But when people say, Did you always want to be a writer?, I have to say no! I always was a writer Ursula le Guin When I ask people 'So, what's your image of a writer?', usually they talk about a guy. Even the women I ask, they tend to talk about a man. … Continue reading Let the Good Times Roll
writing
The Length of a Piece of String
I am a bit worried about what I am writing at the moment. People see me spend long stretches working, and ask me in a roundabout way actually I am working on, and I don't really want to say. There are two reasons for my uncool evasiveness. Firstly I only have a few … Continue reading The Length of a Piece of String
Interview Day and Keeping Going
Ever since I read Virginia Woolf's A Room of Ones Own I knew I wanted nothing more than a quiet room of my own, a stipend or wage of sorts, and enough time and space to write, or more properly to think. All that seems a little crazy on paper, but it was where I was … Continue reading Interview Day and Keeping Going
Popcorn and Cat Memes and the Passing of Time
Its good to begin with a joke or a parable. I don't like gimmicks, but I got two little stories. This is one I heard today while listening to a website called You are Listening to Deep Thought. I heard it as I was trying and failing to move forward on the latest draft of … Continue reading Popcorn and Cat Memes and the Passing of Time
On Being Who We Really Are
I hate sharing personal information. I feel deeply uncomfortable doing so. But it is important. So here goes. I happen to be a writer. This is not by choice. I tried everything not to be a writer. In my early youth I tried a career in religion, which gives one access to lots and lots … Continue reading On Being Who We Really Are
The writer indulges in writing activity
or What happens when you are wrongly diagnosed as bipolar or whatever: and what it means, if anything... Bad Therapy Have you ever been the patient of a really bad psychotherapist? Lets be honest, there are more than a few of them out there. I actually seriously toyed with the idea of becoming one at … Continue reading The writer indulges in writing activity
Bo Peep and the literary butler
Bo Peep in micromanagement mode The hardest lesson I ever learned about being a writer was when I spent time on Bo Peeps farm. It was a long time ago (20 years at least) in another country (I'd rather not say), and most of the people involved are long dead now (so I'm given to … Continue reading Bo Peep and the literary butler
On Not Having a Clue What to Write
Getting Stuck – Writers Block As life is pretty complex, as there is an infinity of time and space out there, as there are billions of events happening out there in time and space, as it is close to impossible to actually comprehend the sheer vastness of what is beyond the stratosphere of our small … Continue reading On Not Having a Clue What to Write
Eight things about reading at O Bheal in Cork that everyone should know
Ireland is replete with literary events and poetry readings. All literary events are literary, but not all of them are equal. O Bheal ( http://www.obheal.ie ) is a particularly good one, and it was a marvelously enjoyable evening for me. 1. Resistance is futile. You are made just so welcome. I am not a particularly … Continue reading Eight things about reading at O Bheal in Cork that everyone should know
The Queen And I
The Queen (2006) Directed by Stephen Frears. With Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Alex Jennings. The notion of any kind of hereditary monarchy simply incomprehensible to me. It is a system of government so riven with problems as to be potentially catastrophic for a country. This is why the UK have reduced the monarchy … Continue reading The Queen And I
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