The Pitch – how to write a pitch to an agent or publisher So I thought about writing a story about this but have actually been given some information on how to put a pitch to an agent or publisher, so I thought I’d pass it on. So you’ve spent a time pouring your heart… Continue reading The Pitch – how to write a pitch to an agent or publisher
Category: Masters tales
Anything about the Masters in Creative Writing and Scriptwriting
Assignments and Dissertation Ideas
Does time really pass this quickly? The answer is of course yes, especially when you are having a bit of fun. But I still can't believe that I'm thinking about dissertation ideas... My course doesn't officially begin lectures again until the 7th of February, which is great as my assignments need to be in on… Continue reading Assignments and Dissertation Ideas
Research and how much of a story ought to be true?
I was researching an essay on Dinosaur Footprints and I decided to include North Brother Island, which is an abandoned quarantine island between the Bronx and Queens. There is an abandoned leper colony in America, right next to NYC… If you look at it online then you can see the devastation, the trees growing through… Continue reading Research and how much of a story ought to be true?
A conundrum
"The more books we read, the clearer it becomes that the true function of a writer is to produce a masterpiece and that no other task is of consequence." Cyril Connolly This was posted in the Thresholds Facebook page... and it got me thinking. Is the only true function of a writer to create a… Continue reading A conundrum
It’s Christmas!
Well almost. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I am sitting in front of the Christmas tree and trying to ignore the Christmas special on the telly. Enough 'Christmas's'? I think so. Don't get me wrong I'm not a bar-humbug type of person but I do hate the commercialism of it all. My gifts this year… Continue reading It’s Christmas!
How do you write a two-way radio dialogue?
So I am working on a story and I need my character - a mountain rescuer - to talk to his boss on the two-way in his back pocket. I've already got dialogue in the story so the use of "-" doesn't make it different enough. So do I bold it or CAPITALISE it or… Continue reading How do you write a two-way radio dialogue?
Christmas and mince pies
12th December 2012 Well that was the last lecture of this year and I must admit I was lulled into a false sense of security... There were mince pies and cheesy biscuits and all sorts of goodies including jilebies (an indian sweet that I'm particularly addicted to). So there we all were quietly eating and drinking pomegranate juice -… Continue reading Christmas and mince pies
Essays
5th December 2012 "Essays?" I asked, "really? Like factual... well... essays?" Shockingly the answer was - yes. Now I'm confused. I have an archaeology degree and essays where the pattern of life... How can you use the present to analyse the past? And so on. But I never anticipated anything would be like it in… Continue reading Essays
Translation and… creative writing
28th November 2012 (yes I know this is very late - in my defence though I've been up to my eyeballs in toys as my actual job is a toymaker! Feeling very much like a christmas elf right at the moment. An overworked underpaid elf, but an elf none the less.) Yep you heard right… Continue reading Translation and… creative writing
How I get new ideas…
Lately I've been asked how I get ideas for stories, so I actually sat down and thought about it... I drew a blank. I don't know - they just happen. So I thought instead of trying to explain I'd just tell you how I got one idea. I saw an ant. Just the one but… Continue reading How I get new ideas…
Kate Murray - Cleaver 