I think I mentioned Chuck Palahnuik and I have become extremely close? As in, I read his Consider This twice and took notes? You remember, on New Year’s Eve, 2020? Anyhow, Chuck mentions this Amy Hempel character more than a few times, in glowing terms. So, if l ❤️ Chuck and Chuck ❤️ Amy, then … Continue reading We need to talk about Amy Hempel
Other people’s dreams are boring, aren’t they? In direct inverse proportion to how intensely interesting our own are. Don’t worry, I’m not going to detail mine, partly because I can’t remember them in the cold light of the grey January day that is today. But oh boy. They were vivid. And awful. I do remember … Continue reading Dreaming in fiction
Yesterday I told George Saunders I had a new love. Today, his new book arrived in Kindle (my younger self must have pre-ordered it - ah, the wisdom of youth) and now it’s all back on with me and George. A swim in a Pond in the Rain takes us through seven Russian short stories … Continue reading Review: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
Mina Ma introduces me to the best writers. Here's a re-blog of her review of Carmen Maria Machado's short story Help Me Follow My Sister to the Land of the Dead. That led me to The Husband Stitch and now I am in love too. Sorry, George Saunders, it was good while it lasted, and … Continue reading New literary crush. Sorry George.
My online friend Jupiter Jones tells me there are not one but three different dashes that can be used in publishing. Intrigued? I certainly was! I mean - that's niche, right?* I've had a very entertaining half an hour finding out all about them. Nerdy? Me? Here, be enlightened ... or did you all know … Continue reading H to the En to the Em
Another reblog. It strikes me these 5 tips all relate to creative writing as well. Time Magazine called him “the most sought-after wizard in today’s advertising industry.” He managed one of the most successful advertising firms in …5 Unconventional Tips From the Father of Advertising Guaranteed To Make You a Better Blogger
Reblog. I’ve been thinking about this so much in relation to my own writing. It’s almost as if you ask and the Universe answers ... In 1939, at the urging of her sister and as a break from writing a biography of art critic Roger Fry, Virginia Woolf started drafting her memoir, …How to Render … Continue reading How to Render Epiphanies in Nonfiction Without Getting Didactic
Re-blogging this. Love the comment about ‘white male’ fiction being a genre. I wrote a story based on Shirley Jackson, I find her life and her work fascinating. https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=LIT6638550199 Welcome to Lit Century: 100 Years, 100 Books. Combining literary analysis with an in-depth look at historical context, hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols choose one … Continue reading Can We Stop Underrating Shirley Jackson Now? — Literary Hub
In first lockdown, all those years ago in the UK, I decided to learn to crochet. I’m a 51 year old woman, it’s allowed. It’s practically mandatory. To start with every square took a long time, many mis-steps and looked liked a deformed dishcloth. Then, when I read the instructions and concentrated really hard, I … Continue reading Running v writing v crochet
It gets a bit much, this writing malarkey. The weight of my own expectations. The need for validation. Blame my childhood. Blame my hormones. Something. When I get like this I retreat into books. The Artist’s Way tells me it’s imperative to have an Artist’s Date with myself. Quite tricky in lockdown, but there’s always … Continue reading New Year’s Eve 2020
Just waving 