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Rosie Johnston’s four poetry books are published by Lapwing Publications in her native Belfast with Six-Count Jive most recently, in March 2019. Mica Press has accepted her fifth, Safe Ground, for publication in late 2024 or early 2025.
‘(Six-Count Jive) is an important little book. Read it.’ Billy Mills; ‘powerful, delicate, perfect poetry,’ Nancy Mattson.
ABOUT ROSIE tells you more about Rosie’s writing, reviews and readings.
Since 2011, Rosie has run writing groups in Cambridge, Canterbury, Bermondsey and Greenwich. Scroll down for Rosie’s blogposts to share in her classes, wherever you live:
17 08 17 WELCOME
17 08 17 GETTING STARTED
17 08 17 What holds our writing back?
17 08 17 Things not to worry about
17 08 17 Three ‘rules’ for writing a novel
27 08 17 How do we get started?
03 09 17 Inspiration or hard graft?
10 09 17 Your book’s world
17 09 17 Fiction’s biggest trick: CHARACTER
17 09 17 The hillside exercise
24 09 17 What is it about Lizzie and Darcy?
01 10 17 Digging for secrets
08 10 17 Did she marry the prince for love or money?
15 10 17 Character is Destiny? Why?
24 10 17 Family skeletons and state secrets
27 10 17 Your characters’ places
29 10 17 Let’s find your plot’s engine
05 11 17 How to make characters feel complex, real and vital
12 11 17 Point of View made ridiculously simple
19 11 17 You, me, I, she – what’s 3rd person about?
26 11 17 CHARACTER INTERVIEWS ALL IN ONE PLACE
03 12 17 Fictionalising real people
10 12 17 Old friends (and how we write them)
17 12 17 How do we write about sex?
07 01 18 PLOT – what is it good for?
14 01 18 The quest for a perfect story
21 01 18 Tell me the truth about love stories
28 01 18 The course of true love stories
04 02 18 Rags to Riches
11 02 18 What can crime thrillers teach us?
18 02 18 Rite of Passage stories
25 02 18 Overcoming the Monster
04 03 18 The weather outside is frightful
11 03 18 Show and Tell? What’s the difference?
18 03 18 Epics – why do we love them so much?
25 03 18 Ten top storytelling tips from Homer
01 04 18 BOX OF TRICKS – introduction
01 04 18 Point of View made easy
02 04 18 1st, 2nd & 3rd person
08 04 18 Through-line – the single most vital trick in writing your novel
15 04 18 Things not to worry about when choosing a title
22 04 18 How to lay out your dialogue
29 04 18 Dialogue – keeping it real
06 05 18 Dialogue – subtext and lying
27 05 18 REWRITING – the First Draft High
03 06 18 Three great tricks for revising your draft
08 06 18 When the writing flow stops – 12 tips to keep writing
10 06 18 10 useful things to get your novel published
17 06 18 Finding a publisher – how did the Brontes do it?
24 06 18 Feedback etiquette – or how to keep your friends
01 07 18 How to avoid painful feedback – calendars and timelines
08 07 18 How to avoid painful feedback – losing track of time
15 07 18 How to get published – what do agents do?
22 07 18 Self-publish – yes or no? #getpublished
27 07 18 What do publishers do, 1? Before your book launch, 8 things to expect
29 07 18 What do publishers do, 2? From book launch to beyond
04 08 18 7 things agents & publishers take for granted – #getpublished
05 08 18 Format your script – #getpublished
12 08 18 Choosing your trad publisher or agent #getpublished
19 08 18 Sending it out – 5 best tips #getpublished
25 08 18 Sending your synopsis #getpublished
26 08 18 Those 1st three chapters – what works best? #getpublished
09 09 18 You’ve sent your submission – what happens next? #getpublished
16 09 18 An agent or publisher is interested – what happens next? #getpublished
Rosie Johnston 