Writing Non-Fiction vs Writing Fiction
I’m currently editing two pieces and have realised how incredibly different the editing process is when working on fiction vs non-fiction.
WM32 Why do We Write Fiction?
Originally posted on Word Maze podcast:
[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/wordmaze/Wm32_WhyDoWeWrite.mp3%5DWhy do we write? I struggled so much during the re-write that I almost threw it all away and gave up this “I want to write fiction” thing. Why I didn’t: I hate dropping stuff before giving it a proper go – that’s…
So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson.
It’s not often I finish a book and say out loud, “Well, that was depressing”. Though absolutely entertaining and enjoyable, the book left me thinking how much our penitentiary system (yes, that’s not a typo, shaming is at the core of how we’re punished) fails us as individuals and society, […]
‘The House We Grew Up In’ by Lisa Jewell
In my last post, I shared how I had high hopes for November. And I did. I won’t say that my hopes were dashed, but I didn’t achieve everything I wanted to achieve. But that’s ok, it was a good month anyway. Mainly, I didn’t finish the novel I started […]
I Have High Hopes for November
I have high hopes for November. For a start it’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the time of year when I make sure I get a bit of fiction writing every day – more or less. It’s the month when at some point, I realise that I am well behind […]
Drops of Happiness: Move Around
Move around! Work / think/ play in different surroundings. In an office: have you got access to different areas? Move around! In public transport: do you always tend to sit (or stand!) in the same spot? In the city: do you often use the same parts of the city? And […]
Drops of Happiness: Read
Start the day reading. Set some time aside if it makes you happy. It’s food for the soul. You don’t need to be learning, just enjoy it. You don’t even need to know why you’re enjoying it, though it’s fun to wonder why: Is it the style, the plot, the […]
‘The Organized Mind’ by Daniel Levitin
First, a small confession, or at least, something you might want to know about why I read non-fiction. It’s not always to learn what the author thinks I want to know. Or at least, not to take notes on what they want me to take from the book. I read […]
‘Fight Club’ by Chuck Palahniuk
It took me a while to watch the film – I thought it would be violent and superficial, but I remember enjoying it A LOT and being surprised by the quality of the acting and script. Fast forward many years later, and the book has appeared on my radar through […]
‘Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear’ by Elizabeth Gilbert
I often avoid “inspirational books” but I heard so many people I respect recommend Elizabeth Gilbert’s ‘Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear‘, that I decided to give it a go. I found Gilbert’s story fascinating, especially her reflections and experiences after writing Eat, Pray, Love (which I haven’t read by […]
‘Over Hill and Dale’ by Gervase Phinn
I’d already read The Little Village School and so I knew I was in for a sweet read when I downloaded Over Hill and Dale by Gervase Phinn. Gervase Phinn was a school inspector and this series of books, he weaves anecdotes together to create beautiful stories that have […]
‘A Far Cry from Kensington’ by Muriel Spark
I call this type of books “cozy reading” – they’re not hard work too read, they usually don’t shake me emotionally and I know some of the characters are going to make me feel warm. And I always laugh when I read Muriel Spark and enjoy her social commentary. ‘A […]
