Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz died yesterday, aged 94. He was a prolific and talented writer whose Cairo Trilogy – “Palace Walk,” “Palace of Desire” and “Sugar Street” – is a masterpiece of wit, irony and domestic tragedy. In 1994 he was attacked by an extremist who objected to the liberal sentiments in some of his […]
Concentration and writing If you pick up any guide to effective study, or self-help book that professes to teach creativity you’ll find the same message. Humans can’t concentrate for more than 25 minutes at a time, therefore, we should not read, write, revise or otherwise engage in strenuous mental effort for more than about half […]
I am really a woman! Yes, that’s me. Spending five minutes communing with nature in Vita Sackville-West’s garden at Sissinghurst. I’ve posted it because somebody thinks I’m a bloke! An anonymous poster insists that (a) I’m a man masquerading as a woman and (b) my writing proves it. Sorry mate, I am, and always have […]
If you want to be a writer … You have to play the number’s game. This means that you have to learn to look at the world of writing through the eyes of editors and publishers. The average literary journal (non-paying but providing copies to published writers) gets between 2,000 and 4,000 submissions a year. […]
The Slush Pile reader’s story Viet Dinh (no, not that Viet Dinh; not the one who helped write the Patriot Act!) got his first degree from Johns Hopkins University and his MFA from the University of Houston, his stories appear in many superb literary journals; and my favourite of his that’s available online is Lucky; […]
On the subject of rejection Sometimes it’s a good thing. Sometimes, like yesterday’s post, the sting is almost removed by a caring editor who makes you smile even as you shrug off yet another failure. And sometimes it’s good for other reasons. I recently sent sample chapters of my novel to a well-regarded UK literary […]
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