United Ghostwriters

Ouch!

December 18, 2019December 18, 2019
by ChrisWest

We writers have a mission. In a world where mediocrity is rammed down our throats by advertisers and where the internet is awash with lies and ugliness, we stand united in our struggle for excellence, truth and beauty. Don’t we? Er, no. Writers sometimes reserve their sharpest skills for being spectacularly rude about other writers. Here are some classic literary put-downs – by great authors about great books (nonentities being rude about lesser books is a lot less funny). Truman Capote was not overkeen on Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, commenting: “That’s not writing, that’s typing.” Kerouac tended to attract

December 13, 2019December 13, 2019
by CherylRickman

Above my desk I have a card. One of those square ones you can buy from a trendy pop up shop at Waterloo Station, covered in words relating to the art of writing. The word ‘writing‘ is written in red text, standing out among the other words, some of which say things like, “Start writing, no matter what – the water does not flow until the tap is turned on.” And “First drafts don’t have to be perfect, they just have to be written.” Or, my particular favourite: “Either write something worth reading about, or do something worth writing about.”

December 4, 2019December 4, 2019
by Ben Jeapes

“Bad books on writing tell you to “WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW”, a solemn and totally false adage that is the reason there exist so many mediocre novels about English professors contemplating adultery.” – Joe Haldeman And yet Joe Haldeman’s novel The Forever War was heavily influenced by his experiences as a Vietnam vet. I’m nowhere near brave enough to disagree with a best-seller like Joe Haldeman but fortunately I don’t think I have to. We agree from different directions. Five Lies Creative Writing Teachers Tell makes the same point. ‘Write what you know’ is good but often misused advice: it

November 28, 2019November 28, 2019
by Martin Toseland

Over the past few months, I’ve been reading Will Storr’s excellent The Science of Storytelling (William Collins, 2019). I know, I know, I can already hear the question: ‘Really, another book on writing?’ Yep, sorry. But I think this is an interesting and practical addition to the list. Will Storr is a journalist, novelist, non-fiction author and a ghostwriter. A lot of his journalism has been on scientific subjects – neuroscience and psychology in particular – and his angle is, perhaps unsurprisingly, what does science tell us about how successful storytelling works? What can the application of the results of

November 18, 2019November 18, 2019
by Simon Rae

We all hate them – and always have done, from the first parental nagging about homework tasks, through the hateful slog to deliver the 50,000 word thesis on the due day to the routine demand of a professional writer’s life – to produce a specified number of words by a certain date, over and over again. Everyone has their favourite deadline horror stories. I’ll never forget my first commission. I was still at university, working on my thesis (deadline too far off to be the slightest worry), and beginning to enjoy the life of a postgrad student. I had met a poet and

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Ouch!

This year is the year I’ll…

Write what somebody knows

The Science of Storytelling/Will Storr

“Deadlines”