Before I became a child who watched television, I was familiar with lines of speech. Both my parents were keen am-drams. I was holding a script, hearing them say their lines, as soon as I could read. As an adult, I’m a great film goer. I love the instant action, the drama which can be … Continue reading To Tag or not
I have a completed manuscript which I am trying to place. It began as the diary of a certain two years of my life which soon became a complete history. I amended a chapter of the manscript to read as a complete piece and submitted it for the Fish Short Memoir Prize. It was shortlisted. … Continue reading Memoir…or not?
One of the delights of returning to the same house each summer is finding books which are old favourites. Looking for a book to read I found Jane Gardam’s A Long Way to Verona. Great! Because the novel is told by a child narrator and the next draft novel I have to consider and re-write … Continue reading Child Narrators (2)
Holidays are odd, aren’t they? When I was a child we had an annual holiday of a week by the sea. To begin with we stayed with my maternal grandmother – making accommodation free – three of us sleeping in the same double bed, swimming in the grey waters of the English Channel, sitting on … Continue reading Holidays
We all know taking a break is a 'good thing'. We've been hearing about the benefits of a sabbatical in the news this week as the government considers sabbaticals for teachers. Apparently they refresh your attitude and energize you to put more into your day, in short, work miracles. I've never had a sabbatical, only … Continue reading Taking a Break
For years I avoided this. For years I've been trying to publish the traditional way. I've had some successes but small ones. Seven draft novels sit in the cupboard and I keep typing. But, in the end, the internet is irresistable and I have been seduced once before. This week, I have a short story, … Continue reading On line publishing
My memoir is complete. I have written all want to write. I have told my story. I have lost count of how many drafts I've created. I've been writing various versions of this history for the last 16 years. Lesson 1. The first draft won't do. Most writers create, destroy, re-create. Writing takes a long … Continue reading You think you have finished…
This week I am to submit the work I have produced, on the Unthank School’s ‘How to Write a Novel’ course, for their appraisal. With the 5000 word narration from the novel I have been working on with the tutor, I am asked to attach an evaluation of my writing. A synopsis is optional. Writing … Continue reading Writing Towards an Achievement
As a reader of the Saturday Guardian, I do miss the former, now demised, Review Section. My five minutes with Tim Lott were a tonic as were the many other sections of this publication. I understand re mounting costs but seems sad that various aspects of life are becomming thinner. Especially in the world of … Continue reading A Writer’s Day
We are drawing to the end of Module Three of the How to Write a Novel course, on-line with theUnthankSchool. I will talk more about this illuminating course later - giving away no free-bies. However, I want to show you what emerged from an exercise we were asked to do during a section of the … Continue reading Writing a Walk
