I remember… I remember… I remember an inn Miranda and a highwayman who came knocking at its door, under a new moon shining wi’ the twinkle, twinkle little stars that looked down on a land where the Jumblies sold sealing wax and cabbages and kings asked queens, who asked the little serving maid, not to …
Category Archives: writing
What makes a good read?
Isn’t that exactly what you want to know as you flick through titles on your phone, or run your finger along the spines of books on the library shelf. If it was just as simple as saying, abc. But it isn’t. And there are plenty of snobs out there who will tell you, that good …
Creativity emerging—part 1
Do you write longhand or on a computer? Or. Do you write in the morning or at night? What is it that the questioner hopes to understand from these questions that I have heard a million times at writer’s festivals and author talks? I groan internally—in fact next time I think I’ll make it audible—at …
Dorothy Dunnett, a writer’s masterclass
I have just finished another one of Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles. Do you read a book by her, or rather, eat it slowly, blindfolded, seeking to identify the ingredients that constitute its rich sauces? Each and every page there is cause to pause, to peel back the deceptive words for the hidden nuances that lie …
Killing my darlings
I have an awful lot of words—a superfluity of them. Each one carefully crafted, mused over, lovingly cherished and laid down in long strings. My darlings! Do I really have to kill you?
The Style Police
In writing you can do anything you damn well please. The rule in my book, is to understand the rules, stick to them in general and then when you break them, do it with purpose and aplomb.
Salatheel 