11 January 2016
E-book trash, not publishers, keeps authors poor
Once again we poor slaves of the written word are being categorised as an endangered species, especially those of us who devote our energies to long-form fiction and non-fiction. The Society of Authors is blaming the subsistence level of writers’ earnings on publishers who fail to pay adequate recompense for works that end up as… Continue Reading
11 January 2016
E-book trash, not publishers, keeps authors poor
Once again we poor slaves of the written word are being categorised as an endangered species, especially those of us who devote our energies to long-form fiction and non-fiction. The Society of Authors is blaming the subsistence level of writers’ earnings on publishers who fail to pay adequate recompense for works that end up as… Continue Reading
My fellow writers have long intrigued me with the methods they use for creating the plot-lines of their novels. It is especially fascinating because my own means of devising a plot is probably best described as “let it happen” and I’ll follow along behind. My characters lead me; I don’t lead them or even tell them… Continue Reading
There are days when this already enjoyable job provides additional pleasure. Such as today with my ongoing mentoring of a writer’s work in progress and the arrival of another two chapters. It is such a joy to read. The writer combines lovely descriptive passages with taut and cliché-free dialogue to paint a seductive picture of… Continue Reading
15 February 2015
A Lesson in Writing
I have long been a fan of Louise Welsh and her slightly offbeat tales – always intriguing, striding across genres and never less than enthralling and entertaining. It is, of course, all to do with the writing – economical, concise, never a wasted word and yet having maximum impact. But she really excels in the latest… Continue Reading
Could this be the light at the end of the tunnel? Is this the turn-off on a long and winding road? Maybe it is one of those blips that tend to rattle forecasters before the status quo returns … but the news from the ubiquitous UK bookshop chain, Waterstones, is that sales of Amazon’s Kindle device… Continue Reading
Could it be that among the many words that have become overused, abused and exaggerated beyond all meaning, “bestseller” is the most misused of all? Screaming at us from the shelves, tables and remainder bins of our bookshops are covers proclaiming that what lies within is a “No.1 Bestseller” or that it has been written… Continue Reading
16 December 2014
Apropos posting an apostrophe
The question for today (and unfortunately almost every working day) is: how can a person progress through the education system to degree level and beyond and still not know how to use an apostrophe? This query has been provoked by tackling an enthralling and extremely well-researched biography focussing on a major player in a major… Continue Reading
14 December 2014
Tortured by the language terrorists
The message used to be, keep it simple. Now perhaps we should rephrase that to, keep it short. Global best-seller Patricia Cornwell reckons it is increasingly hard for a novelist to keep their readers engaged and interested. Attention spans have shrunk. Which is why she has reduced the number of pages in each chapter to… Continue Reading
Well, that was some book. And for once it lived up to all the hype and praise highlighted on its covers and frontispiece. Having earlier devoured the superb The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (and now looking forward to the much-praised stage version in a few months time), I have been even… Continue Reading
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