Most books on creative writing tend to be less technical, at least in appearance, than ‘Sentence models’.
Read MoreReview: Sentence models for creative writing By Christopher Youles
Review: The Written World and the Unwritten World: Collected Non-fiction, by Italo Calvino
Some of the essay topics may be a little dated – the failure of the Italian novel being one – but such is the clarity and variety of his work that the actual subject matter starts to feel immaterial.
Read MoreWho needs a Creative Writing MA? (Revisited)
I wrote this article in 2020. Having read it again, I still agree with the views I expressed then. In fact, I’d go further. When anyone who has achieved the benefits potentially offered by X tells you that you don’t need X, I think a huge dollop of cynicism is in order.
Read MoreOulipo taster course: discount for today only
in News & views, Oulipo
Oulipo techniques are great for dispelling writer’s block, and generating new works.
Read More5 minute tip: Spellchecker blues (Updated)
in 5 Minute Tip
Some time ago I wrote: “Paradoxically, a spell-checker is only useful if you can spell! It's a common misunderstanding that if you can't spell, a spell-checker will sort things out for you. It won't.” Is this still true?
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Three collections of Oulipo writing: which is best for you?
in Bookshelf, Oulipo, Oulipo book
Three reviews in one article, plus a couple of news announcements.
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London Book Fair Hi-Res, by Terry Freedman
London Book Fair 2023 last day
in Events
London Book Fair 23 Directory and social media links.
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London Book Fair, by Terry Freedman
London Book Fair Wednesday sessions
in Events, News & views
These are the sessions that especially appeal to me
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London Book Fair, by Terry Freedman
London Book Fair 2023
in Events, News & views
The London Book Fair is back again this year, in Olympia. As usual there are loads of seminars and even more stands. And if you’re an author, there is even more reason to attend.
Read MoreUsing codes when note-taking -- republished with discussion
You might think that recording an interview, and then transcribing it using an app like Otter, would be much faster than writing everything down at the time.
Read MoreMy 6 word review of Lolita, plus commentary, updated with comments
Why I can’t read Lolita, but am reading Nabokov’s short stories.
Read MoreReview: The Writer's Journey
Where do authors’ ideas come from? Even Stephen King finds that a difficult question to answer. One possible answer might be ‘Everything they see on their travels’, because as Roland Barthes once suggested, writers are never truly on holiday…
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Image created by Dall-E for Terry Freedman
Trains: an Oulipian exercise and challenge
in Oulipo
This post is a puzzle for you, and an experiment for me.
Read More12 websites for free illustrations for your articles UPDATED! (again)
News of a new version of this original post featuring websites where you can find high quality pictures that are free to use on your own website or blog. I’ve listed more than 25 resources.
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Image created by Dall-E for Terry Freedman
Crossed wires: creative nonfiction
“Terry has a great ability to grasp and capture the everyday, as well as an excellent feel for the quotidian conversations and dialogues that make up so much of our ordinary lives out in the real world. And from this he is able to mine real meaning and insight.” From Tom Bevan’s introduction to this essay.
Read MoreRewriting the classics: should we do it?
in News & views
Should we rewrite the classics? My view is: Yes, kind of, but not in the way you might think.
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Rainham Marshes, by Terry Freedman
Hiding in plain sight
Can you spot the hidden theme word?
Read MoreReview of Old Truths and New Clichés
It is bordering on the preposterous to think that a writer best known for his fiction, and who died nearly thirty years ago, has anything relevant to say to us today.
Read MoreOur corrections policy
in News & views
My corrections policy wasn’t easy to find so I’ve created a dedicated page for it.
Read MoreA new 'Experiment in style': cockney rhyming slang
in Creative Writing, EiS
I’ve been taking a short and very bland story and rewriting it in different styles. This time I’ve chosen cockney (defined as someone born within the sound of Bow bells, in other words a true working class Londoner) rhyming slang.
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