As it happens, I did have a problem: one dead link and two dud links
Read More“You got a problem?” Self-portrait cartoon by Terry Freedman
Problem resolved!
in Events
Generated in AI
Epistolary: Letter to Rebecca #25-11
Did you know that Rebecca Holden and I write a letter on Substack to each other on Wednesdays? Well, we do, and this is the latest one from me to her. Read on for a jolly good chortle.
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Books, by Terry Freedman
Updated: An unintended consequence of wishing to be nice when reviewing books by female authors
in News & views, Research
I’ve been reading Phillipa K. Chong’s “Inside the Critics’ Circle”, in which she attempts to discover the process by which books get reviewed. It’s a very interesting read. I haven’t finished it yet, so am not in a position to review it as such, but I was struck by the extract cited here.
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Seminar, by Terry Freedman
Nonfiction notebook: Three reasons that non-fiction authors should speak
Why you should do some public speaking.
Read MoreThe electrophone? The Gecophone?
in Audio, Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
Although I’ve been writing for donkeys’ years, I’ve never written anything for radio.
Read MoreHow can you write a blog if you don't read any blogs?
Every time I teach my Writing for Blogs course, it transpires that some most of the people on the course do not read any blogs.
Coming soon...
My blogging course: reflections.
Quick looks at the four most recent books I read.
Battersea Power Station. Photo by Terry Freedman
My Writing Machine
I first had the idea for a writing machine many years ago, while watching an episode of the Avengers.
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On this day: Further thoughts on using Word for Desktop Publishing: Frames
in How to, Word, Archives, On this day
If you have the occasional desktop publishing to do, or if you only require a sort of limited desktop publisher or simply don’t have the time to learn a whole new program, Word will do fine.
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Quick look: The many lives of Anne Frank
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The structure of this book is very interesting.
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Quick look: Hard Rain Falling, by Don Carpenter
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that.
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Graphic by Terry Freedman
My North Thames Gas Saga
Quite by chance I’ve been reading about bureaucracy recently — such as in customer (dis)service — and it reminded me of North Thames Gas’s attempts to drive me mad. That was many years ago and North Thames Gas doesn’t even exist any more, but even now the mere mention of a gas company starts my nervous twitch going.
Read MoreTerry Freedman and Fred Terryman discuss the question: What makes a great and successful writer?
in Creative Writing, EiS
This is a transcript of a conversation between Fred Terryman and myself. It’s been lightly edited, with the pauses taken out for ease of reading.
Read MoreNonfiction notebook: Paragraphs I’ve enjoyed writing
Most of my reviews are very positive, and I frequently conclude by recommending the book in question despite my criticisms. However, I do think it’s important to be honest about a book’s or an exhibition’s downsides. I also like to open a review, where possible, with a personal, perhaps humorous, observation.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: A Town Without Time reviewed
in Bookshelf, Journalism, Reviews
The book includes the obituary writer who can hardly wait for his subjects to drop dead so that he can at last see his work in print.
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Compare and contrast: Pen Names reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two very slightly different reviews of the same book.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: The Library of Ancient Wisdom reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two different reviews of the same book.
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Compare and contrast: Adaptable reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two very slightly different reviews of the same book. The first is the review I sent in to the editor of Teach Secondary magazine. The second is what was actually published.
Read MoreReflections on language
in Language, Reflections
If it is such an effort to deny that you’ve done anything wrong, then you must be guilty. Otherwise, it would be easy.
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Quick looks: The Great Exchange: Making the news in early modern Europe
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The real history of news is not about a chronology of technological inventions.
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