In a couple of weeks’ time I shall be teaching a course called Creative Writing Using Constraints, at the City Lit in London. I felt that the blurb on the City Lit’s website was a bit mundane. So I got AI to write a better one.
Read MoreNews & views
Vote with your feet -- aka life's too short
Some years ago I stopped accepting work from editors who liked everything about my work apart from paying me.
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Photo by Terry Freedman
A slow motion rejection -- I got the kill fee, but...
in News & views
Just in case I might get too complacent, a malignant Fate decreed that an article I’ve spent hours on has been rejected — by the person who commissioned it.
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Notebook, by Terry Freedman
4 reasons to work with pen and paper (updated)
I often find that working on paper is better than working on a computer. For the initial outline anyway.
There are several reasons why working on – and with – paper is beneficial.
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Photo by Terry Freedman
Write for you for "exposure"? You're having a laugh, mate!
This is an updated version of an updated version of an article I originally published on this very website in 2015. In my experience, it absolutely applies to artists, teachers and other creatives as well as writers or consultants.
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history lesson
Shurely, the MINIMUM requirement to write a drama about schools is to know something about schools?
In England we used to have a weekly soap set in a school called Waterloo Road. This had everything you would hope not to find in a school: inappropriate behaviour, theft, even attempted murder – and that was just the staff.
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Blogger, by Terry Freedman
Headlines should say what they are about, not be so "clever" that you can't tell
Straightforward advice with no persiflage.
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abstract art by Terry Freedman
Illustrate your blog for free
in News & views, Utility
This is an updated version of a post on my Substack newsletter from a few years ago, with bits of another of my articles thrown in for good measure.
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human being and blogger
What Is Substack?
Perhaps the easiest way to bring your writing to a wider audience these days is to do it yourself. The longest-running approach has been to start a blog. There are no gatekeepers, and within legal and commonsense limits you can write what you like.
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10 pound note, by Terry Freedman
Latest article in the Write! newsletter 14 October 2025
Freebies work!
Read Morefreelancing vs authoring part 1, v2, update 2
If, like me, you enjoy writing and you would like to earn money from it, should you go down the freelance writing route or write books, or both?From my experience, here are the pros and cons of freelancing.
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Books, by Terry Freedman
Updated: An unintended consequence of wishing to be nice when reviewing books by female authors
in News & views, Research
I’ve been reading Phillipa K. Chong’s “Inside the Critics’ Circle”, in which she attempts to discover the process by which books get reviewed. It’s a very interesting read. I haven’t finished it yet, so am not in a position to review it as such, but I was struck by the extract cited here.
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Seminar, by Terry Freedman
Nonfiction notebook: Three reasons that non-fiction authors should speak
Why you should do some public speaking.
Read MoreFree articles (for now)
in News & views
I have temporaily removed the automatic paywall on my Eclecticism site, thereby freeing up 557 pieces for you to read should you so desire.
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On this day: Immersive journalism
From the archives: How will Virtual Reality reportage affect our experience of the news? What are the ethical issues involved?
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Nonfiction Notebook: No excuse for poor spelling
Unless you’re so poor at spelling or English in general that a spell-checker wouldn’t do you much good anyway, there isn’t really any excuse for this sort of thing.
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Creative writing using constraints: a course
What is writing with constraints? In a nutshell, it means writing according to specific and tight rules. The “official” name for this is Oulipo, which is a French acronym for Ouvroir de littérature potentielle.
Read MoreOn this day: PhotoPrompt #30: Skies in the time of Covid
“One of the unexpected benefits of the Covid-19 pandemic has been clear blue skies.”
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Blogger, by Terry Freedman
Nonfiction Notebook: Is creative writing teachable?
Some people say "of course creative writing can be taught", while others say the opposite. I take a slightly more nuanced view.
Read MoreOn this day: Covid19: who ya gonna trust?
To the extent that people distrust journalists, is it really surprising?
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