I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote!
Read MoreI 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 MoreIf 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 MoreOne 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 MoreThe Oulipo is a writing movement that uses constraints to produce ‘potential literature’.
Read MoreEvery 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
news by Terry Freedman
In addition to an update of my recent rejection story, the latest issue of my newsletter for creative nonfiction writers contains the following…
Read MoreI’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
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
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
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
When did “interesting” become a synonym for “useful”? If anything, when the word “interesting” is used by an English person, usually means the opposite.
Read MoreHere’s a creative nonfiction piece I wrote recently.
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Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
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 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
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
Over the two and a half hours I will be covering five techniques, with some hands-on writing and workshopping thrown in.
Read MoreDoes the Oxfam bookshop know something I don’t?
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Books to be reviewed ,by Terry Freedman
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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