I’ve been listening to a long and fascinating book by Naomi Klein called Doppelganger – about the confusion caused when thousands of people mistook her for another writer, also a […]
We went to the opera last week – one of those productions live-streamed from the stage of the Met Opera in Kennedy Centre, New York. It was one I wasn’t […]
And a very happy, if belated New Year to you, too! I love new years and the opportunity they afford us to start afresh with new projects, new determination and […]
A theme that has turned up time and again in these little essays is the virtues of restraint and limitation. I’m not sure whether this is not something that applies […]
Attend, class! Today we’re going to build a character from the ground up. Our Monday Writing Motivation: The quirkful character will help you build a character fit for your fiction. […]
I am fascinated by memory because it is at once so precise and so vague. I am astonished that our brains hold within them the minutiae of events and incidents […]
For obvious reasons, we usually spend a great deal of time thinking about the protagonist of our stories. He or she is unambiguously our Hero. But we don’t spend as […]
Writers observe. Their observations serve as the foundations on which characters are built and stories developed. We’re in Venice at the moment on our annual retreat – rudely interrupted by […]
Once in a while, when I have the time, I allow myself the luxury of writing an extremely abbreviated Monday Motivation. I was trawling through old notes of mine and […]
Whatever creative narrative you’re writing, the challenge is to establish a balance between character and story. Readers are happy if the writer uses story simply as the washing line on […]
We don’t need to follow your character into the bathroom. Her brushing and flossing routine don’t do it for us – or even for your story. If, however, she enters […]
Be aware of your connection to your character – that silver thread that attaches you to them – and you’ll write better. I believe this and I’ve seen it again […]