We’ve all read Cider with Rosie, haven’t we? Well I certainly remember bits of it featuring in O Level English circa 1968 and watching at least two episodes of a TV adaptation. I also remember picking up a copy of I Walked Out some years later, probably on account of its poetic title but not progressing … Continue reading Looking for Laurie Lee
While writing the WIP (yes, first draft may be finished but much progress still to be made) I’ve been plagued by the question of genre. I really only plumped for the novel form because it’s the one I’m familiar with. At the same time, I was aware of keeping as closely as I could to … Continue reading A close shave, or how I nearly wrote the wrong book
For non-writers, that’s ‘work in progress’, by the way. And what better time than January to move on? I have now redrafted eight chapters of TWE in first person and with a number of plot tweaks. I think I like it more than I did, but for now, (pace the odd competition) I don’t think … Continue reading A W.I.P. is born
Trawling my local library for something in the creative non-fiction category, I spotted Simon Winchester’s The Map that Changed the World and decided on the basis of the opening pages to bring it home. The first few chapters had just the kind of imagined detail that kept me interested in the life story of William Smith and his geological explorations, … Continue reading Local hero
In view of the sluggishness of the fiction market and my ongoing historical research, I’ve been seriously considering the concept of creative non-fiction. As a one time fan of Dava Sobel, I think I at least have an inkling of what’s involved, and a fellow writer has encouraged me with the news that C.N.F. really … Continue reading More desperate than romantic
Ali Bacon / Books Etc 