This Week in Fiction: Mark Haddon on Writing Stories as Complex as the Real World
newyorker.com – Monday November 9, 2015
Your story in this week’s issue, “The Weir,” is set in Oxford, alongside the Thames, near Wytham Woods. Why did you choose to stage such a sad event—an attempted suicide—in this bucolic terrain?
Sarah Waters, Ross Raisin, Adam Foulds, Andrew Cowan, Helen Simpson share writing tips, favourite books by young writers
thebookseller.com – Saturday November 7, 2015
The Sunday Times/Peters Fraser & Dunlop Young Writers of the Year Award has relaunched in 2015, and will recognise the best literary work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry by a British or Irish writer of 35 and under.
Here, past winners of the prize share their favourite books written by writers aged 35 and under, and their writing tips.
Top tips for young writers – from past winners of the young writer award
theguardian.com – Thursday November 5, 2015
How do you get started on a writing career? As the Sunday Times / PFD Young writer of the year award returns, we ask past winners including Sarah Waters, Ross Raisin and Helen Simpson for their top tips for young authors
Middlebrow? What's so shameful about writing a book and hoping it sells?
theguardian.com – Thursday November 5, 2015
Reading the recent Sydney Review of Books essay, Could Not Put It Down, it’s difficult to work out who its author, Beth Driscoll, intended to insult the most: readers for liking middlebrow books, writers for having the temerity to write them, or publishers for bowing to the demons of commerce by printing them.
Ten things I learned about writing from Stephen King
theguardian.com – Saturday October 31, 2015
The novelist James Smythe, who has been analysing the work of Stephen King for the Guardian since 2012, on the lessons he has drawn from the master of horror fiction
Publishers sell empty calories, but kids want meatier books
thetimesherald.com – Friday October 30, 2015
In 1998, when I first presented the concept for the children’s TV series Blue’s Clues to a roomful of television executives, my proposal was met with nearly complete skepticism. At the time, conventional wisdom held that children were afflicted with “short attention spans,” yet I was proposing a continuous 25-minute narrative, which is more than seven times longer than anyone believed the attention of a preschooler could be held. The only way to get preschoolers to engage with a TV series, the executives insisted, was to give them easily digestible bits of content in a “magazine format,” like most other preschool series.
Virginia Pye On Books, Publishers & the Dreaded Sophomore Jinx
huffingtonpost.com – Thursday October 29, 2015
We first met Virginia Pye at the James River Writers Conference (another reason to attend what is a great conference) and we were immediately struck by how curious she was. How she asked questions. How she seemed to want to know. We believe this is one of the most important characteristics an author can have, especially one who is starting out, but it really applies to anyone. We were overjoyed when her first novel came out, and now she has a second. We thought we'd pick her brain about what it's like to go through the process the first time, and then do it all over again.
Top tips for writing to frighten
theguardian.com – Wednesday October 28, 2015
Want to write a really scary story? Follow these top tips from Matt Ralphs, author of Fire Girl, and learn how to create the killer combination to make your readers shiver with fear
The 5 Worst Things a Writer Can Say
huffingtonpost.com – Monday October 26, 2015
This past week, I launched my fifth novel, Chance Harbor, provoking a friend to exclaim, "Wow, you're popping out books like Tic Tacs, aren't you?"
She has a point. Six years ago, I hadn't even published one book. It took me a quarter century to land a traditional publishing deal, so nobody could be more surprised--or thrilled--than I am to see my books be born.
These days, I'm often approached by aspiring writers who want to know how I beat the odds. I'm always happy to chat with anyone about writing and publishing, but sometimes I hear writers say things that make me cringe. Here are some of the worst things writers have said to me lately:
Award-Winning Novelist Cecilia Galante Shares The Realities Of Writing As A Profession
forbes.com – Saturday October 24, 2015
As a writer of non-fiction and an experienced blogger, I see myself as someone with a strong grasp of ideas and of the written word. But when it comes to writing an enthralling novel that impacts our understanding of ourselves and our lives, now that’s a completely different animal.
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