News & views

The joy of comics

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QR_Code_Comic_Tutorial“There’s Terry, always with his head in a book or a comic.” My mother’s gentle admonishment was a constant feature of our household. But it wasn’t an admonishment against reading, which my parents actively encouraged (books were revered in our home because they were books, almost regardless of the content). Rather, it was a cry of frustration over the fact that once I was engrossed in a book or a comic, anything she said to me literally fell on deaf ears.
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Should you speak for free?

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2012 Green Heart Schools public speaking competitionIn the article 3 reasons that non-fiction authors should speak, I suggested why public speaking can be important to an author. But the question arises: should that be at any price?

My natural inclination, my default position if you will, is that if you’re good enough to be asked to give a talk, do a presentation or run a workshop, then you deserve to be paid for it. As my wife so succinctly put it to me: “Nothing doesn’t buy anything.”.

However, situations, like people, are different from one another. At the end of the day, if you are asked to give a talk without payment, your decision of whether or not to accept is one that involves weighing up the (perceived) costs and benefits. Here are the considerations you might wish to take into account.

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The trials and tribulations of blogging as a SWOT analysis

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There are people like myself, Steve Wheeler and others who think that blogging is a good thing to do for a number of reasons. I won’t rehearse theme here because you can read them in the articles referenced at the end of this one. However, blogging is not necessarily easy. Even if writing itself is not a problem, there are several other factors that need to be taken into account. Steve has admirably listed them
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National story-telling week

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Maths Activity and Story Telling : PrathaThe only thing wrong with Spark London is that it is confined to London, which is only to be expected of course! However, the good news for people who like the idea of story-telling as a way to improve their writing (see 4 ways that Spark London is good for writers) is that there are story-telling clubs and events all over Britain.
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4 ways that Spark London is good for writers

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SPARK LONDON AT THE HACKNEY ATTICIf you listen to blues songs, you will discover that amongst the angst, the stories of “my baby done packed her suitcase and caught the midnight train” (they must have amazing rail services in the USA because all the trains seem to depart at midnight), and being down and out, there are some real glimpses of a deeper Truth, with a capital “T”.
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Discovering Sherman Alexie

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Sherman Alexie at Skylight Books.I always try to follow my intuition. Thus it was that a couple of weeks ago, with deadlines pressing on me, and pressure from all sides, I decided to ignore my intellectual protestations and listen to my inner voice.

That voice whispered to me:

You haven’t looked at The Atlantic for a while, have you? Go check it out.”

So I did, and I came across an interview with a writer I’d never heard of, Sherman Alexie.

Alexie is a Native American writer, which is why I suppose I’d never come across his work. Interestingly, he refers to himself as “Indian”, which we are told is politically incorrect. I think I’d rather take Alexie’s word for that. But anyway….

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The key criterion of a writer’s success

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transactionsHow do you know if you are, objectively speaking, a success as a writer?

Although I may be accused of taking too simplistic an approach to this question, I really do think that it comes down to just one thing.

Well, in practice, of course, there are many potential indications of success. For example, people telling you they like what you write. People asking when your next book is coming out. That sort of thing.

However, nice as such accolades are, they don’t pay the rent, and talk is, or can be, cheap.

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Technology-inspired words are definitely buzzworthy!

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Word NerdNew words are always interesting, I think, and not just the ones that have been inspired by technology. But before I say any more about that, I feel the need to get something off my chest. Don’t worry, I won’t make this a long post: the last thing I want is people tweeting me to say TL;DR (too long; didn’t read).
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The best laid plans and all that

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I have to say that I am becoming increasingly cynical about writers who give advice on how to write all the time, regardless of circumstances. I am happy with advice like, "Always carry a notebook so you can jot down ideas while waiting at the supermarket checkout", or "Get up an hour before the rest of the family so you can write in peace", but sometimes life just, well, takes over.
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