These days, it is normal for authors to go to writing workshops – or teach them. So why does the idea they produce derivative writers persist?What makes a writer? How do you become one? When I was younger, even asking those questions seemed to disqualify me: a writer isn’t something one becomes, I thought, a writer just is. Despite writing, rewriting and reading all through my 20s, I was no closer to completing, let alone publishing, a novel. I realised I would need help if I was going to succeed, and I applied to several creative writing MAs.This was, depending on who you ask, either a decision that condemned my writing to being forever derivative and tired, or, an important step on the path towards the publication of my first book. The debate about the value of a degree in creative writing has been done, one might think, to death – good writing depends on an innate facility that cannot be taught, versus good writing depends on devoted time, support, and elements of craft that can be studied – yet it continues to rage. This week, a much-lauded debut novel was criticised in a review by an author for its “MA creative writing-speak” and “oh so tediously writing workshop description”. For some, “writing workshop” is shorthand for bad. But why?'One must have in mind between 68 and 73% of the ending' before starting a story, my teacher once advised Related: Buy a cat, stay up late, don't drink: top 10 writers’ tips on writing Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2018-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Edgar-winner Lippman shares five writing tips, including "show up on a regular basis." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Simon & Schuster executive director Kerr MacRae has launched a literary agency and creative productions business, presenting himself as “London publishing’s first literary producer” with two major deals already secured. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nine out of 10 secondary schools in England are making cuts to their provision of creative subjects, according to a BBC survey. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Chris Brookmyre and his wife Dr Marisa Haetzman, discuss writing a historical crime series together under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist, radio show host and publisher of the extremist right-wing website InfoWars, is co-writing a book with "The Game" author Neil Strauss, CNN reports. The network obtained a proposal sent to major publishers for a book to be titled “The Secret History of the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Higham Associates is giving a five-figure sum to support Little Green Pig, a creative writing programme for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2017 bestseller list was dominated by women, with Margaret Atwood at the top, but the Booker still favours menOn the face of it, the revelation that female writers dominated the UK literary bestseller lists in 2017 might seem cause for celebration, a long-overdue correction that seems... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elena Ferrante is to write a weekly newspaper column for the Guardian’s new look Weekend magazine. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New culture secretary Matt Hancock and his Labour counterpart Tom Watson presented different visions of the impact of Brexit on the creative industries at an event held at the Natural History Museum to celebrate the third anniversary of the Creative Industries Federation. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Forty-three titles have been shortlisted for the 2018 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, which celebrate the "broad scope" of travel writing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two writers, playwright Emma Adams and poet Malika Booker, are joining the core team of The Writing Squad, a development programme for writers aged 16-21 in the north of England. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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American YA author Marie Lu talks to us about taking on the task of writing a Batman novel for a YA audience as part of the DC Icons series. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A digital marketing manager has won the Amazon Christmas Writing Competition for his tale of a greedy squirrel who learns compassion from "three wise trees". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Few contemporary writers have portrayed black Southern life with as much wit and heart-pounding drama as Attica Locke, whose latest book is the mystery “Bluebird, Bluebird.” Formerly a writer and producer on the television show “Empire,” Locke took the publishing world by storm with her debut... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Diversity social enterprise Creative Access is launching a new mentoring scheme and is seeking volunteers from the publishing industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate is to publish the first novel in a new historical crime series by Ambrose Parry, set in the medical world of Edinburgh in the 1840s. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Mexico’s Guadalajara International Book Fair, which runs through Sunday, Paul Auster has talked of turning to novels after ‘hitting a wall’ with poetry. And Amazon Publishing introduces a new imprint for short-form work. By Adam Critchley And Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief |... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Greater commitment is needed from the government to support the continued growth of the creative industries in the UK, the Creative Industries Federation (CIF) has said following the release of the industrial strategy white paper. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Graham Sharpe, co-founder and chair of judges of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, reflects on how the submissions to the prize have changed over the years. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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