Aliventures
Making the most of your writing time
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Latest Blog Posts

Five Different Approaches to Developing Characters
This post was first published in April 2019 and last updated in May 2025. Whether you consider plot to be more important than character or you believe they’re just two sides of the same coin, it’s clear that character matters. Readers want characters who are engaging...

How to Write a Flashback: Five Tips and Four Examples
One challenge that you’re likely to face when writing a novel is how to fill the reader in about important events in your main character’s past. There are various techniques you can use for this—one of which is a flashback. Flashbacks can be fun to write, but they can...

Annual Writing Goal Progress in Q1, 2025 (What’s Working and What’s Not?)
We’re into April already! It’s been a pretty good first quarter (Q1) for me, though one with a few challenges. I’ve been broadly happy with the writing progress I’ve made, and I wanted to share how things are going, what’s working, what’s not quite working so well,...
About Ali
I’m an author (of both fiction and non-fiction) and a freelancer. Aliventures is my homebase online where I share articles on the art, craft and business of writing.
I live in Leeds (UK) with my husband and two kids, and I have degrees in English (MA Cantab, Cambridge University) and Creative & Life Writing (MA, Goldsmiths College, University of London).
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