I've just written "The End" on my latest cosy murder. It should feel like a moment of triumph – and it does, partly. But what strikes me more forcefully is the disproportionate amount of time I spent on those final chapters. Days and days circling the ending, revising, reconsidering, starting again. This morning on the water It is, I suppose, like landing a plane: bringing the big bird down safely is why pilots get paid what they do. Writing a novel's ending is precisely that delicate...
12 days ago • 4 min read
Every morning, or at least every writing morning, I perform the same small dance. This week on the water I open my laptop. I re-read what I wrote yesterday. And sometimes I think: not bad. Maybe even quite good. And then, almost immediately, another thought follows – a quieter, more treacherous one: but can I do it again? That’s when the dance begins. I decide I need another coffee. I check the weather. I wonder if perhaps this would be the perfect moment to reorganise my desk, or re-pot the...
19 days ago • 4 min read
I wrote this for a morning talk during our recent Venice writing retreat. There's something about Venice – the light, the water, the sense of discovery around every corner – that makes it the perfect place to explore how we summon stories from nothing.I want to trace the birth and evolution of a single paragraph in a story that hasn’t yet emerged. It begins with an initial half-glimpse of a poor thought and ends with what might be called a dramatic possibility. Here’s that first, poor...
26 days ago • 5 min read
This is going to be a mix of moral philosophy and writing craft – and perhaps the two are more closely aligned than at first appears. Good writers after all are good people… Or are they? These thoughts were inspired by one of the writers at our Venice Writing Retreat. He wondered whether there was a code for writers – a set of moral precepts, guiderails, if you like, that conscientious writers are bound to observe. It seemed to me that the question could be broken down into three sections....
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hello Reader, This newsletter is particularly difficult to write … not emotionally, not intellectually, just physically. My right, middle finger is swathed in dressings, and held rigid by an internal, wire brace. You might say (like my less-than-sympathetic partner) that it’s my own fault and I have only myself to blame. But somehow, I feel you will understand. As one of my friends said: it was worth it. Almost. I was cavorting in the sea under a full, red moon, you see. A couple of friends...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
We’re back in Venice, and the bells are ringing. This week on the water Well, that’s one way of telling you that we’re in the fabled city for our annual writing retreat. But it strikes me that a far better way would be to step back a couple of days, to Bedford, where Trish and I were waiting for the taxi to pick us up and whisk us to the station. We happen to live on a line that runs directly through London to Gatwick. It’s possible to imagine catching a taxi to the station, a train to the...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
We’ve all heard people admire “the music” of a writer’s work. I’m aware that my writing, at its best, can possess the rhythm and the flow of a kind of music - but I’m also aware that if I try for literary effect, I’m much more likely to strike a false note. This week from the allotment The importance of that musical element to writing was brought home to me by some remarks John Banville – winner of the Booker some years ago – made during the interval in one of the BBC’s Proms. He and the...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hello Reader, Thank you so much for joining us for our writing Q&A webinar. It was wonderful to have you there as we explored some fundamental writing questions together. The collaborative energy in the session was fantastic - from Joan's family story project to Karen's children's detective series, and Mzolisi's short story challenges. We hope you walked away with practical strategies for character development, techniques for weaving in backstory effectively, and clarity on whether to start...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Trish and I have been working on a low carb diet for the past several months. Yes, I know it’s a fad and we’re being faddish, but we’re assured by all the experts that it’s good for us. Cutting sugar, loading up on protein, and focussing on fibre is a good basis for a healthy life – and it seemed to me, contemplating our dietary choices, that all the advice we were following applied perfectly to the craft of writing. This week on the water We writers can learn a thing or two from the low-carb...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read