Writing Hour Roundup: 31 January 2023


Shutterstock / 13_Phunkod © person using social media

“The People’s Friend” Writing Hour is held every Tuesday at 11 a.m. on Twitter. It’s a time when we can get together with writers for a chat and it’s always heaps of fun!

Every week we summarise everything that went on right here for those who missed out.


How is everyone this week? Do you have any news you’d like to share? 

From small wins to big life events, this week has been packed for our writers! 

We’re so happy to see that two of our writers have books coming out this week. 

Philippa Carey’s, “Our Lips Are Sealed”, and Jenny Worstall’s, “Perfectly In Tune”, are both out today. 

Both books began as Pocket Novels for “The People’s Friend” and for our sister magazine “My Weekly” respectively. Congratulations to both writers!  

Is there one subject matter you want to write a story about, but haven’t got around to yet? 

Some of you are interested in writing for a certain time of year. Tracey has written a comprehensive guide to submitting seasonal stories to “The People’s Friend” that you’ll find extremely useful.  

Others have specific interests such as the miners’ strike, chocolate crafting and steam railways. That’s brilliant! When you have passion for the subject matter of your story it definitely comes through in the writing.  

Maybe 2023 is the year to write it – there are still 11 months to go, after all. Make it your challenge this year. 

Do you listen to music when you’re writing or reading? 

There was an almost even split between yes and no answers. If you like to listen to music when writing or reading, there are links and recommendations you might enjoy in this thread. 

If you were going to design your perfect library and reading space, would you go dark and traditional or light and airy? 

Most of you went for light and airy, although some of you would love a dark and traditional space. A few of you would like to cheat and have the best of both worlds! 

Do you go to author events and book signings? 

Most of you do go to them. They can be a nice treat if you’re lucky enough to have lots of events near you! 

If you needed to cheer a friend up, what book would you give them? 

Check out this thread if you’re looking for something to cheer you up. There are so many lovely answers. 

We love this answer. That’s a great idea! 


We’ll see you at our next Writing Hour on Twitter — 11 a.m. on Tuesday 7 February, 2023.

Or catch up on 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.