HeyJaredWriting in the margins
Notes from an aspiring novelist on writing, working in publishing, editing, reading & being a creative
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
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- Sep 24, 2026
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- Jul 9, 2026
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My autumn reading list (opens the original)
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It’s book lovers’ favourite reading season. Collectively we agree that the cosy, chilly, transformative nature of autumn is the best reading period. I have a stack of books I want to read which are thrilling, horrifying, unsettling and psychedelic, as well as some more cosy and comforting books because with the dark there must also be light.As always, if I don’t manage to get around to any of the books on this list, they’ll be shunted to the following autumn. Just like with the <a href="https://
Writing doesn’t have to be linear (opens the original)
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When writing my first book I wrote it chronologically, Chapter 1 through to Chapter 30, never skipping ahead, chugging along. This got me a first draft, which I redrafted (not enough) before leaving it in a drawer to begin this new writing project. I always rejected the writing advice about not needing to write scenes in order, but like most advice, I would place myself in the “not applicable” category and carry on doing things the way I always had. So, while writing the first draft of this new
I just don't care (opens the original)
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I’ve gotten better at abandoning books midway if I’m not enjoying them, but I still hate-read a book until the final page from time to time, determined to see it out in hope there’s a crescendo which puts my doubt to shame. But more often than not, it doesn’t even matter the outcome of the book if I don’t even care what happens to the characters.Subscribe nowI used to think writing a book with high steaks meant upping the ante, but really, I’ve come to understand that r
Beach reads (opens the original)
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The beach read! It’s a genre in itself, the perfect book for sandy toes and salty sea air. Although everyone wants to read something different on holiday. I’m not the kind to read a dark psychological thriller on the beach, or anything too taxing.A beach reading list is a fine balance for me, where I want something to sink my teeth into as well as a relaxing, shut-my-brain-off kind of read. I like to accumulate an array of books which do both.Here are the books I’ve read on holiday for the past
Starting over stronger (opens the original)
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Many authors say that their debut wasn’t the first book they wrote. Claire Daverley wrote two books before Talking at Night was released. I was mildly aware of this fact while writing my first novel manuscript straight out of university, yet the feedback I received encouraged me that it had a place in the market and my narrator had a strong voice. However, eight months into querying literary agents with no one biting, I came to the realisation that I may also fall under the category of writers w
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