Posted by on May 12, 2006 in Uncategorised | One Comment

The craft of writing – being accessible I never imagined when I ‘became’ a writer that I would do some of the things that have become a regular part of my writing life. This week, for example, after folding 70 paper stories/sculptures for the Green Thought exhibition, I shall be travelling up to London to […]

Posted by on May 11, 2006 in Uncategorised | No Comments

More galleys Today I’ve received the galley’s from Deathgrip: Exit Laughing to read through. Looks pretty good – so I’m about to sit down and go into copy editor mode before I sign off my proofs. When people ask me where story ideas come from, this is the kind of tale that makes it impossible […]

Posted by on May 10, 2006 in Uncategorised | One Comment

Golden Swans for Green Thought These are my preview invitations for the Green Thought exhibition, showing at the Waterloo Gallery, 14 Bayliss Street, London, SE1 from 15 May – 27 May 2006, with an invitation only preview on 16 May 6.30-8.30 pm. The exhibition will be formally opened by Irish Ambassador His Excellency Daithi O’Ceallaigh […]

Posted by on May 9, 2006 in Uncategorised | No Comments

Question from a reader … who wants to be anonymous! How do you know when a story is finished? Good question. There are two failures at opposite extremes of the scale. One is the story that is written and sent out in a white heat of creativity (I’ve been guilty of this one) and as […]

Posted by on May 8, 2006 in Uncategorised | No Comments

If you want to be a writer … Write for themed issues I’m assuming here that by ‘writer’ you mean what I mean; somebody who makes enough of a living from their words to call themselves a writer – not the other kind of writer, the one who carries a notebook, looks anguished when you […]

Posted by on May 5, 2006 in Uncategorised | One Comment

Planning ahead: Live Literature Event LIT UP – A Spotlight on Performance Poetry, Literature & Spoken Word Wed 20 – Fri 22 September 2006, Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal LIT UP is a brand new event for arts professionals: a showcase of performance poetry, literature and spoken word events alongside debates and discussions, all designed to […]

Posted by on May 4, 2006 in Uncategorised | No Comments

Beating Writer’s Block – Procrastination and the Inner Editor Finishing what you’ve started Is as easy as writing the last line first. It really works. Define the mood of the conclusion and the rest follows … If the inner editor is your problem Make yourself finish a complete page before allowing yourself to look back […]

Posted by on May 3, 2006 in Uncategorised | 5 Comments

The non-fiction life As I’ve said before, making a living out of fiction alone is something between hard and impossible. I freelance as a journalist and writer, and often find that one style of writing informs or triggers the other. This week’s nicest news, for me, is probably going to be that my article on […]

Posted by on May 2, 2006 in Uncategorised | 2 Comments

The human cost of innovation Anybody who has to deal with me in the next couple of weeks will find I’m grumpy. That’s because I have to make more than fifty of these paper sculptures for the next Green Thought in an Urban Shade exhibition. When I came up with the bright idea of presenting […]

Posted by on May 1, 2006 in Uncategorised | No Comments

Pen names – the saviour of the serious writer If I had to spend all my time writing as Kay Sexton I would be: (a) very poor(b) unbearably depressed. Literary fiction provides a living for very few writers. Rejection is not just commonplace, it’s almost universal, by which I mean that almost every literary fiction […]