The more I’m advised as an unpublished novelist to avoid a first person narrative (on the grounds it will be ‘harder to sell’ to an agent or publisher), the more I’m struck by how many successful novels (literary or otherwise) use this device. A case in point is Kashuo Ishiguro’s Never Let me Go, a compelling read I … Continue reading First person problematical
Visitors, work and getting out more haven’t left much time for the blog (or anything else) but the eagle-eyed may spot a new feature called ‘Recently Read.’ For a while I’ve been envious of those blogs (particularly Typepad) that let you add book covers and comments to the sidebars. WordPress is quite sticky in terms of what … Continue reading Library Thing
No excuses for doing some PR on behalf of DD whose picture is a finalist in the above-mentioned photography competition. Other finalists can be seen at the Second Look Myspace Site but this is Ellie’s photo. Even if you don’t want to vote for Ellie, do take a look at the other entries on Myspace. … Continue reading Bristol, A Second Look
A recent feature in the Telegraph suggested that September, the start of the new school year, makes a better season of renewal than the more conventional January celebration. It’s a good point, and one I think I’d sign up to. Even if it’s proving difficult this September to find the surge of energy that a good summer might have provided, … Continue reading New Year’s Greetings
Adding the new Short Fiction page has prompted some reflections on writing. There’s an idea in circulation that a short story is in some way harder to write than a novel. I don’t think for a minute that this is the case, but looking at the relative word-count, the effort to get 3000 words right … Continue reading Long and Short (2)
