Monday Motivation: Ha, ha, the joke’s on us
An article in the New York Times alerted me to an existential threat confronting all writers. It’s an artificial intelligence construct called ChatGPT. The NYT calls it “quite simply, the […]
Monday Motivation: The writer as voyeur
“I’m in London in a hotel listening to a couple behind me about to embark on an affair. It’s very exciting. I noted him putting his wedding ring in his […]
Monday Motivation: Don’t rush things
How do you communicate a character’s sense that someone they’ve encountered is somehow “off”, not right, not to be trusted, possibly even homicidal? The question arose during a discussion [...]
Monday Motivation: Putting Jeremy Clarkson through hell
Creative writing is not, as some suppose, an arcane art over which only the select few are ever granted mastery, or to which there is access via a magic key, a secret skill available only to the [...]
Monday Motivation: Mud beneath our feet, stars above
Creative writing is not, as some suppose, an arcane art over which only the select few are ever granted mastery, or to which there is access via a magic key, a secret skill available only to the [...]
Monday Motivation: Writing’s “secrets” are in plain view
Creative writing is not, as some suppose, an arcane art over which only the select few are ever granted mastery, or to which there is access via a magic key, a secret skill available only to the [...]
Monday Motivation: The power of The Power of the Dog
The usual suspects are talking up The Power of the Dog as a likely Oscar winner, and Benedict Cumberbatch an Oscar favourite for his role as the cowboy Phil Burbank. For Jane Campion, whose The [...]
Monday Motivation: Six strategies for generating drama and suspense
The most successful drama series of the year in the UK offers us a number of insights into the variety of means writers have at their disposal whenever they need […]
Writing Secrets: Revelations need not bash readers over the head
Readers are clever. They pick up the subtlest clues and don’t need the point hammered home for them. Last week I spoke about the subtle way Barbara Kingsolver leaves a […]
Monday Motivation: Here’s how to write a bestseller
How do you write a best-seller? Shouldn’t be difficult. Bestsellers, after all, aren’t vaunted works of literary magnificence. For the most part, they’re just fast-paced stories, chockablock with [...]
Writing Secrets: Drama leaks away in retrospect – in life and story
We come upon our character lying in bed (or in a restorative bath, for that matter). She sighs, overcome by the dramatic events which have lately overtaken her. Events which […]
