaluate it properly. There have been times when I&rsquo;ve sent out a story for feedback feeling like I should just scrap it, only to be told that other readers found considerably more interest in it than I had expected. There have also been times when I&rsquo;ve sent them a story which I thought was pretty much ready for submission, only to have several inconsistencies in its plot gently pointed out. Either way, feedback from trusted friends is always very much needed, and is invaluable when I start the re-drafting process.<br /><br />It's been fantastic to see the others in this group achieve success; it&rsquo;s so encouraging to see friends getting their work in print. As with anything, seeing people you know make progress really does make it feel more achievable for yourself! And having a space to share rejection stories has helped the process feel less overwhelming.<br /><br />As well as very trusted critique partners, this group of writers have become good friends. We went away for a writing retreat weekend last year, which was brilliant! It was the first time I had met any of them in person &ndash; and I was also heavily pregnant which could have made for a stressful weekend &ndash; but it felt like we&rsquo;d been friends for years. We had a fantastic time, and having the space and quiet to write was invaluable. A very unexpected bonus was that the story I wrote whilst there ended up being published a few months later in <a href="https://dark-mountain.net/about/" target="_blank">Dark Mountain</a>.<br /><br />Over the last year or so, I&rsquo;ve also been connecting with the local writing scene here in Eryri/North Wales. I was nervous about this at first, after previously only really being used to connecting with other writers online! But thankfully I didn&rsquo;t need to be at all. Through a local writing festival and monthly open mic nights, I&rsquo;ve made friends with people who write completely different genres to me &ndash; and it&rsquo;s been brilliant to get perspectives on writing and publishing from writers approaching it from completely different angles. It&rsquo;s also just really nice to chat about writing in person.<br /><br />Writing is still, for me, a very solitary and personal pursuit. I rarely talk to anyone about stories that I'm still drafting. I write best when I&rsquo;m completely undisturbed, and when I&rsquo;m not thinking about anything or anyone other than the story I&rsquo;m working on. But I can&rsquo;t imagine having made any real progress on my writing journey without the advice, encouragement and good company of other writer friends, and that really would be my first piece of advice now to anyone starting out: find yourself some writing pals and invest in those friendships.<br /><br />I&rsquo;d really recommend <a href="https://www.londonlitlab.co.uk/">London Lit Lab</a> for writing courses, particularly if you&rsquo;re interested in the fantastical or folklore. And if you happen to be up in North Wales, come along to <a href="https://www.blueskybangor.co.uk/whatson/versify-previously-words-and-wine/">Versify</a> in Bangor or the <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/anglesey-writing-festival-gwyl-ysgrifennu-mon-tickets-1413596297579?aff=oddtdtcreator">Anglesey Writing Festival</a>.<br /><br />(This blog wasn&rsquo;t actually written for this purpose, but now that we&rsquo;re here &ndash; if you&rsquo;re struggling to connect with any other writers to give you any feedback, I can do a coaching session or a manuscript critique or a developmental edit as best fits you and your writing! Get in touch <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/contact.html">here</a> or drop me an email: <a href="mailto:philippa@lexicalpeaks.com">philippa@lexicalpeaks.com</a>)</div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[June Update]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/june-update]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/june-update#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2025 09:39:08 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/june-update</guid><description><![CDATA[Hello hello! Welcome to my bimonthly update with all my writing, reading and editing news.This newsletter is actually about a month late; the transition back to work after a lovely long spell of maternity leave has felt pretty intense, and I&rsquo;ve ended up dropping a few non-urgent tasks. I&rsquo;m really grateful to be returning to a job that I love so much, and I can&rsquo;t say how much I&rsquo;m enjoying spending so much of my time thinking about words and stories again. That said&hellip; [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="paragraph">Hello hello! Welcome to my bimonthly update with all my writing, reading and editing news.<br /><br />This newsletter is actually about a month late; the transition back to work after a lovely long spell of maternity leave has felt pretty intense, and I&rsquo;ve ended up dropping a few non-urgent tasks. I&rsquo;m really grateful to be returning to a job that I love so much, and I can&rsquo;t say how much I&rsquo;m enjoying spending so much of my time thinking about words and stories again. That said&hellip; working and having a very energetic toddler is A Lot! Every day feels about ten hours too short, so I&rsquo;ve prioritised paid work which means things like writing this newsletter have taken a bit of a backseat.<br /><br />Still, I&rsquo;m already finding a better balance than I had a few weeks ago, so I hope to be posting more regularly in the upcoming months.<br /><br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">editing updates</h2>  <div class="paragraph">I&rsquo;ve been busy with a line and copy edit of a fantasy novel. This one is the third instalment of a trilogy; I&rsquo;ve started working with authors mid-way through a series a couple of times now, and although a mid-series change of editor is obviously not ideal, it definitely can work if needed. During an edit I&rsquo;ll always compile a style sheet, which is a list of all the choices made when editing the book: things like how to style ellipses, whether we&rsquo;re using single or double quotation marks, -ise or -ize endings (organise or organize), and a word list for any spelling, capitalisation or hyphenation choices made (north-west, North West or northwest). For some edits, this will include a character list to keep track of things like hair and eye colour, and there might be details about some locations used too. For this series, I&rsquo;ve been sent the previous editor&rsquo;s style sheet and the previous two manuscripts, and using all of these during my edit should mean that we&rsquo;ve managed to avoid any inconsistencies across the trilogy.<br /><br />I&rsquo;ve also proofread a few short stories, and I&rsquo;ve just started editing a mountaineering guidebook. The guidebook is accompanied by some absolutely stunning photos and I am trying my best not to get distracted and run off to plan a trip to the mountains.&nbsp;<br /><br />Although some months in my diary are already fully booked for full-length manuscript edits, I always allow a bit of space for last-minute shorter projects such as short stories or coaching sessions. Please feel very free to <a href="mailto:philippa@lexicalpeaks.com">drop me an email</a> with any editing or coaching enquiries! I&rsquo;m always happy to discuss what your next steps could be or what level of editing you&rsquo;re looking for. If I&rsquo;m not a good fit for your manuscript or I don&rsquo;t have availability in the timescale you&rsquo;re looking for, I can point you to trusted (and lovely) editing colleagues who might be better placed to work with you.<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">writing updates<strong>&#8203;</strong></h2>  <div class="paragraph">I was shortlisted for <a href="https://www.moniackmhor.org.uk/writers/awards-residencies/the-bridge-awards/2025-winners/" target="_blank">Moniack Mhor&rsquo;s Emerging Writer 2025 Award</a>, which I&rsquo;m over the moon about. I very nearly didn&rsquo;t apply for this because it just felt like such a long shot, so I&rsquo;m very grateful to the judges for the confidence boost! Massive congratulations to the winner, Amy Luxton, and to all the finalists; I&rsquo;m looking forward to following their work.<br /><br />Just as I&rsquo;ve been writing this, I&rsquo;ve received a rejection for a short story that I was really hoping to find a home for. Sharing this in the spirit of keeping it honest! Writing is a rollercoaster!<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">reading updates</h2>  <div class="paragraph">In my last update, I had just started a re-read of Samantha Shannon&rsquo;s <em>The Bone Season</em> before reading the latest installment, <em>The Dark Mirror</em>. I had an absolutely brilliant time reading through this series again. I tend to favour waiting until series are finished before reading any of the instalments, so it&rsquo;s rare for me to have the joy of re-reading a few familiar books with the anticipation of a new volume to finish off with. The last two books can&rsquo;t come quickly enough!<br /><br />I&rsquo;ve also read a couple of novels by Sarah Moss (<em>The Fell</em> and <em>Ghost Wall</em>), and spent most of them amazed that I have made it this far through life without having read any of her novels. I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;ll be returning to her work.<br /><br />And along with a few other editors, I&rsquo;ve been working my way through the titles discussed by Kristen Tate in <em>Novel Study</em>, followed by Kristen&rsquo;s analysis of them. This has been brilliant for pulling me to genres that I wouldn&rsquo;t normally read. In the last couple of months, I&rsquo;ve read Tana French&rsquo;s <em>The Searcher</em> and Laura Dave&rsquo;s <em>The Last Thing He Told Me</em>, both of which I enjoyed. It&rsquo;s been great to discuss techniques and approaches to writing in light of these books. It&rsquo;s always interesting to hear how other people have responded to things that did or didn&rsquo;t work for me &ndash; it&rsquo;s a brilliant reminder that &lsquo;good writing&rsquo; is so subjective.<br /><br />And I&rsquo;m also slowly working my way through <em>The Art of Punctuation</em> by Noah Lukeman. Who knew a book about punctuation could be so interesting! That&rsquo;s not sarcastic; it&rsquo;s genuinely a great read (or at least, it is if you&rsquo;re someone who&rsquo;s interested in the nuances of punctuation &ndash; admittedly a fairly niche crowd).<br /><br />If you&rsquo;ve got any thoughts on any of the above titles or want to recommend me a book, please do leave a comment or send me an email &ndash; I am always delighted to talk about books!<br /><br />Happy reading and/or writing, and I look forward to sharing more in a couple of months.<br /></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[February and march 2025 updates]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/february-and-march-2025-updates]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/february-and-march-2025-updates#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2025 15:10:27 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Lexical Peaks Updates]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/february-and-march-2025-updates</guid><description><![CDATA[We&rsquo;re currently having a lovely long spell of sunshine here in Snowdonia, which is making me want to spend every possible moment outside. I&rsquo;ve taken the baby on a couple of delightful walks in the hills &ndash; a bit easier said than done because he is heavy, but it&rsquo;s been great to get out and I&rsquo;m trying to build up my ability to carry him so that we can hopefully try some nice long mountain days this summer. We&rsquo;ve managed a couple of beach sunsets, and I&rsquo;ve e [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="paragraph"><br />We&rsquo;re currently having a lovely long spell of sunshine here in Snowdonia, which is making me want to spend every possible moment outside. I&rsquo;ve taken the baby on a couple of delightful walks in the hills &ndash; a bit easier said than done because he is <em>heavy</em>, but it&rsquo;s been great to get out and I&rsquo;m trying to build up my ability to carry him so that we can hopefully try some nice long mountain days this summer. We&rsquo;ve managed a couple of beach sunsets, and I&rsquo;ve even made some plans to go climbing! Outside! On actual rock!<br /><br />&#8203;Summer is generally when my reading and writing time drops off massively in favour of being outside allll the time, but with a baby around, there&rsquo;s going to be less of a switch over than normal this year. I&rsquo;m trying to keep my expectations for the next few months pretty low and just try to fit climbing in whenever I can. And in the meantime, I&rsquo;ll make the most of not completely abandoning writing for a few months like I normally end up doing!<br />&#8203;<br /><br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">writing updates</h2>  <div class="paragraph"><br />&#8203;My baby is in nursery for a couple of days a week, so I&rsquo;ve been making the most of having a bit of headspace to get some writing things ticked off. I have a few short stories which I&rsquo;d had some helpful feedback on and just needed to finalise before submitting; I&rsquo;m always amazed at how utterly painful it can be to edit my own work when I am literally paid to edit other people&rsquo;s writing. The latter is so, so much easier! But over the last few weeks I&rsquo;ve made some good progress in getting things finished off and submitted. I&rsquo;m enjoying writing so much at the moment &ndash; maybe because the time still feels so precious after a year in baby-land.<br /><br />&#8203;&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">reading updates</h2>  <div class="paragraph"><br />&#8203;I&rsquo;ve just finished reading <em>The Overstory</em> by Richard Powers &ndash; just an utterly incredible novel. I was reading it in hardback which is huge, and as nearly all of my reading time at the moment is whilst a baby is snoozing on me, it took me ages to get through it just due to the sheer logistics of how to physically read it! It&rsquo;s really unlike me to have a book on the go over several weeks (and whilst reading other fiction books), but this slow pace ended up feeling like the perfect match for such a huge, arching story. It&rsquo;s going to take me a while to fully process this one, I think, but I do know that I will absolutely be reading other titles by Richard Powers. What a writer.<br /><br />I&rsquo;ve managed to almost entirely replace scrolling time with reading time over the last couple of months, and thus have read loads of books! Some other titles worth mentioning include <em>Hagstone</em> by Sinead Gleeson (loved the remote and slightly haunting setting); <em>The Dutch House</em> by Ann Patchett (another one with a fascinating use of setting &ndash; also, Patchett&rsquo;s writing is always so good); <em>The House in the Cerulean Sea</em> by TJ Klune (cosy fantasy, all very chilled and enjoyable), and <em>The Library at Mount Char</em> by Scott Hawkins (pretty much the opposite of cosy fantasy and should have come with a good few trigger warnings &ndash; but all the violence is very easily skippable, thankfully). I also chose to DNF on a memoir which I&rsquo;d been keen to read, but which didn&rsquo;t quite grab me as I&rsquo;d expected and felt a bit more depressing that I was up for. This year I am wholeheartedly embracing leaving books unfinished if I don&rsquo;t love them. Life is too short and my TBR list too long.<br /><br /><span>&#8203;Up next: I&rsquo;ve been looking forward to a re-read of Samantha Shannon&rsquo;s&nbsp;</span><em>The Bone Season</em><span>&nbsp;for a while; the fifth title was released at the end of February, but I had a busy few weeks and knew I was going to be grumpy if I had to squeeze in re-reading such an addictive series around other life stuff. The next couple of weeks are quieter, so I&rsquo;ve just started it and am already having a brilliant time.</span><br /><br /><span>Shannon released a revised edition of the earlier books in the series recently, and if you&rsquo;re interested in writing, it&rsquo;s a really fascinating exercise to compare the new version of&nbsp;</span><em>The Bone Season</em><span>&nbsp;with the earlier version of it. The worldbuilding is much more expertly woven in now, and you can really notice how much the pace has tightened up in response. It&rsquo;s also just really interesting to get a glimpse into how a skilled and experienced writer like Shannon approaches the editing process, and in what flaws she&rsquo;s noticed in her own work and decided to change.</span><br /><br />(If you&rsquo;ve got any thoughts on any of the above titles or want to recommend me a book, please do leave a comment or send me an email &ndash; I am always delighted to talk about books!)<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">editing updates</h2>  <div class="paragraph"><br />&#8203;I celebrated my return to work with a lovely copyedit on a delightful nonfiction nature book. I&rsquo;d worked with the author for a couple of rounds of developmental editing, and it was such a joy to see the manuscript in its final shape.<br /><br />I then ended up having a few more weeks off! Getting the baby settled into nursery has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for all of us, so I decided not to book any work in until the start of May so that I could keep his nursery sessions short if needed rather than feeling pressured due to work deadlines. This was definitely the right decision for all of us, but from the start of May he&rsquo;s got regular nursery hours and I&rsquo;m back to being at my desk four days a week. I&rsquo;m really excited to get back into a routine and to get stuck back in with some brilliant projects: I've got a couple of big fantasy novels lined up for developmental editing and copy editing over the next couple of months.<br /><br />Although some months in my diary are already fully booked for full-length manuscript edits, I always allow a bit of space for shorter projects which might appear last minute, like short stories or essays or coaching sessions. Please feel very free to drop me an email with any editing or coaching enquiries! I&rsquo;m always happy to discuss what your next steps could be or what level of editing you&rsquo;re looking for. If I&rsquo;m not a good fit for your manuscript or I don&rsquo;t have availability in the timescale you&rsquo;re looking for, I can point you to trusted (and lovely) editing colleagues who might be better placed to work with you.</div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[my experience of being on a reading panel for a major book prize]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/my-experience-of-being-on-a-reading-panel-for-a-major-book-prize]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/my-experience-of-being-on-a-reading-panel-for-a-major-book-prize#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Sat, 08 Mar 2025 15:25:15 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Lexical Peaks Updates]]></category><category><![CDATA[Lexical Unravellings]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/my-experience-of-being-on-a-reading-panel-for-a-major-book-prize</guid><description><![CDATA[Whilst I was on maternity leave, I had the opportunity to do some early reading for a major book prize. It was a nice gentle way to start my brain working again, and great to be easing my way back into a literary focus.I thought I&rsquo;d share about my experience here; I&rsquo;ve always been intrigued about how the reading and judging process works, so it was really interesting to get a glimpse behind the scenes.How did the selection process work?Via application form. Potential readers were ask [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="paragraph">Whilst I was on maternity leave, I had the opportunity to do some early reading for a major book prize. It was a nice gentle way to start my brain working again, and great to be easing my way back into a literary focus.<br /><br />I thought I&rsquo;d share about my experience here; I&rsquo;ve always been intrigued about how the reading and judging process works, so it was really interesting to get a glimpse behind the scenes.<br /><br /><strong>How did the selection process work?</strong><br /><br />Via application form. Potential readers were asked about our literary background and experience, and had to submit sample reviews for the last three books we&rsquo;d read.<br /><br /><strong>Was it paid?</strong><br /><br />I wish! We did get sent free e-books though. Some would say receiving free books is as good as being paid; I would agree, but sadly my mortgage provider would not.<br /><br /><strong>What was the reading schedule like?</strong><br /><br />The main reason that I was happy to apply for this was that the schedule was really flexible. You could read anywhere between one and ten books, and just had to ask for another one to be sent when submitting your previous review. Maternity leave was quite unpredictable, with plenty of reading time when trapped under a snoozing baby one week followed by having a baby who completely refuses to nap the next week, so I was relieved not to have to commit to a set number of books in advance.<br /><br />The slow pace also meant that I didn&rsquo;t need to rush through any of the books, and the breathing space between them allowed me to reflect thoroughly on each one before submitting my thoughts on it.<br /><br /><strong>How were the books evaluated?</strong><br /><br />I&rsquo;ve always wondered about how this works for literary awards and prizes, because the idea of a &lsquo;good book&rsquo; is so personal and subjective. I&rsquo;m part of two informal reading groups, and I&rsquo;m always surprised by the range of opinions on books; one person will have appreciated a story&rsquo;s attention to close details while another found the pace too slow. One person might have found the plot too coincidental to be believable, whilst another was happy to accept that unlikely coincidences happen in fiction. One person&rsquo;s beautiful and vivid prose might have felt heavy-handed and convoluted to another reader.<br /><br />It's something I always try to keep in mind when editing someone else&rsquo;s writing: just because I don&rsquo;t love something doesn&rsquo;t mean a reader won&rsquo;t.<br /><br />We were given some guidance on literary criticism, then had to submit scores and comments for each book in a range of areas, including enjoyment, structure and literary merit. It was key to be objective, and there was space to share specific examples from each book to justify our scores and comments.<br /><br />Each book was read by three people, so the judges had a good amount of information to pull their longlist from.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>What was the reading experience like?</strong><br /><br />Brilliant! I really loved having an excuse to read slowly and thoughtfully, and enjoyed considered each book&rsquo;s objective merits.<br /><br />One of the books I read had a slow start, and in all honesty I probably would have abandoned it if I&rsquo;d just been reading for pleasure. I&rsquo;m so glad I kept going though: it turned out to be one of the most interesting books I&rsquo;d read in a long time, with some really vivid scenes which I&rsquo;m still thinking about. The writing was mixed, with the odd clumsy sentences suddenly followed by a moment of brilliant and eloquent insight; I&rsquo;m not sure I&rsquo;ve read many books with quite such a discrepancy in writing skill.<br /><br />Another book I read was a real struggle. The narrative was about 80&ndash;90% dialogue; every single character spoke in obtuse and verbose paragraphs, and the initial premise wasn&rsquo;t resolved. This was one time where I was really relieved that two other readers would either be confirming or disputing my reading of it, in case it just hadn&rsquo;t landed with me for some reason. I was very conscious that making the longlist for these prizes can be career-changing for authors, so I definitely wanted to be sure that all the feedback I submitted was as considered and objective as I could possibly make it.<br />&nbsp;<br />I&rsquo;m really glad to have taken part &ndash; it was a brilliant experience, and so nice to feel like I was doing something literary despite spending nearly every waking moment trying to keep a baby alive. I&rsquo;m looking forward to seeing which titles make it on to the longlist, and to repeating the experience next year.<br /><br />Got any questions or comments about my post? I&rsquo;d love to hear from you; you can reply in a comment, or my inbox is always open. And if you&rsquo;re interested in my availability for editing or book coaching, please drop me an email to enquire: philippa@lexicalpeaks.com.<br /><span></span><br /></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[lexical peaks update: january 2025]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/lexical-peaks-update-january-2025]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/lexical-peaks-update-january-2025#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Tue, 11 Feb 2025 13:41:45 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Lexical Peaks Updates]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/lexical-peaks-update-january-2025</guid><description><![CDATA[Hello! It&rsquo;s been a while since I did an update post. After a lovely ten months off on maternity leave, I&rsquo;m nowback at my desk. I&rsquo;m working slightly reduced hours at the moment, so please excuse any slow replies to emails.&nbsp;I've recently set myself up on Substack, so you can sign up over there if you'd like to receive these posts in your inbox. Sorting out a newsletter has been on my to do list for ages, so I'm excited to have one set up now!&#8203;  in writing news  It&rsqu [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="paragraph">Hello! It&rsquo;s been a while since I did an update post. After a lovely ten months off on maternity leave, I&rsquo;m now<br />back at my desk. I&rsquo;m working slightly reduced hours at the moment, so please excuse any slow replies to emails.&nbsp;<br /><br />I've recently set myself up on <a href="https://lexicalpeaks.substack.com/" target="_blank">Substack</a>, so you can sign up over there if you'd like to receive these posts in your inbox. Sorting out a newsletter has been on my to do list for ages, so I'm excited to have one set up now!<br /><br />&#8203;</div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">in writing news</h2>  <div class="paragraph">It&rsquo;s felt like a busy couple of months for my own writing. I&rsquo;m currently taking part in a series of writing workshops which involves giving feedback on around 20,000 words each month. I&rsquo;m really enjoying giving feedback on genres and writing styles that I wouldn&rsquo;t normally read much of, and discussing these pieces with other writers has been so valuable. I&rsquo;m also appreciating having deadlines for submitting my words for feedback; I have a ten month old and some weeks it&rsquo;s definitely tricky to make time for my own writing around all the baby-ness. Having deadlines by which something has to be ready to share with a group of experienced writers is helping keep me on track!<br />&#8203;<br />I&rsquo;m thrilled to have had a short story accepted by <a href="https://foldingrock.com/" target="_blank">Folding Rock</a> for their inaugural issue, alongside a list of brilliant writers including Sophie Mackintosh and Joe Dunthorne. It&rsquo;s so exciting to see a new magazine dedicated to the Welsh literary scene! The theme for the issue is &lsquo;roots&rsquo;; my story is about a family living in an abandoned estate, and about how we experience grief and wildness and isolation. The team have been fantastic to work with, AND they pay &ndash; so if you&rsquo;re a Welsh writer, I&rsquo;d highly recommend keeping your eye out for future submission call outs.&nbsp;<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">in reading news</h2>  <div class="paragraph">I&rsquo;ve read five books this month, but in all honesty three of those were not as brilliant as I was hoping for. There wasn&rsquo;t anything particularly bad about any of them &ndash; they just didn&rsquo;t quite live up to my expectations. I am, in fairness, an extremely picky reader.<br /><br />I did enjoy What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher; I&rsquo;ve seen her name mentioned regularly in fantasy circles, so it was great to finally read one of her books. Looking forward to getting more acquainted with her writing.<br /><br />I loved Katie Hale&rsquo;s The Edge of Solitude, in which a disgraced environmental activist heads to Antartica on board a ship owned by a billionaire. Katie&rsquo;s writing is spectacular, and I enjoyed how nuanced and layered this felt, with a complex and unusual MC. (As a sidenote, I also really enjoy Katie&rsquo;s <a href="https://halekatie.substack.com/" target="_blank">newsletter</a>.)<br /><br />&#8203;<br /></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">in editing news</h2>  <div class="paragraph">It seemed fitting to finish maternity leave at the start of January, when everyone is always feeling a bit slow<br />and rusty after the festive break. I&rsquo;ve been working part-time hours this month to ease myself back into the swing of things.<br /><br />My time off was actually surprisingly productive! I&rsquo;ve posted <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/maternity-leave-when-you-really-really-love-your-job" target="_blank">here</a> about how I spent it (when I wasn&rsquo;t, you know, feeding a baby or changing a nappy or being used as a giant pillow&hellip;), including the best fiction I read and a couple of excellent craft books that I worked my way through.<br /><br />One big update is that I&rsquo;m now offering writing <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/editing-services.html" target="_blank">coaching and one-off consultations</a>. These are very flexible services, tailored to fit you and your writing and your budget. Some ways you might want to use these include getting feedback on short stories, seeking advice on your next steps, or discussing ways to strengthen your writing. There&rsquo;s more info <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/editing-services.html" target="_blank">here</a> if that sounds like it might be what you&rsquo;re looking for.<br /><br />I did basically no marketing whilst I was off, so my work calendar for the year is currently looking a bit emptier than I&rsquo;d like (apart from June? Everyone wants to book for June? Is something happening in June that no one has told me about?). Please feel very free to drop me an <a href="mailto:philippa@lexicalpeaks.com">email</a> with any editing or coaching enquiries!<br /><br />That's all from me this month! I'm excited for February: some extra daylight sneaking in, maybe a bit more snow (I am <em>always </em>hoping for more snow), a copyedit of a delightful nonfiction book, and then finishing the month off with a relaxing week away.&nbsp;<br /><br />Wishing you all plenty of winter sunshine and/or cosy reads.</div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[maternity leave when you really, really love your job]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/maternity-leave-when-you-really-really-love-your-job]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/maternity-leave-when-you-really-really-love-your-job#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Tue, 31 Dec 2024 11:39:30 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Lexical Peaks Updates]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/maternity-leave-when-you-really-really-love-your-job</guid><description><![CDATA[Hello! It&rsquo;s been very quiet around here recently, mainly because I&rsquo;ve been busy having a baby. Said baby is now nine months old and very definitely keeping me on my toes!&#8203;I&rsquo;ve taken on some small jobs whilst on maternity leave, including a developmental edit of a non-fiction nature book, developmental edits of a couple of fantasy/sci-fi short stories and lead magnets, and proofreads of flash fiction and short stories that were being submitted to varying literary magazines [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="paragraph">Hello! It&rsquo;s been very quiet around here recently, mainly because I&rsquo;ve been busy having a baby. Said baby is now nine months old and very definitely keeping me on my toes!<br />&#8203;<br />I&rsquo;ve taken on some small jobs whilst on maternity leave, including a developmental edit of a non-fiction nature book, developmental edits of a couple of fantasy/sci-fi short stories and lead magnets, and proofreads of flash fiction and short stories that were being submitted to varying literary magazines and competitions. I feel very lucky as every one of these edits/proofreads was a delight &ndash; all strong and interesting story ideas and lovely authors. It really has been a joy!<br /></div>  <div class="wsite-spacer" style="height:50px;"></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">&#8203;Things I&rsquo;ve Been Reading<br /></h2>  <div class="paragraph">Although I haven&rsquo;t spent very much time at my desk over the last few months, I have spent an awful lot of time learning about and thinking about stories. I&rsquo;ve read a surprising amount, mainly thanks to those middle of the night feeding slots. It&rsquo;s been an interesting mix of pregnancy/birth/parenting books, lighter reads for when my brain felt like mush (I&rsquo;ve particularly been enjoying Emily Henry&rsquo;s bookish romances), short story collections (perfect for dipping in and out of depending on my mood/brain power levels), and some really excellent books which had been on my TBR pile for a while. Particular highlights have included:<br /><br />- <em>Doggerland</em> by Ben Smith. Just EXCELLENT.<br /><br />- <em>Lanny</em> by Max Porter. As above tbh. Utterly unlike anything else I&rsquo;ve ever read.<br /><br />- <em>The Convenience Store Woman</em> by Sayaka Murata. A friend lent me this; I rarely read books or authors that I haven&rsquo;t heard of before (life is short and my TBR list is long&hellip;), but this was fascinating and immersive and I was really glad to have read it. Also short! Short books are great when you&rsquo;re in baby-land!<br /><br />- <em>This Paradise</em> by Ruby Cowling. I loved how experimental this was, and found every story completely absorbing.<br /><br />- <em>Orbital</em> by Samantha Harvey. Worth every word of hype. I cannot get over how well-written and also well-researched this was; if you told me Samantha Harvey had spent a year on the ISS I would have believed you without a second thought. Very much hoping this starts a new trend of literary fiction set in space.<br /><br />- <em>The Garden</em> by Nick Newman, out at the end of January 2025. Part dystopia, part folk horror, all round brilliant.<br /><br />- <em>Starling House</em> by Alix E. Harrow. I absolutely loved <em>The Once and Future Witches</em>, so I was thrilled to find this was just as good. Strong <em>Piranesi</em> vibes.<br /><br />I also did some early reading for a national book prize, which I&rsquo;m planning to share some more info about in a future blog post.<br /></div>  <div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:20px;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/uploads/1/3/5/2/135270697/editor/starling-house-by-alix-e-harrow.jpg?1735648163" alt="A black and white cat lying on a sofa with Starling House by Alix E. HarrowPicture" style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">Starling House by Alix E. Harrow, featuring a cat.</div> </div></div>  <div class="wsite-spacer" style="height:50px;"></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">&#8203;Things I&rsquo;ve Been Writing<br /></h2>  <div class="paragraph">When I&rsquo;ve found time, I&rsquo;ve been plodding away with my own writing. My novel (currently mid-way through draft two) has been put to the side for a bit; I find I need full days to get into the world of a novel, and that hasn&rsquo;t been possible recently for obvious reasons. However, I have really enjoyed focusing my attention on short stories. I&rsquo;ve had a short story called <em>Rise</em> published by Dark Mountain Project in their latest anthology, <em>Dark Ocean</em>, and another one of my short stories called <em>The Dolls, The Dolls</em> was shortlisted by Comma Press for The Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction 2024, with a theme of the uncanny. Having a couple of successes has definitely made the submission slog feel less painful!<br /><br />I&rsquo;m usually outdoors most of the summer, but with my climbing/mountain time reduced this year, I was able to get more involved with the local writing community instead. I went to the Anglesey Writing Festival (a whole baby-free day!) and have managed to attend a couple of local open mic nights. It&rsquo;s been great to hear other people&rsquo;s work, and I even worked up the nerve to read a bit of my own writing at the most recent one (this was terrifying).<br /><br />There is always so much to learn about writing, and it&rsquo;s been refreshing to use my brain for something non-baby related. I&rsquo;ve worked my way through <em>Short Circuit</em>, edited by Vanessa Gebbie, which I found invaluable as a source of short story knowledge and a celebration of the form, and am currently reading <em>Reverse Engineering</em>, from Scratch Books, where a group of writers reflect on how their short stories came together. It&rsquo;s really fascinating &ndash; not to mention helpful &ndash; to get an insight into how each writer has approached shaping and refining their stories.&nbsp;</div>  <div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:20px;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/uploads/1/3/5/2/135270697/published/doggerland-by-ben-smith.jpg?1735648465" alt="A black cat on a sofa with Doggerland by Ben Smith" style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">Doggerland by Ben Smith, also featuring a cat.</div> </div></div>  <div class="wsite-spacer" style="height:50px;"></div>  <h2 class="wsite-content-title">&#8203;Editing Training and Updates</h2>  <div class="paragraph">In the autumn, I worked my way through Jennifer Lawler&rsquo;s excellent course on coaching writers. I&rsquo;ve done a bit of coaching for writers previously, and I&rsquo;m looking forward to offering more of this from January. My pre-editing background is in teaching, so it&rsquo;s been great to transfer some of those skills. I absolutely love talking about writing and story ideas and helping writers figure out how to move forward. I realise manuscript critiques and full developmental edits can often be out of writers&rsquo; budgets, so I&rsquo;m excited to have a more flexible and affordable option to offer.<br /><br />If you&rsquo;re looking to improve your writing craft or just want feedback on one specific piece/area of writing, this could be a great fit for you. Maybe you&rsquo;re struggling with a tricky story opening or ending, or can&rsquo;t figure out if your dialogue sounds realistic, or are wondering how to trickle in worldbuilding details without info-dumping; it can be invaluable to have someone to offer some feedback on your writing, or to bounce ideas off if you feel like you&rsquo;ve written yourself into a plothole. Drop me an <a href="mailto:philippa@lexicalpeaks.com">email</a> and we can discuss what would work for you and your writing and your budget. If you&rsquo;ve read this far, mention that when you get in touch and I&rsquo;ll happily offer you a coaching session in January for 30% off.<br /><br />The one thing I have not given even the slightest bit of thought to whilst on maternity leave has been marketing &ndash; oops. SO, if you&rsquo;re looking for an editor or proofreader, the good news is I&rsquo;ve got plenty of last-minute availability over the next couple of months! Drop me an <a href="mailto:philippa@lexicalpeaks.com">email</a> or fill in my <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/contact.html">contact form</a> &ndash; I&rsquo;d love to chat about your project and work out if we&rsquo;d be a good fit to work together.<br /><br />If you have any thoughts/questions about anything I&rsquo;ve said or want to discuss any of the books I&rsquo;ve mentioned above or want to recommend me a book (please do this), I would love to hear from you!<br /><br />However you celebrate, I hope you&rsquo;ve had a wonderful festive season and that the new year brings you joy, comfort and a stack of excellent books.<br /></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[maternity leave]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/maternity-leave]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/maternity-leave#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Tue, 17 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/maternity-leave</guid><description><![CDATA[I am (mostly) on maternity leave until 1st December 2024. Get in touch to book in novel-length projects from December. If you're looking for editing services on a shorter piece or coaching, I might be able to fit you in before then; drop me an email to discuss. [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="paragraph">I am (mostly) on maternity leave until 1st December 2024. <a href="https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/contact.html">Get in touch</a> to book in novel-length projects from December. If you're looking for editing services on a shorter piece or coaching, I might be able to fit you in before then; <a href="mailto:philippa@lexicalpeaks.com">drop me an email</a> to discuss.</div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Lexical Unravellings]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/lexical-unravellings]]></link><comments><![CDATA[https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/lexical-unravellings#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Fri, 18 Aug 2023 15:08:27 GMT</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Lexical Unravellings]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.lexicalpeaks.com/blog/lexical-unravellings</guid><description><![CDATA[Welcome to a new series on my blog! Lexical Unravellings is where I&rsquo;m going to get into the nitty gritty of crafting a book that your readers will think is magical: plot, structure, characterisation, voice, writing craft&hellip; all those details that add up to create a book that will stay with the reader long after they read the last page.&#8203;I often find myself reading published books which had the potential to be truly brilliant reads but just didn&rsquo;t quite get there. My aim wit [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="paragraph">Welcome to a new series on my blog! Lexical Unravellings is where I&rsquo;m going to get into the nitty gritty of crafting a book that your readers will think is magical: plot, structure, characterisation, voice, writing craft&hellip; all those details that add up to create a book that will stay with the reader long after they read the last page.<br />&#8203;<br />I often find myself reading published books which had the potential to be truly brilliant reads but just didn&rsquo;t quite get there. My aim with this series is to unpick common areas that could be tightened up, and to offer helpful and clear advice which you can take away and apply to your own writing. It&rsquo;s the sort of feedback I&rsquo;d offer in a developmental edit but, of course, considerably more generalized.<br /><br />Although I&rsquo;m going to be unpicking issues that I&rsquo;ve noticed in books I&rsquo;ve read, I&rsquo;m not planning to name these books or their authors (unless it&rsquo;s anyone super famous &ndash; someone of J. K. Rowling&rsquo;s stature is hardly going to be affected by my little blog posts). Writing is hard and finishing a novel is a significant achievement, so I am definitely not here to pull apart anyone&rsquo;s work.<br /><br />I&rsquo;m also planning to chat about some editing stuff: how I approach edits, what to look for in an editor, do you really need to book a developmental edit &ndash; those sort of things.<br /><br />I hope to finish each post with a list of resources for further reading. This might be books on the craft of writing which cover this topic, or books/authors I thought tackled it well, or blogposts on a similar topic.<br /><br />I&rsquo;m looking forward to diving deeper into some writing chat over the next few weeks and months! If you do have any particular topics that you&rsquo;d like me to discuss, feel very free to drop me an email.&nbsp;<br /></div>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>