This thread popped up in my Quora feed. https://www.quora.com/What-is-your-advice-for-new-writers-trying-to-make-it-in-todays-publishing-world The answer from Andy Weir, the author of The Martian is pithy and accurate: 1) You have to actually write. Daydreaming about the book you’re going to write someday isn’t writing. It’s daydreaming. Open your word processor and start writing. 2) Resist the urge to tell friends and … Continue reading Advice for new writers
This article in the Guardian, about a report published by the literacy charity Quick Reads, set me to thinking about my own reading and writing. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/04/to-kill-a-mockingbird-atticus-finch-voted-most-inspiring-character-harper-lee-hobbit-hunger-games Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mocking Bird is certainly an inspirational character, though his popularity is undoubtedly aided through being played by stalwart Gregory Peck in the film … Continue reading Inspiring fictional characters
Malcolm Gladwell is under fire for his over-generous praise of friends’ and lovers’ books. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/17/fashion/malcolm-gladwell-hands-out-book-blurbs-like-santa-does-presents.html?_r=0 I’ve read a few of his books, enjoying them, though I’m not sure how influenced I’d be if I saw his name on blurb praising an author unknown to me. Then again, if I saw a mystery-murder novel lauded by one … Continue reading A Catalogue of Promiscuous Praise: Dubious Blurbs
I was looking through the articles on books in the Guardian newspaper, finding this interesting piece in the archive about writers and vanity, written by Julian Baggini, a British philosopher. http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/feb/25/writers-vain-egotism-julian-baggini (some great stories on writing beneath this article, and do read the comments section) One of the first pieces of advice that I’d give … Continue reading You’re So Vain
This report from the book section of the Guardian newspaper shows that we shouldn’t worry too much about our work being pirated : http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/24/ebook-pirate-uk-statistics-2015 It’s easy to worry about someone copying your plotline, or of having inadvertently borrowed key elements from a novel that you read ten years ago and had largely forgotten about. There … Continue reading Read It Like You Stole It!
Many famous authors have used one or more pen names, and there can be all sorts of good reasons for the subterfuge – not the least, evading the taxman! I used several noms-de-plume when I was writing magazine articles back in the 20th century, and sometimes these were provided by the journal involved, where various … Continue reading The Perils of Pen Names
This street survey makes for depressing reading. In 2018, Pew Research Center found that 24% of Americans said they hadn’t read a book in any format—print, electronic or audio—in the previous year. There are some surprising statistics in their report, including that: Older Americans are a bit more likely than their younger counterparts not to … Continue reading No Readers!
I’ve read several crime novels recently, which appeared to have been written with the sole intention of testing how strong my stomach is, with detailed descriptions of mutilations, torture and decomposition. Most of them were marketed in a steampunk/Goth/alt.horror way, trading on the image of the author. Chuck Wendig has a strong reputation, and several … Continue reading Repulsive Reading
Some time ago, I posted about authors and their friends appearing in their own books and film adaptations, in a thread called You In Your Book It’s still going on, for quite by chance, I’ve recently read three novels in a row which feature personal appearances. James Lee Burke’s excellent Dave Robicheaux series has long … Continue reading When Writing Gets Personal
After going through a fallow period with reading matter borrowed from my local library, I recently hit pay dirt by finding some of my favourite authors’ books just sitting there on the shelf, waiting for me to come along! Philip Pullman’s La Belle Sauvage and the latest story in Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series The … Continue reading Fantasy Writing Mentors