Astronomy . Literature . Variable Stars . Writing
Writing about the stars
On 16 April 2011 by AdminHaving just finished a novel about astronomers and the stars – Variable Stars, to be published next month – I thought I’d see what else had been written on the subject. Some of this I’d come across already, in the line of research – although as a rule I try not to read anything too
Astronomy . Literature . Novels . Variable Stars . Writing
Dark Matters – writing about astronomy
On 23 March 2011 by AdminWatching the very watchable Brian Cox talking about the universe last night on TV made me think what an amazing place we live in – and for once, the adjective seems precise, not hyperbolic. What is it if not amazing that – as the engaging Dr Cox was at pains to point out – the
Astronomy . Literature . Novels . Variable Stars . Writing
Writing in Time
On 28 February 2011 by AdminI’ve been thinking a lot about time, recently. It all started with having a cold. With nothing to do but try and throw it off, and nowhere to go but the few steps from my bed to the kettle and back again, I got down to some serious reading – or rather, re-reading. The book
Astronomy . Historical Fiction . Literature . Novels . Research . Variable Stars . Writing
Inventing real people
On 11 January 2011 by AdminWriting about real people or events in a work of fiction might seem to have obvious advantages. Instead of starting with a blank canvas, where your character is concerned, you have access to previously existing ‘sketches’. These can include actual images – whether photographs, drawings or paintings – as well as verbal descriptions by those
Astronomy . Historical Fiction . Literature . Novels . Research . Variable Stars . Writing
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
On 15 December 2010 by Admin‘Where do you get your ideas?’ is a question most writers get asked – and not a few find hard to answer. One feels almost superstitious about it – as if, by delving too deeply into the mysterious process by which stories are made – or found – one might lose the trick of it.
Literature . Novels . Research . Variable Stars
Books I’ve Read This Year
On 30 November 2010 by AdminNow that the Best of Year book list season is upon us, it seems a good moment to compile my own – a snapshot of my reading over the year. The trouble is that three books – the usual number in such round-ups – isn’t nearly enough. I started off with twenty, thinking I’d probably
Literature . Novels . The Dark Tower . Undiscovered Country . Writing
What’s in a name?
On 10 November 2010 by Admin‘What’s in a name?’ asked Shakespeare – ahead of the game as usual – and it’s certainly a question I’ve been asking myself a lot recently, with regard to titles. Ah yes, titles… that most difficult of things to get right. Perhaps only naming a rock band is more fraught with complexities, and potential pitfalls…
A Mild Suicide . Literature . Novels . Undiscovered Country . Venezuela . Writing
Living Your Life In Fiction
On 22 October 2010 by AdminNovels don’t always stay within their pages. The revelation, last week, that the Swedish novelist and campaigning leftwing journalist Stieg Larsson, author of the best-selling Millennium trilogy, was instrumental in training Eritrean women fighters during that country’s civil war, might have come straight from one of his own novels. Nor are Larsson’s the only works
eBooks . iPad . Kindle . Literature . Novels . Writing
Fiction Can Save Your Life
On 7 October 2010 by AdminFlying back from New York a couple of nights ago, on the ‘red-eye’ – and never was an unaffectionate nickname more aptly bestowed – I found myself once more confronting the fact that a good book can save your life. I’m speaking figuratively, of course – although there are doubtless instances, from the bullet-stopping Bibles
A Mild Suicide . Historical Fiction . Literature . Novels . Research . The Dark Tower . Undiscovered Country . Variable Stars . Writing
Writing Historical Fiction
On 1 September 2010 by Admin‘I don’t like historical fiction,’ a friend said recently and, until a few years ago, I might well have agreed with him. I mean – what’s the point of setting your story in the past, when there’s so much about the present that’s worth describing? Of having to go to all the trouble of recreating