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In life people speak about “wanting for nothing” as though it’s a good thing. Actually, in life and in stories, it’s not a good thing at all. It means, basically, […]

I’ve accepted long since that there is no such thing as “objective” truth. Apart from the certainties of maths and science, it’s all a matter of perspective – and even […]

Last week I spoke about writing as a two-way exchange of trust. Part of that trust is playing fair. Readers don’t like to feel ripped off. I gave this advice […]

Consider for a moment the four-dimensional world you live in. You might well be sitting at your computer at this very moment, reading these words… But a few minutes ago, […]

Reading and writing creates a two-way exchange. It’s a matter of trust. The reader must trust their imagination to the writer, who in turn must trust and believe in their […]

People always talk about stand-up comedians and their timing – but you seldom hear people comment on the excellent timing of writers. And yet timing is essential to making a […]

Here (in a moment) is an early passage from a fabulous new book from Tana French, an American writer who has made Dublin her home. The book I took up […]

Say you’ve set up a mystery in your novel. All through her life, a young woman has tried to get her father to talk about her long-lost mother. He has […]

By Clive Goodchild-Brown Eight or so months ago I thought to myself somewhat naively that I wanted to try and write a novel. I am passionate about writing and had […]