And every phrase
And sentence that is right (where every word is at home,
Taking its place to support the others,
The word neither diffident nor ostentatious,
An easy commerce of the old and the new,
The common word exact without vulgarity,
The formal word precise but not pedantic,
The complete consort dancing together)
Every [...]
Archive for February, 2012
an end and a beginning
Sunday, February 26th, 2012don’t listen to the voices
Sunday, February 19th, 2012As a child, my creativity was not exactly nurtured and encouraged. Attempts at art were met with laughter (“What is it supposed to be?”) When I tried to learn the violin, I was accused of aural torture (“It sounds like you’re trying to kill a cat.”) When I showed off my ‘ballet’ dancing, it was [...]
red and yellow and pink and green
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012Last Friday I attended the launch of Hannah Leach‘s exhibition of paintings at the Old Joint Stock, Birmingham. Hannah is a one of those people who is brilliantly talented and good at everything. She is an amazing writer, a wonderful painter, she can dance, she models, and she also has a thriving hypnotherapy practice. Her [...]
the long haul
Sunday, February 12th, 2012I was talking on the phone today with a writer I’ve been mates with for a while. We were talking about how we might find ways to work together in the long-term future. He mentioned how we were both in it for ‘the long haul’, having first met around ten years ago, when he was [...]
food for writers
Sunday, February 5th, 2012Recently I’ve been preoccupied with a number of things that only tangentially relate to fiction writing. Except when in full inspired flow, I am not someone who does nothing but live and breathe writing day after day, although sometimes I feel an almost irresistable pressure to be that person, as if only a perfect dedication [...]
never say never
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012How do you know when it’s time to stop writing something? Is it when the very thought of it fills you with a sense of paralysing ennui? When you can’t imagine ever being interested in the characters? When the plot makes no real sense? When, after writing several drafts, you still have nothing more than [...]
