Matt Cruse
@mattcruse.bsky.social
Writer and sometime filmmaker with a penchant for the uncanny. BBC in a previous life. Film: The Watcher Self.
linktr.ee/MattCruse
linktr.ee/MattCruse
Chuffed to hear Ken Whitmore’s radio play “The Gingerbread House” introduced by @tobyhadoke.bsky.social in the 7th Dimension on Radio 4 Extra. This was my suggestion for the “All Request Weekend”. Listen on BBC Sounds while you have the chance. 🏚️🔊
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Gingerbread House by Ken Whitmore
Cynthia believes her stepchildren must face up to the threats of the real world.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 18, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Chuffed to hear Ken Whitmore’s radio play “The Gingerbread House” introduced by @tobyhadoke.bsky.social in the 7th Dimension on Radio 4 Extra. This was my suggestion for the “All Request Weekend”. Listen on BBC Sounds while you have the chance. 🏚️🔊
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
A very enjoyable and inspiring children’s fiction writing workshop this evening with Liz Hyder (@londonbessie.bsky.social). Thanks to Brunel University for this series, plus the usual admirable hosting duties from Helen Cullen (@wordsofhelen.bsky.social)! ✍️
On July 23rd we have our first free workshop - writing children's fiction with Nero Book Awards Children's Fiction Winner, Liz Hyder @londonbessie.bsky.social. Register here to secure your spot: www.eventbrite.com/e/writing-ch...
July 23, 2025 at 9:24 PM
A very enjoyable and inspiring children’s fiction writing workshop this evening with Liz Hyder (@londonbessie.bsky.social). Thanks to Brunel University for this series, plus the usual admirable hosting duties from Helen Cullen (@wordsofhelen.bsky.social)! ✍️
For today's writing displacement activity, I will mostly be playing "The Pyramid" on the Commodore 64. Mutant typewriters; lethal scissors; psychopathic teddy bears; funny shaped things I can't put a name to. It's everything you want from a fever dream. 🕹️
July 1, 2025 at 1:15 PM
For today's writing displacement activity, I will mostly be playing "The Pyramid" on the Commodore 64. Mutant typewriters; lethal scissors; psychopathic teddy bears; funny shaped things I can't put a name to. It's everything you want from a fever dream. 🕹️
Thank you @clareswatmanauthor.bsky.social for enduring five weeks of my pointless piffle on this excellent @cbcreative.bsky.social course. ✍️
And a special thank you to the wonderful @mariankeyes.bsky.social for her calm and inspiring video lessons. 📺
www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...
And a special thank you to the wonderful @mariankeyes.bsky.social for her calm and inspiring video lessons. 📺
www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...
Writing Fiction with Marian Keyes | Online Course
Marian Keyes, Ireland’s biggest-selling author, gives her unique take on how to find your authentic writing voice and have a beautiful time working on your novel.
www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk
June 22, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Thank you @clareswatmanauthor.bsky.social for enduring five weeks of my pointless piffle on this excellent @cbcreative.bsky.social course. ✍️
And a special thank you to the wonderful @mariankeyes.bsky.social for her calm and inspiring video lessons. 📺
www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...
And a special thank you to the wonderful @mariankeyes.bsky.social for her calm and inspiring video lessons. 📺
www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...
It is important for writers to engage with their audience via the power of social media. Please find attached a picture of a boiled egg. Like books, eggs are important. For maximum effect, look at this boiled egg whilst eating cheddar cheese just before bedtime, then enjoy the fever dream. 🥚🧀😴
June 14, 2025 at 12:21 PM
It is important for writers to engage with their audience via the power of social media. Please find attached a picture of a boiled egg. Like books, eggs are important. For maximum effect, look at this boiled egg whilst eating cheddar cheese just before bedtime, then enjoy the fever dream. 🥚🧀😴
Reposted by Matt Cruse
Top tip: if you can't make your illegal pdf download of a book work, the author is not your next port of call.
April 17, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Top tip: if you can't make your illegal pdf download of a book work, the author is not your next port of call.
Back in the day, I used to give writers a very specific piece of advice: never start a line of dialogue with “As you know”. As in:
“As you know, we’ve just been to Waitrose.” (Sitcom)
“As you know, I’m your son.“ (Sitcom)
“As you know, you rejected my script last month.” (Covering letter) ✍️
“As you know, we’ve just been to Waitrose.” (Sitcom)
“As you know, I’m your son.“ (Sitcom)
“As you know, you rejected my script last month.” (Covering letter) ✍️
March 29, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Back in the day, I used to give writers a very specific piece of advice: never start a line of dialogue with “As you know”. As in:
“As you know, we’ve just been to Waitrose.” (Sitcom)
“As you know, I’m your son.“ (Sitcom)
“As you know, you rejected my script last month.” (Covering letter) ✍️
“As you know, we’ve just been to Waitrose.” (Sitcom)
“As you know, I’m your son.“ (Sitcom)
“As you know, you rejected my script last month.” (Covering letter) ✍️
National reading stats on World Book Day! WARNING: Contains numbers. 📚🧮
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
New poll finds 40% of Britons have not read a book in the past year
The median British adult has read or listened to three books in the past 12 months with reading habits also split along gender, class and political divides
www.theguardian.com
March 6, 2025 at 3:25 PM
National reading stats on World Book Day! WARNING: Contains numbers. 📚🧮
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
I’m currently going through a phase I’ve decided to call “writer’s treacle”. It’s sort of like writer’s block but with slightly less constipation. ✍️🍯
March 6, 2025 at 3:12 PM
I’m currently going through a phase I’ve decided to call “writer’s treacle”. It’s sort of like writer’s block but with slightly less constipation. ✍️🍯
A pleasant afternoon spent at @waterstones.bsky.social Piccadilly, including a browse around the new Booker Prize Library. I bought a Spike Milligan memoir (not a Booker Prize winner but should've been). 📚
March 5, 2025 at 7:26 PM
A pleasant afternoon spent at @waterstones.bsky.social Piccadilly, including a browse around the new Booker Prize Library. I bought a Spike Milligan memoir (not a Booker Prize winner but should've been). 📚
Reposted by Matt Cruse
Thought I'd demystify publishing language for debuts.
'Structural edit' = rewrite your book
'Line edit' = all these sentences are wrong
'Copy edit' = your chronology is wrong
'Proof read' = there are still loads of errors
'Second proof read' = how the hell is your punctuation still up the spout?
'Structural edit' = rewrite your book
'Line edit' = all these sentences are wrong
'Copy edit' = your chronology is wrong
'Proof read' = there are still loads of errors
'Second proof read' = how the hell is your punctuation still up the spout?
March 2, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Thought I'd demystify publishing language for debuts.
'Structural edit' = rewrite your book
'Line edit' = all these sentences are wrong
'Copy edit' = your chronology is wrong
'Proof read' = there are still loads of errors
'Second proof read' = how the hell is your punctuation still up the spout?
'Structural edit' = rewrite your book
'Line edit' = all these sentences are wrong
'Copy edit' = your chronology is wrong
'Proof read' = there are still loads of errors
'Second proof read' = how the hell is your punctuation still up the spout?
I’ve been struggling with the novel a bit lately.
There are many videos on the Tube of You giving tips on “how to fall in love with your writing again” and these have proved invaluable.
As such, I've been looking at the areas of the book I enjoy writing most and managed to do 1000 words today. ✍️
There are many videos on the Tube of You giving tips on “how to fall in love with your writing again” and these have proved invaluable.
As such, I've been looking at the areas of the book I enjoy writing most and managed to do 1000 words today. ✍️
February 20, 2025 at 5:49 PM
I’ve been struggling with the novel a bit lately.
There are many videos on the Tube of You giving tips on “how to fall in love with your writing again” and these have proved invaluable.
As such, I've been looking at the areas of the book I enjoy writing most and managed to do 1000 words today. ✍️
There are many videos on the Tube of You giving tips on “how to fall in love with your writing again” and these have proved invaluable.
As such, I've been looking at the areas of the book I enjoy writing most and managed to do 1000 words today. ✍️
Some nice bookmarks with today’s delivery from Booksplease. Reminds me of the good old days of Book Depository! 📚☕
February 18, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Some nice bookmarks with today’s delivery from Booksplease. Reminds me of the good old days of Book Depository! 📚☕
I’m on a mission to read all the unread books I’ve accumulated over the years. I completely forgot that I’d bought “The Rebecca Notebook” by Daphne du Maurier at the same time as “Rebecca”. It was on one of my shelves under a book about how to solve the Rubik’s Cube. 📚
February 8, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I’m on a mission to read all the unread books I’ve accumulated over the years. I completely forgot that I’d bought “The Rebecca Notebook” by Daphne du Maurier at the same time as “Rebecca”. It was on one of my shelves under a book about how to solve the Rubik’s Cube. 📚
What a wonderful episode of BBC Inside the Factory showing us how the Penguin Clothbound Classics edition of “Pride and Prejudice” is made. 📚🦢
@penguinbooksusa.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
@penguinbooksusa.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC One - Inside the Factory, Series 9, Hardback Books
Paddy McGuinness visits a factory producing three million books every week.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 29, 2025 at 6:23 PM
What a wonderful episode of BBC Inside the Factory showing us how the Penguin Clothbound Classics edition of “Pride and Prejudice” is made. 📚🦢
@penguinbooksusa.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
@penguinbooksusa.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Just say “no”. Not a Grange Hill reference but wise words for writers from @nadinematheson.com. ✍️
nadinemathesontalks.substack.com/p/i-have-the...
nadinemathesontalks.substack.com/p/i-have-the...
I Have The Power
Wielding the mighty sword of 'No!'
nadinemathesontalks.substack.com
January 20, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Just say “no”. Not a Grange Hill reference but wise words for writers from @nadinematheson.com. ✍️
nadinemathesontalks.substack.com/p/i-have-the...
nadinemathesontalks.substack.com/p/i-have-the...
“Hundreds of thousands of words written, then rewritten.” It’s how the magic happens, folks! ✍️
Small Fires is a story I have been writing for five years.
I wrote it in a fever: six weeks of unwashed hair, crumbs on my keyboard and madness. That story was about a father and son and a crime that ran through three generations. This is a story about two sisters.
1/3 thread
I wrote it in a fever: six weeks of unwashed hair, crumbs on my keyboard and madness. That story was about a father and son and a crime that ran through three generations. This is a story about two sisters.
1/3 thread
January 18, 2025 at 12:59 PM
“Hundreds of thousands of words written, then rewritten.” It’s how the magic happens, folks! ✍️
A Jo Leevers book for a quid. Stick it in your TBR pile! 📚
January 17, 2025 at 6:44 PM
A Jo Leevers book for a quid. Stick it in your TBR pile! 📚
Finally, after many years of owning it, I’ve read “Ben, in the World” by Doris Lessing, her sequel to the strange and disturbing “The Fifth Child”. Brilliant, gripping and tragic. Like its predecessor, it’s a nice quick read at 178 pages. I love my Flamingo editions which have “metallic” covers. 📚
January 17, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Finally, after many years of owning it, I’ve read “Ben, in the World” by Doris Lessing, her sequel to the strange and disturbing “The Fifth Child”. Brilliant, gripping and tragic. Like its predecessor, it’s a nice quick read at 178 pages. I love my Flamingo editions which have “metallic” covers. 📚
On the subject of good first pages from @cbcreative.bsky.social. ✍️📚
www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog/how-to-...
www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog/how-to-...
How to write a good first page
These tips from our founder and director Anna Davis will help you craft a compelling first page and instantly capture the imagination of your reader.
www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk
January 16, 2025 at 7:21 PM
On the subject of good first pages from @cbcreative.bsky.social. ✍️📚
www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog/how-to-...
www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog/how-to-...
Valuable insight from @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social courtesy of @janefriedman.com about different writing routines. I currently write most days – but not every day – and it can be anything from 30 minutes to four hours per session. ✍️
janefriedman.com/dont-write-e...
janefriedman.com/dont-write-e...
Don’t Write Every Day: 3 Things to Do Instead to Finish Your Book | Jane Friedman
It’s tempting to agonize over the best way to get the words down, but all that matters is to choose a project, write it, and ask for support.
janefriedman.com
January 13, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Valuable insight from @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social courtesy of @janefriedman.com about different writing routines. I currently write most days – but not every day – and it can be anything from 30 minutes to four hours per session. ✍️
janefriedman.com/dont-write-e...
janefriedman.com/dont-write-e...
You can’t beat a bit o’ Old English! I’ve added “uhtcearu” to my vocab book (yes, I still do this). Well, you never know when you might need such a word. 💬
Word of the Day is ‘uhtcearu’ [ucht-kay-aru, with the 'ch' as in the Scottish ‘loch']:
Old English for ‘the sorrow before dawn', when you lie awake in the darkness and worries crowd your mind.
Old English for ‘the sorrow before dawn', when you lie awake in the darkness and worries crowd your mind.
January 10, 2025 at 2:59 PM
You can’t beat a bit o’ Old English! I’ve added “uhtcearu” to my vocab book (yes, I still do this). Well, you never know when you might need such a word. 💬
I’m slowly getting over the paralysing fear I had for most of 2024 after I made the decision to “pivot” into the world of novel writing. But, somehow, I managed to get 100,000 words down on paper by Christmas. This wonderful and challenging journey continues into 2025... ✍️
January 8, 2025 at 9:06 PM
I’m slowly getting over the paralysing fear I had for most of 2024 after I made the decision to “pivot” into the world of novel writing. But, somehow, I managed to get 100,000 words down on paper by Christmas. This wonderful and challenging journey continues into 2025... ✍️
I absolutely love my Pentel Kerry 0.7 mechanical pencil. I've mostly used the P205 since I was at school but moved up to the P207 as I found the thicker lead nicer for writing. The Kerry is a writer's dream though as it feels like a fountain pen in the hand. ✍️✏️
www.penaddict.com/blog/2019/2/...
www.penaddict.com/blog/2019/2/...
Pentel Kerry: A "postable" mechanical pencil with an unchanging design since 1971 — The Pen Addict
www.penaddict.com
January 7, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I absolutely love my Pentel Kerry 0.7 mechanical pencil. I've mostly used the P205 since I was at school but moved up to the P207 as I found the thicker lead nicer for writing. The Kerry is a writer's dream though as it feels like a fountain pen in the hand. ✍️✏️
www.penaddict.com/blog/2019/2/...
www.penaddict.com/blog/2019/2/...