misc.
Getting into Oxford
Well, don’t ask me. I’ve only lived here 22 years, which isn’t nearly long enough to figure out how the university entrance system works. The Oxford Literary festival, however, merely requires that you buy a ticket. If you’re willing to spend £6,000 on tickets, you probably could learn just about everything about everything in a [...]
Writing for fun and profit. Or at least for fun.
“I have always believed that advertising is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is ransom notes.” That line was written, you might have guessed, by an ad man. As someone who spent far too many years “rattling a stick in a swill bucket” (George Orwell), I have to say that [...]
11 Rules for writers
Well, hmmph. I don’t know why the Guardian didn’t ask for MY rules. And I did notice that, with one or two exceptions, the writers I like gave the advice I like. And vice versa. Unlike Philip Pullman, however, I like nothing more than a bit of journalism to while away the time when I should [...]
Name dropping can be fun
When I first started meeting other authors, I couldn’t believe how easy it was just to drop their names casually into conversations. Which I did a lot, JUST BECAUSE I COULD.
most popular