AI spambots think I’m a genius
On the recent deluge of AI-generated spam targeting writers' insecurities and desire for recognition.
What Is Literary Fiction Anyway?
Literary fiction is hard to define, but I'm going to try anyway. The debate tends to be poisoned by debates about elitism and being "better" than genre fiction, which I'd like to avoid here. Instead, I want to identify the…
A Steam of Consciousness
As I was writing recently, a slip of the pen turned a stream of consciousness into a steam of consciousness. I quickly inserted the missing “r”, but then it made me think that steam is actually a better metaphor than…
How to Write About Suicide and Self-Harm
The UK Society of Authors recently published a new factsheet on writing about suicide and self-harm, and I wanted to highlight it and draw attention to its main lessons. Stories are powerful, and writers consequently bear a heavy responsibility for…
How Can We Talk About Climate Change? How Can We Not?
Climate change has become such a clear, species-threatening emergency that sometimes it feels strange to talk or write about anything else. Yes, I know, Covid-19. But a pandemic, although immensely destructive, will end eventually. In the longer term, climate change…
Is It a Good Idea to Frustrate Your Readers’ Expectations?
I was interviewed recently for a podcast by book blogger Charlie Place, and her perceptive questions got me thinking about my writing. In particular, why do I deliberately frustrate readers’ expectations in my novels? You can listen to the podcast…
See What I Did There?
Has anyone else noticed an annoying trend in contemporary writing? OK, there are probably several that spring to mind (“I was sat?”), but the one I’m thinking about today is “See what I did there?” You’re likely to encounter this…
Parkinson’s Law and the Pull of a Deadline
It was like a nightmare. I was entering a $100,000 essay contest, and it was deadline day, with plenty of work still to do. Then I noticed with horror that the deadline was not midnight, as I’d thought, but midday.…
The Prison of Perfection
In the earlier years of this blog, I blogged more regularly because I didn't put much pressure on myself to make each piece perfect. A lot has changed since then.