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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A former US Marine wins the biennial Warwick Prize for Writing for his book of short stories dealing with American experiences of the Iraq War. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Maria Vassilopoulos interviews Creative Access its work to make publishing more diverse. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Past winners of the The Sunday Times/Peters Fraser & Dunlop Young Writers of the Year Award share their writing tips and their favourite books written by writers aged 35 and under. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This year’s fifth anniversary FutureBook Conference brings together more than 50 speakers from across the media world for a day of reckoning, realisation and revivification. It will, to borrow from a famous beer advert, refresh the parts other digital and publishing events do not reach. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Creative Access will “continue to operate as usual” after its current method of funding runs out next June, its c.e.o has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comic The Phoenix is collaborating with big-name children’s authors Philip Pullman and Chris Riddell for its 200th edition, which will be published on 30th October. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Anthology of uncollected writings should secure a reappraisal of notorious occultist, says publisherAleister Crowley, the occultist once dubbed the “wickedest man in the world”, is due for a reassessment as a short-story writer, according to a new anthology of his uncollected writing which... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Lagercrantz has been contracted to write two more novels in the late Stieg Larsson's Millennium series. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Describe your role. I’m the course leader of the National Film & Television School’s Creative Business for Entrepreneurs & Executives course. It’s a one-year course that gives participants all the tools to design and build the media businesses—or new in-house ventures—of the future. We... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An Oscar nominee at age 9, Quvenzhane Wallis is now getting an early start on a writing career. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2015-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 'Redeeming Love' author and recent recipient of the AFCW Lifetime Achievement Award reveals the benefits of working in the Christian fiction market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Karen Joy Fowler and Karl Ove Knausgaard have made the shortlist for the biennial £25,000 Warwick Prize for Writing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"I’d be unable to distinguish between what is me and what is Lizzie in the book; Lizzie’s memories appear in my mind as vaguely and as vividly as my own." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Believe it or not, 100 variations of the same ad is not enough for some digital marketers anymore. That's one of the reasons the stars appear to be aligning for tech vendors that have been developing systems for what they call creative programmatic advertising. Creative and programmatic once... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We asked our readers which traditional book authors they'd like to see writing comics. Here are a few of their suggestions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lately, lots of traditional book authors have been writing comic books. What author do you wish would write a comic? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers are using new methods to give advertisers a better picture of ROI. The post Getting Creative With Accountability appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2015-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#give advertisers
A Slate piece on first-person writing has prompted debate in the digital media community. We asked editors at BuzzFeed, Jezebel and other leading sites to weigh in on the importance of such pieces – and why there is a gender divideOn Monday, Laura Bennett’s Slate piece on the boom of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It has been a bit more than nine years since David Foster Wallace delivered “Federer as Religious Experience,” the Magna Carta of what has become one of the most popular genres in sports journalism: the Roger Federer think piece. The now-classic essay, penned for the short-lived New York Times... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reviews editor Annie Coreno recommends 'How to Write a Thesis' by Umberto Eco, translated into English for the first time this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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