“The World Is What It Is” by Patrick French
A lot has been made of how frank this biography is. It’s certainly true that V.S. Naipaul gave his biographer Patrick French access to a huge amount of…
“How to Write Short Stories” by Sharon Sorenson
This is a very useful basic guide to writing short stories. Most of it I have read or heard elsewhere (e.g. “show,…
Monday morning inspiration
You see more sitting still than chasing after. Jonathan Franzen The Guardian, Feb 2010
“Global Diasporas: An Introduction” by Robin Cohen
Global Diasporas by Robin Cohen is an excellent introduction to the theory of diasporas, a term which has expanded considerably in recent…
Literature optimisation
Just had a little blast from the future. With books being digitised and searchable on Google, will authors start writing books with…
Monday morning inspiration
Remember, if you sit at your desk for 15 or 20 years, every day, not counting weekends, it changes you. It just does. It may not improve your…
Master the Shorts
Lady Glamis just wrote a great series on short story writing. It includes a useful list of markets to submit to, loads…
British election: Obama vs. Obama vs. Obama
So we finally have a date for the General Election. Gordon Brown met with the Queen the other day and asked her…
New feature
OK, it’s not much, but I’ve finally figured out how to add the names of the authors I’ve reviewed down the side…