After last week’s flight into literary fancy, it’s back to basics with those ‘how-to-do-it’ books on my shelf. Ignoring John Mullan’s how novels work book, I still think James N Frey’s book How to Write a Damned Good Novel is, well, damned good. It was published in 1987 so I’ll just check if you can … Continue reading BACK TO REALITY
I’m aware that many writers balance their writing commitments with an energy and enthusiasm which I have temporarily mislaid. For me, any productive writing only takes place 9.30am-1pm with one break for coffee. I prefer to work on one piece of writing at a time. My current on-going work is the third draft of a … Continue reading Managing Three Writing Projects
Well, I’m not doing a graph – yet. So far I’ve made cards for each scene I have print-outs for, which take me to the end of the first draft of the novel, but I've at least two new scenes to write. See featured image at the top of this blog. The first page gives: … Continue reading Writing the Outline
I have been charged by my writing mentor to produce an outline of my novel – not a synopsis – for our next meeting scheduled for the last week of May. Let’s ignore the aggravating possibility that this discussion might have to take place courtesy of Skype or might be cancelled altogether. There are two … Continue reading Lock-In = Write Outline
I'm re-writing my novel set in the 1950s, written during my 2 years on the MA in Creative Writing at Chichester University. The story started out with one narrator, a child, who then had a mother with her own history and then an uncle. His experiences took the reader back to WWII and then there … Continue reading Researching World War Two
I've been away from London taking a break from daily life and the publishing world. I've been in Russia, a place which brings to mind those books and short stories set in that far away country. Years ago, Radio 4 broadcast Tolstoy's War and Peace as a serialised drama. Newly married, we had no TV … Continue reading Crossing Continents
Yesterday evening I went to an event of the Royal Society of Literature. I've been a member for several years now and would recommend membership to all concerned with reading and writing. Even if you can't always attend the events, the RSL Review keeps you up to date with events and life at the RSL. … Continue reading Writing the Gothic
The monthly writers magazine Mslexia has a regular column called 'X,s (celebrity's name) Bedside Table.' My bedside table is an old wooden table I painted a blue-grey. It has two surfaces, the top and a shelf near to the floor. The permanent features are a lamp with shade, a travelling alarm clock - I never … Continue reading My Bedside Table
