On Wednesday 16 June, the Royal Society of Literature presented their annual Mrs Dalloway Day, on line. The day concluded with a discussion on the short stories of Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield, with particular reference to their personal relationship or as it was described, their critical friendship. I am sure there are many readers … Continue reading TWO WOMEN WRITERS OF SHORT STORIES
We have jumped the gun a bit and have escaped to a warm and sunny place in Italy. I’m not saying how we did it but we have. No longer physically in lock-down seems to have unlocked my brain too so here I am writing a new post for my blog. Before we left London, … Continue reading Style Proofs
I have been invited to design and give a 2-morning workshop on writing memoir. Brilliant. I've been wanted to workshop writing memoir for a while now. Easy, I thought. After all I've written my own memoir. Then I read someone else's memoir and then another and then a book which was really bio-fiction, which took … Continue reading Memoir – What Exactly Is It? (1)
Advice on how to maintain productivity in a writer’s life insists on the practice of regular writing. Whether you sit down for a session of free writing, have an outline or even a vague plan, the idea is to write something every day. Put the words on paper. Or, more probably, see the words on … Continue reading Disruptions to a Writer’s Life
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
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
In 1942 Winston Churchill said, ‘Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end…’ Which is just a flashy way to say that today is the beginning of the end of our Masterclass on the Short Story at Unthank School. This coming week will be our last. It has … Continue reading Reading Short Stories
I am over half-way through a writing course on the short story with @UnthankSchool. I'm enjoying it and facing new challenges. Which is good. Later, I intend to make a list of all the new things I have learned or read, the advice the tutor has given us and his recommendations for improving our writing. … Continue reading Writing Short Stories
Last week a teacher tweeted asking any writers for co-operation with a project she was leading on Notebooking. The idea that schools teach creative writing is a joy to me. We had the subject Essay Writing, which could have been interpreted as creative writing, although the words sound formal, discouraging to children. Creative Writing speaks … Continue reading Notebooking
Apologies for cribbing the contents of this post but my right hand is in a splint and typing is tricky. We have just enjoyed the Small Wonder Festival at Charleston, so-called because it is dedicated to short prose and fiction. This year, the sixth recipient of the only award to recognise long-standing creativity and achievement … Continue reading Small Wonder Festival at Charleston
jane hayward 