What I'm reading: Dictator Literature

April 20, 2018 in Bad writing, Bookshelf, Reviews

So you think you've read some atrocious writing in your life? Well, you ain't seen nothing yet.

The London Book Fair 2018: the first day. Photo by Terry Freedman

The London Book Fair 2018: initial thoughts

April 13, 2018 in Events, News & views

Here's a quick round-up of the things I'll be discussing in my next newsletter, including censorship, publishing myths and a marketing website.

What I've been reading: Something nasty in the slush pile (updated)

April 13, 2018 in Bookshelf, How to, Reviews, Bad writing, Reference

How should you pitch a publisher with your book proposal? Or, to look at this another way, how should you not do so? This book answers that question.

What I've been reading: How not to write a novel

April 10, 2018 in Bad writing, Bookshelf, Reference

Even if you are a non-fiction writer, this book is worth reading.

7 features of bad writing

April 09, 2018 in Bad writing, Handy hints, Language

Another article in the 'bad writing' series, 7 Features of Bad Writing suggests some common characteristics of poor prose. Any one of these 'sins' would serve as an indicator, especially if they occur more than once or twice.

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If, like me, you enjoy reading around a subject, and probing a little deeper than strictly necessary, and you are an avid reader or a determined writer, Bookish Words should appeal to you.

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Compare and contrast #4

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In this article, I republish a review of mine that was first published in Teach Secondary magazine. Next, there follows the article I actually sent in. The differences are only minor, but I thought you might find it interesting to examine the differences, and consider what difference they make, if any, to your experience and understanding of the review.

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Compare and contrast #3

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Compare and contrast #2

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Taking the reader from the Middle Ages to more or less the present day, Gray shows how the kind of places we do our shopping in, and what we buy, have changed over the centuries.

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Compare and contrast reviews #1

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Review: The Bright Side: Why Optimists Have the Power to Change the World

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I wrote this review wearing my school teacher hat. However, it struck me that optimism is something all writers need a great deal of!

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Review: Small Habits Create Big Change

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I wrote the review wearing my school teacher hat. However, it struck me that the “small habits” approach to writing is something useful to consider.

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Should writing tutors embrace "produictive failure"?

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My review of this for Teach Secondary magazine has just come out. Here is the published version, followed by the copy I submitted, which is slightly longer because it has a little more detail. I wrote the review wearing my school teacher hat. However, it struck me that the “productive failure” approach to teaching is something I’ve done, to some extent, in my creative writing classes.

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Is Artificial Intelligence actually any good?

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I’ve reviewed this book for Teach Secondary magazine. Although my review is written from the standpoint of the question, “how useful is AI in schools?”, I do thiink it has relevance here because many writers, and writers’ organisations, are also scrutinising AI.

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Nonfiction notebook: 6 types of book review

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I love books, and I love reviewing them. However, I’ve decided that a one-size fits all approach to reviewing books (or anything else, come to that), just won’t do. So I’ve categorised my reviews into 6 types.

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