I should have thought that part of the purpose of a book review is to tell potential readers whether the book is actually any good or not.
Read MoreWhat's the point of book reviews?
in News & views, Reviews
Style matters
If a piece of writing is too self-conscious, if it’s basically shouting “Hey, look at me. Isn’t this a fine piece of writing?” I lose interest. And I’m in good company: Trollope felt the same way.
Read MoreEssay for an advanced literary course
One of the things we should all do as writers is study other people's works to try to discern how they achieved particular effects, or how they use language. It's known as 'close reading'.
Read MoreFeedback From A Course Called Writing The Oulipo
in Oulipo
The Oulipo is a writing movement that uses constraints to produce ‘potential literature’.
Read MoreBlogging: not dead yet
Every so often I read a blog post or a ‘commentary’ on Twitter by some self-appointed guru or other saying that blogging is passé.
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Fodder, by Terry Freedman
The point of pointless writing (Updated)
What’s the point of doing exercise or yoga? The answer is, usually, to keep yourself generally fit and toned up. Unless you’re preparing for an athletic event, there is no specific or direct point to any of it.
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news by Terry Freedman
Coming soon in the Write! newsletter
In addition to an update of my recent rejection story, the latest issue of my newsletter for creative nonfiction writers contains the following…
Read MoreBeware the ultracrepidarians
in News & views
I’ve sat and listened politely while someone who has never written a thing in his life assured me that having a book published is tantamount to owning a money printing machine because of the earning of royalties.
Afraid, by Terry Freedman
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
A slow motion rejection revisited
in News & views
Despite thirty years of success, one rejection was enough to dent my self-confidence. Self-doubt is never comfortable.
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Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay
A slow motion rejection (Updated)
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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Writer, by Terry Freedman
National Writing Day 2022: resources, reviews and tips
It’s the 23rd June 2022, and this year’s National Writing Day. Here are links to reviews of useful books about writing, resources for use in schools (some are good for adults too!) and top tips (ditto).
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Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
What "interesting" REALLY means (or might do)
in Language
When did “interesting” become a synonym for “useful”? If anything, when the word “interesting” is used by an English person, usually means the opposite.
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CREATIVE NONFICTION: THE TYRANNY OF CHOICE
Here’s a creative nonfiction piece I wrote recently.
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Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
Writing the Oulipo: A taster update
This course is running tomorrow (18 June 2022), and I’ve added a few more exercises for people to try out.
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On this day: Oulipo books
in Bookshelf, Oulipo, On this day, Reviews
On 17 June 2021 I wrote a round-up of my reviews of books about the Oulipo. Here’s a link to that article.
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All Party Writers Group Report Launch, by Terry Freedman. From left to right: Barbara Hayes, Giles Watling, Lord Vaizey, Tony Bradman
Writers' earnings
in News & views
Yesterday I attended the launch, at the House of Lords, of the latest report from the All Party Writers Group on writers’ earnings in the UK.
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A street, by Terry Freedman
Oulipo course to go ahead
Over the two and a half hours I will be covering five techniques, with some hands-on writing and workshopping thrown in.
Read MoreWhat is nonfiction?
Does the Oxfam bookshop know something I don’t?
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Books to be reviewed ,by Terry Freedman
Indexes and tables of contents
in Bookshelf, Reflections
One of the first things I look for when reviewing a non-fiction book is whether or not it contains an index. If it does, the next thing I check is whether the index is actually useful.
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Squared notebook, by Terry Freedman
Writing the Oulipo: A Taster of "constrained writing"
If, like me, you enjoy writing for the sake of it, and maybe even enjoy a secret life as a short story or novel writer, this might interest you.
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