Writing Hour Roundup: 12 October 2021


writing hour

Writing Hour was great fun as always again this week!

Now here’s your roundup of everything that happened . . .

How is everyone this week? What are you reading at the moment?

While listing every book you’re all reading right now is tempting, I thought it would be more interesting to break them down into reading stats!

This week, a whopping 50% of you are reading historical fiction, while 27% are enjoying a good crime, thriller or mystery.

11% are stuck into nonfiction or a memoir and 6% are reading contemporary, while another 6% are deep into a fantasy.

Keep up with the “Friend” team’s recent reads by checking out our book reviews.

Do you find writing seasonal stories easier than general ones?

We’re really surprised by this answer!

The large majority of you said that you prefer writing general stories to tying yourself to a certain season.

Are you ever 100% happy with your writing? Does your confidence come and go?

No answer is wrong here – we just hope none of you are being too hard on yourselves!

Even the most successful of authors have struggled with confidence and dreaded rejections.

Celebrate all your wins – not just acceptances. Did you sit down to write 100 words today? Did you submit a story? Perhaps you did some research.

Take your time and give yourself the credit you deserve. Writing is hard!

Do you still enjoy writing fiction as much as you did when you started?

It’s great to see that most of you seem to enjoy it more now than ever! That’s great!

If you could adapt any book into a film which one would you choose?

Your ideas were all great. If only we were all film producers!

I asked the Fiction team which books they’d like to see played out on the big screen.

Tracey said:

“I would love to see ‘Still Life’ by Sarah Winman adapted.

As it’s set mostly in Florence it would be visually stunning and it would also be the perfect film for a rainy afternoon with a big plate of pasta!”

And I’d love to see Sofia Segovia’s, ‘The Murmur of Bees’ turned into a film.

It would be beautifully surreal as the book falls into the genre of magical realism.

If you could ask any author one question, who would it be and what would you ask?

You all posed some great interview questions, but our favourite has to be Jill Barry’s . . .

“I’d love to ask Jane Austen whether she approves of modern day Mr Darcy’s wet shirt scene! Sorry. I’ll get me coat.”


Come and join us for our next Writing Hour on Twitter — 11 a.m. on Tuesday 19 October, 2021.

Or click here for our previous roundups.

Abigail Phillips

Abbie is the newest member of the fiction team at the "Friend." She loves how varied the role is - every day is different and there is always a new story to read. She is keen to work closely with established writers and discover new writers, too.