The next time you’re offered the opportunity to write for a periodical that doesn’t pay as much as you’d like, don’t just dismiss it out of hand.
Read MoreNews & views
What's the point of book reviews -- updated with further thoughts
So many authors think they ought to be the recipient of the Nobel prize for literature.
Read MoreMy Queen and I
A personal tribute.
Read MoreWhat's the point of book reviews?
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 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.
Read MoreThe point of pointless writing (Updated)
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
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.
A slow motion rejection revisited
Despite thirty years of success, one rejection was enough to dent my self-confidence. Self-doubt is never comfortable.
Read MoreA slow motion rejection (Updated)
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.
Read MoreNational 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).
Read MoreWriting 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.
Read MoreWriters' earnings
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.
Read MoreCycling to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations
Our aim was to cycle into London, specifically Green Park, and watch the fly past. Unfortunately, everyone else in the UK had the same idea…
Read MoreNavigating a book
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.
Read MoreYeah, I run a business. So what?
I pitched an article to a newspaper that, it turns out, pays less if the article has been written by someone who runs their own business. Why?
Read MoreGilray and plum pie
My Gilray and plum pie day.
Read MoreA slow motion rejection
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.
Read MoreCancel culture, McCarthy-style
These days of “cancelling” people whose views one doesn’t agree with is nothing new. In recent times (the 1950s) this went on at a semi-official level.
Read MoreMy writing warm-up exercise
In her book Discoverability, Kristine Kathryn Rusch cites the acronym penned by Scott William Carter: WIBBOW.
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