There’s a terrible meme emerging from the internet writing community. It arises from good intentions and common sense, and like most examples of common sense applied to complex situations it is utterly, utterly wrong. You can see this meme at work in the debate around publishing a book a year following Steph Swainston‘s retirement fromContinue reading “Oh please GOD no STOP writing! (so much)”
Category Archives: Writing Journal
How to eat a pomegranate
It is pomegranate season. Which is a dangerous time for me. I have very little self-control when it comes to the kind sweet, tangy, fruit based deliciousness pomegranates promise. Which is a meandering introduction towards the revelation that I have just eaten two whole, very large pomegranates. The first one was good. Bright scarlet berriesContinue reading “How to eat a pomegranate”
How will writers make a living in the future?
It’s worth considering the idea that we won’t. We are living through miraculous times. Knowledge, once a scarce resource, is being made freely and universally available to all. To understand how miraculous this is, consider the Dark Ages. For somewhere in the region of a thousand years, Europe was held in the iron grip ofContinue reading “How will writers make a living in the future?”
Tell don’t show
I want you to tell me a story. I want to hear your voice like a whisper coming up from the page even though you are thousand miles or a hundred years away. I want you to command my attention like a master storyteller bringing a hall full of rowdy warriors to silence with aContinue reading “Tell don’t show”
Pick me! Pick me!
“Employees wait to be picked for promotion, or to lead a meeting or to speak up at a meeting. ‘Pick me, pick me’ acknowledges the power of the system and passes responsibility to someone to initiate. Even better, ‘pick me, pick me’ moves the blame from you to them. If you don’t get picked, it’sContinue reading “Pick me! Pick me!”
Definition: Genre Sausage
Will Ellwood provides a perfect and succinct definition of ‘genre sausage’. Maybe we need some European Union legislation forcing publishers of such sausage to reveal exactly what percentage of original imagination is in every book? Fiction produced for any genre written using the mechanically reclaimed ideas blasted from the carcasses of other stories and shovedContinue reading “Definition: Genre Sausage”
Samuel Delany on creativity
The sad truth is, there’s very little that’s creative in creativity. The vast majority is submission – submission to the laws of grammar, to the possibilities of rhetoric, to the grammar of narrative, to narrative’s various and possible restructurings. In a society that privileges individuality, self-reliance, and mastery, submission is a frightening thing. Samuel Delany
Can we have better pulp fiction please?
So. I’m trying to get an Advance Reading Copy of A Dance With Dragons, because everyone is excited about it and Vandermeer has one and I feel left out. So far, no luck, although I’m told I’m on the list as soon as any arrive in the UK. Which is cool. So why are soContinue reading “Can we have better pulp fiction please?”
John Fowles on Voice
A quote by John Fowles that I want to save for future reference. A short but fascinating statement on the meaning of ‘voice’ in fiction. The most difficult task for a writer is to get the right “voice” for his material; by voice I mean the overall impression one has of the creator behind whatContinue reading “John Fowles on Voice”
Genre needs to stop applauding crap, and respect its best writers
Sarah Crown has started a fascinating discussion on the resurgence of fabulism in literary fiction over on The Guardian book blog, brought on by Tea Obreht’s surprise win in the Orange prize. I didn’t need to read the comments to know there would be at least half a dozen from irate members of fantasy fandom,Continue reading “Genre needs to stop applauding crap, and respect its best writers”
Alt.Fiction 2011
Alt.Fiction has a special place in my heart, as the one and only SF convention I have been to every year for its entire five year history. I’ve even written about it for the GU book blog. This year I’ll be on a number of panels about various aspects of SF writing. I’ll be hopingContinue reading “Alt.Fiction 2011”
Murakami Murakami Murakami
I’m in the midst of a Haruki Murakami binge. I finished Norwegian Wood a few days ago, and had to go right back to the beginning and start reading it again. I’m tearing through After Dark, and have Sputnik Sweetheart at the top of the ‘To Be Read’ stack. (The ‘To Be Read’ stack lives byContinue reading “Murakami Murakami Murakami”
Damien Walter 