The short story, So Much Water So Close To Home by Raymond Carver, is told through a woman’s voice as she narrates this story about her husband and his fishing trip with his friends. There is also something else, something seen in the newspaper, about a girl who was found dead (and only later in … Continue reading So much water so close to home – Carver and writing menace
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Ballad in Plain D – A Song of Anger and Regret
I saw a photo of Suze Rotolo and I looked her up, and, as I thought, she was Bob Dylan’s girlfriend back in the 1960s, famously appearing at his side on the album cover for The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. In the photos, the famous couple looked cute and happy, and I wondered what had happened. … Continue reading Ballad in Plain D – A Song of Anger and Regret
Why Did Brownlee Leave? – A Look at Paul Muldoon’s Rural Mystery
I was reading Paul Muldoon’s poetry recently, specifically Why Brownlee Left, and I was taken aback by how much sense they seemed to make to me. Like most poetry – or like any kind of art – it can be hit or miss, depending on the reader since it’s all subjective. But there was something … Continue reading Why Did Brownlee Leave? – A Look at Paul Muldoon’s Rural Mystery
Albert Camus: The French Kafka
I was first introduced to Albert Camus in 2009 when a work colleague lent me The Myth of Sisyphus, when we both had a common interest in books and writing. I’d not heard of him, and such was my French at the time, I couldn’t even pronounce the name properly (Albɛʁ Kæˈmu / or Alber … Continue reading Albert Camus: The French Kafka
Men Without Women: My Thoughts on Haruki Murakami
I recently read Murakami’s latest short story collection, Men Without Women. Like all of Murakami’s books, Men Without Women appeared in Japanese first. This one in 2014 and was released in English in 2017. They read in the same mesmerising, I-Novel style, traditional to Japanese writers, which is pretty much the first-person narrative. Exposing the … Continue reading Men Without Women: My Thoughts on Haruki Murakami
How Writers Write Dialogue in Fiction
Every time I write a short story, I almost always end up with at least two characters talking to each other. I do it in longer pieces of fiction, too. It’s one of my favourite things to write because it’s interesting how you can differentiate two people without describing them, only through what they say. … Continue reading How Writers Write Dialogue in Fiction
Why Poetry Is Worth Reading
Poetry has a bad rep. It’s Wordsworth’s fault. It used to be the major point of literature when the novel was considered a novel way of writing. Novel means new, original, fresh. But originally it was looked down upon as something unworthy of anyone’s time. ‘How novel.’ These days, the novel has risen to the … Continue reading Why Poetry Is Worth Reading
How the Editing Process Works
If there is a piece of writing, it’s almost certainly gone through some sort of editing process afterwards. It’s just as important as the initial content writing process, as it forms everything together in good structure and form. The editing process, for me, can begin during the writing process, self-critiquing as I go to make … Continue reading How the Editing Process Works
Four Novels that Deal with Mental Illness
From the 8th – 14th May 2017, it is Mental Health Awareness Week. As someone who has experienced a variety of mental health problems in different people, I’ve come to understand people better and to learn to be more aware of their mental health. It’s not something that affects a minority. It affects us all, … Continue reading Four Novels that Deal with Mental Illness
20 Books That Inspired Me As A Writer
This is a list of 20 books that have had some sort of major impact on me as a writer. 20. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood I read The Handmaid’s Tale when I was about 16 or 17. I was in school and back then I wasn’t much of a reader. I was drawn … Continue reading 20 Books That Inspired Me As A Writer