The Royal Academy magazine recently commissioned me to write a short story for their summer 2019 issue. It's part of a series where they ask writers to pick any piece of art in the world, and write a short story inspired by it - previous writers have included Eimear McBride, Jonathan Lethem, Deborah Levy, Ali Smith, Tessa Hadley, Jane Rogers, … [Read more...]
My night in a sleep lab
Earlier this year, I got to spend a night in a sleep lab at Manchester University for a new story commission. It was for Spindles: Stories from the Science of Sleep - the latest in Comma Press's series of science-inspired fiction. When I first found out I'd get to have electrodes glued to my head and be part of an experiment, I was so excited, but … [Read more...]
Short stories come in pairs
When I write short stories, I write them in pairs. This is why: I think the best gift a writer could have would be the ability to read their own work as if they'd never seen it before. But a truly objective perspective on your own work is impossible. It helps to leave a draft in the draw for a few days, weeks or months, but I've found that if I … [Read more...]
New short story on Visual Verse
I have a new short story online – The Factory Explosion - over at Visual Verse. They asked me to write a short story in response to the brilliant image below by Denise Nestor. It had to be 50-500 words and written in an hour. You can read the full story here. Visual Verse encourages other writers to submit stories and poems in response to their … [Read more...]
Will buildings grow on trees in 2070?
My scientist thinks they will. I say my scientist, because all of us writers attending the artificial life conference in Sicily got one. Mine was Professor Susan Stepney, a computer scientist at the University of York, and she's working on an incredible project to grow buildings from seed. Yes, buildings (that we live and work in), grown from … [Read more...]
Why you should write in your pyjamas, plus a workshop and new books
Write in your pyjamas A couple of weeks ago, I was back at Arvon's Totleigh Barton in Devon tutoring with the lovely Jen Hadfield. We were talking about our own writing habits, and discovered that one process had given us both a creative jump start. Early in our writing lives, Jen and I both read Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Have you read … [Read more...]