I'm so excited to be interviewing the amazing David Mitchell at a special WordFactory salon on Weds 12 July 2017. David is the author of seven novels, including Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks, and Slade House. He has also c0-translated into English the extraordinary autism memoirs of Naoki Higashida: The Reason I Jump and Fall Down Seven Times, … [Read more...]
Archives for 2017
Short story writing course, with me
I'm teaching a six-part short story writing course with Comma Press at the Freeword Centre in London. In it I'll cover: • How to come up with ideas, and how to decide whether they'll work as a short story before you begin writing. • How to write a first draft, with and without a plan. • How to write a killer opening line that will hook … [Read more...]
New short story on BBC Radio 4
I have a new short story on BBC Radio 4 on Fri 9 June at 3:45pm. It's called Companions, and it features a robot and an imaginary grandma. Big thanks to Jeremy Osborne at Sweet Talk Productions for commissioning me, and actor Lee Ingleby, for making it sound so terrific. The story will stay on the iPlayer for the next 30 days. … [Read more...]
Daily word count target – the right way to do it?
I hate writing first drafts. The story either comes out too fast in a messy splatter, lacking substance, or every paragraph sits reluctantly in the bowels of my brain and needs coaxing out with a stick. Sure, there are occasional moments where a page will glide out that'll make me smile and think 'ahhhh! I can do this!' But those … [Read more...]
Inspiration at the Wellcome Collection
There are two brilliant (and free!) exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection in London right now: Electricity: The Spark of Life and Making Nature: How We See Animals exhibition. I spent the afternoon there on Sunday, hoping for inspiration for future fiction projects, and had my Wonder-Button pressed repeatedly. Here are just three of the … [Read more...]