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My Fury About English Literature GCSEs
Many of my writer friends have been getting very exercised this week about the suggestion that US novels are to be removed from English Literature GCSE syllabus. My Facebook account has caught fire with their indignation. Their excitation arises mainly from articles written by John Sutherland in the Guardian. For reference, look at http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/26/10-american-writers-english-children-study-gcse-michael-Gove though Read more
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Writing Clubs and Workshops – yes or no?
I recently read a very inspiring blog article on writers’ clubs ( see Mahsuda Snaith’s great post) which championed the power of work shopping prose in front of your peers. It got me thinking about my own experiences with writing groups. I have been associated with two writing groups in my life, and what a Read more
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A Morality Tale Concerning Vinegar
This isn’t exactly about creative writing, but as a writer, I consider it a morality tale about the state of the modern world. Here’s the thing: for as long as I can remember, Sarsons have made vinegar in a convenient little glass bottle with a sprinkler thingy on the top that screwed off when you Read more
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The Suspension of Disbelief
Given all the stuff I’ve written in previous blogs about how language and narrative works, here is an interesting question: how does the author use the text to convince us to suspend our disbelief? After all, one of the most important things about any story is that we should believe that it is true, at Read more
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Dealing with ‘The Hobbit’ Pitch
“Look, Peter,” I say, “you gotta think big. There ain’t but twenty movie stars could carry that kinda budget into opening weekend. And not one of them plays under five-six, OK.” He goes, “You think the hero’s too small?” like it ain’t obvious. I say, “Of course, he’s too damn small. ‘The Rings’, they had Read more
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A New Secret Identity
Just to warn those of you who may come across me in the street that, as of my Movember flirtation with facial hair, I may no longer appear as you expect me to. (I suggest you compare me to the man on the right hand side of my blog page and marvel at my mastery Read more
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