author

“My words will either attract a strong mind or offend a weak one.” Anne Sexton

All that non-fiction can do is answer questions. It’s fiction’s business to ask them. Richard Hughes

New blog post by Claire G What Came First, the Chicken or the Egg? Bear With Me! Okay, this is probably a weird analogy but this is how my (bird-brained!) mind works. So, in terms of the title question, I’ve thought long and hard about this and, with my limited scientific knowledge, I’ve...

Why do writers write? Because it isn’t there. Thomas Berger

“When you sell a man a book you don’t sell him just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night - there’s all heaven and earth in a book, a real book I mean.” Christopher Morley

“If you show someone something you’ve written, you give them a sharpened stake, lie down in your coffin, and say, ‘When you’re ready’”. David Mitchell

The only problem with Haiku is that you just get started and then Roger McGough

“It seems incredible, the ease with which we sink through books quite out of sight, pass clamorous pages into soundless dreams.” William H. Gass

New blog post by AgentPete Welcome to Publishing Year Zero “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” wrote authors’ rights activist Charles Dickens as A Tale of Two Cities began its epic unfolding. He could easily have been...

David Lodge was one of my literary heroes and a true comic genius. David Lodge, Campus Trilogy novelist and academic, dies aged 89

The last clementine of xmas. A little gift to start the year right. https://archive.org/details/steering-the-craft-a-twenty-first-century-guide-to-sailing-the-sea-of-story-repr/page/n4/mode/1up

This year's book, at midnight turns to footnote in the next. Terri Guilemets

New blog post by Jake E Bombing in the reviews An indie author often lives or dies based on their books’ ratings and reviews. Okay, maybe that was a touch dramatic. Often, it’s a case of succeeding or failing rather than expiring but you get the point. An indie writer’s career is in the...

"A best seller was a book which somehow sold well simply because it was selling well". Sylvia Boorstein

My theory of characterization is basically this: Put some dirt on a hero, and put some sunshine on the villain, one brush stroke of beauty on the villain. Justin Cronin

Sorry – filed in wrong place

Good stories are driven by conflict, tension, and high stakes. William Landay

A reader is not supposed to be aware that someone's written the story. He's supposed to be completely immersed, submerged in the environment. Jack Vance

New blog post by Eva Ulian – discussions in this thread, please --- Don’t expect people who barely know you or don’t know you at all will promote your book. It’s not likely that people will go out of their way so you can climb a step up the ladder to success, unless they are invested. Nor can...

New blog post by Jake E – discussions in this thread, please --- When I first started down this self-publishing journey, I heard quiet rumours of the dangers of scammers. I knew they were out there. I knew they wanted my money (What little of it I have), and I knew they had no shame. What I...