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 ]
News tagged with:
#creative writing
#writing workshops
#writing workshop
#important step
An 86-year-old former Town Hall clerk and an organiser of the Milton Keynes Festival are among those shortlisted in the Manchester Writing Competition. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Following its annual PubU conference, the ECPA launched a new Art of Writing conference in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 8, attracting over 100 authors ahead of its 18th annual Christy Awards gala. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#christy awards
#writing conference
William Collins has acquired an "unflinching" account of war through women’s eyes by journalist Christina Lamb, exploring "how rape became a weapon of mass destruction". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#william collins
#mass destruction
Hello! I’m Carolyn Kellogg, books editor of the L.A. Times. Let’s get to this week’s newsletter. THE BIG STORY Matthew Weiner concluded “Mad Men,” the show he created, with a shelf of Emmys and the ability to do anything he wanted. It’s not as easy as it sounds, he told Meredith Blake, explaining... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#books editor
#matthew weiner
#mad men
#carolyn kellogg
Grey, the incumbent creative agency, was participating, and so was Grey's parent company WPP.The win comes a few weeks after Laundry Service signed a deal with ESPN to collaborate on branded digital content and original programming for the sports giant's advertisers and a day after Ad Age... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#original programming
#bud light
Britain’s creative industries are facing a "potentially catastrophic" loss of talent and skills following Brexit, the Creative Industries Federation has warned, arguing that the end of freedom of movement poses a "huge risk" to the sector. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#creative industries
Pavilion Books has appointed Helen Lewis, formerly of Quadrille, to the new role of creative director. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#creative director
#pavilion books
Pamela Butchart will write two novels about Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven for Hodder Children’s Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#pamela butchart
#enid blyton
#hodder children
Bestselling author Harlan Coben shares his five writing tips, including "Write like there is a knife against your throat." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#harlan coben
#writing tips
Writers from across the Christian fiction spectrum attended workshops, lectures, and meetings over three days during the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference (ACFW) in Grapevine, Tex., from Sept. 21-24. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Sir Peter Bazalgette’s independent review into the Creative Industries has been released, revealing that the sector could be worth £128.4 billion to the UK economy by 2025 if a “sector deal” can be done between the government and the industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#creative sector
#report finds
#independent review
#uk economy
David Lagercrantz will not be continuing Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series beyond 2019, the Swedish author and journalist has told The Bookseller. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#millennium series
#swedish author
Icelandic authors Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Ragnar Jonasson are set to sponsor a new crime writing award to encourage more people to write in their first language. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The Creative Industries Federation has appointed Rosie Millard as deputy c.e.o. and promoted Caroline Julian to head of policy and public affairs. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#public affairs
For decades, the creators of movies, comic books and video games have dreamed up a future where giant robots engage in combat. Inspired by their childhood fandom and aided by extensive expertise in robotics, Matt Oehrlein and Gui Cavalcanti decided to make that fantasy a reality. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2017-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#comic books
#video games
Under a Pole Star (Quercus) by Costa-winning author Stef Penney has been awarded the £10,000 2017 Wilbur and Niso Smith Adventure Writing Prize for Best Published Novel. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
A cuddly new publishing service has arrived to help struggling authors with ‘bookbirthing’ – and for all its new-age trappings, it seems to be catching on“Are book doulas a thing?” asks a writer I know. “I’d love to get one.”Book doulas are a thing, because where there is a need, there is a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#publishing service
#writing books
The Bookseller will be running a Creative Gift category spotlight in 20th October issue. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#deadline looms
Brexit legal challenger to write book about struggles in her work and personal life, as well as ‘offering guidance and confidence to women in particular’Inspired by Maya Angelou’s “tone of defiance in the face of increasing hostility, hate and defamation” in the classic poem Still I Rise,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#maya angelou
#publisher hopes
#uk government
#parliamentary approval
Website for beacon of alternative journalism, which featured literary giants Norman Mailer, James Baldwin and Ezra Pound, will continue to publishThe Village Voice will cease publication of its print edition, 62 years after its culture-focused, alternative journalism first hit the streets of New... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#village voice
#james baldwin
#cease publication