Eleanor Catton is a very powerful writer. What do I mean by powerful? Writers don’t command armies, head governments or lead major corporations. No writer I know can leap a tall building in a single bound. Many, in fact, struggle to get up from awkwardly low seating. And yet writers do have very great power,Continue reading “Eleanor Catton debunks the idea that literature is elitist”
Category Archives: Writing Journal
Kitschie shortlists reflect the “mainstreaming” of spec.fic
The Kitschies have become a fixture of the speculative award season, joining the Hugo and Nebula’s, BSFA and Clarkes as among the most interesting awards in SF. This year The Kitschies reflect the new emerging reality of speculative fiction – the most interesting and creative work in speculative fiction isn’t coming from within the field,Continue reading “Kitschie shortlists reflect the “mainstreaming” of spec.fic”
Piracy is the least of publishing’s many problems
With the rise of indie authors and the closure of bookshops, piracy is an easy scapegoat for publishing’s woes. The community of SF writers has reason to dislike digital copying, or “piracy” as it’s commonly labelled in the tabloid press. Genre writers exist, by and large, in the publishing mid-list, where mediocre sales might seem most easilyContinue reading “Piracy is the least of publishing’s many problems”
The DOs and DO NOTs of getting your book reviewed
Writing a regular column for The Guardian on weird books, I get asked by writers of all kinds to read their latest tome. And sometimes that question becomes “how do I get my book reviewed?” In the age of social media and the internet the book review is a much different beast than it onceContinue reading “The DOs and DO NOTs of getting your book reviewed”
I have arrived. I am home. In the here. In the now.
Yesterday I spent the evening with the Green Papaya sangha at the Yoga Tree in Chiang Mai. Around forty people where there, many regulars, some visitors like me. The sangha – a Buddhist term for a spiritual practice group – are in the Plum Village meditation tradition. A little different from vipassana meditation, which trainsContinue reading “I have arrived. I am home. In the here. In the now.”
Stop wasting your time on trivia
A thought for the new year of 2014. There is a lot of noise in modern life. Finding your meaning is sometimes a matter of filtering everything out except the signal you need. Set aside anything you do that is on this list. Competing for status baubles. Trying to look like someone on TV. ComparingContinue reading “Stop wasting your time on trivia”
Henry Miller on Art
“Art is only a means to life, to the life more abundant.” Henry Miller Discuss
Give Up The Day Job & Don’t Have A Backup Plan
The first mistake we all make is telling people – friends, family, lovers – that we want to be writers. We all do it. And we all get the same advice… …don’t give up the day job. …have a backup plan. And because those people love us, we listen to the advice. That’s our secondContinue reading “Give Up The Day Job & Don’t Have A Backup Plan”
Do writers write?
Because sometimes conversations about writing devolve in to carping about who is or is not a writer, some people find it necessary to draw a definitional line in the sand. The most common, and common sense, is that “writers write”. So if you want to be a writer, you write. If you want to know ifContinue reading “Do writers write?”
The Death of Advertising
Autoplay video ads are popping up all over the internet. Facebook will be putting them in your feed soon (yet another reason to vacate Facebook for any serious purpose) But don’t take this as a sign of behemoth advertising dominating the internet. It’s the last gasp of a dying industry. The real money in advertisingContinue reading “The Death of Advertising”
The answers to 4 questions
Today I reached 4444 followers on Twitter. I wish I could claim to have barely noticed noticed, but I do have a sneaky peak at my follower count at least a few times a week. I *almost* reached this milestone around a month ago, hitting 4443, close, but no cigar. To celebrate I promised toContinue reading “The answers to 4 questions”
Your Government vs. Your Tech Provider
We might be facing the most largest tectonic shift in the power structures in the modern era since World War One finally ended the old empires of Europe. But this isn’t a conflict between the interests of nation states. It’s a power struggle over you, and the question of to who you owe your primaryContinue reading “Your Government vs. Your Tech Provider”
Damien Walter 