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Author Archives: claudia
Competitive Writing
Next weekend I shall be competing in the European Masters Swimming Championships. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? But it’s really not. I’m just a plodder, not one of the serious swimmers. My goals are to post a decent time (for me), not … Continue reading
The Magic of Iceland
Following on from my previous blog, the question many friends have been asking me since my return is, how was Iceland? As in Iceland, the place, not the writing retreat. I feel somewhat unqualified to answer. Firstly, I spent very … Continue reading
The Writer’s Chair
I have recently returned from a writers’ retreat which involved, amongst other delights, two full days of writing workshops with an impressive line up of authors. The biggest draw for me was the author, Miriam Toews, whose book, All My … Continue reading
Writing as Therapy
I am just emerging from one of those stressful periods in life that come along every so often. One of those periods when you wake up in the mornings with your heart racing and your mind whirring. Days filled with … Continue reading
Warning: Writer in Residence
I recently took the opportunity of a few clear days to book myself into a hotel for some dedicated writing time, away from it all. I splashed out on a really nice hotel in the Cotswolds. I splashed out on … Continue reading
A Few of my Favourites
There are a lot of blogs coming out now comprising ‘best of’ reading lists for 2015. For want of anything better to write, I’m going to join in. Why anyone would care about what I’ve read this year, I don’t … Continue reading
On Failure
The other day, a pretty miserable day in general as it happens, I discovered my novel hadn’t made it from the longlist to the shortlist of a well known competition. All in all, it was a ‘I’m this close to … Continue reading
Posted in On Getting Published, On Writing
Tagged competition, failure, Olympics, process, success, swimming
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Does it Matter if Novels Aren’t Plausible?
Does anyone care about plausibility in novels anymore? Or are readers just so hungry for twist upon twist, they don’t mind how improbable this renders the story line? Read a book like ‘Gone Girl’ and you could well believe … Continue reading
Writing for No-one
Writers are often told they should keep a journal. I imagine a writer’s journal to be something erudite and practical: the exposition of process, working through problems and strategies, accruing material and ideas. I’ve never written a journal like this. … Continue reading
Season of Hope
Right now is my absolute favourite time of the year. I love it. Whilst people around me are bemoaning the passing of summer and the return to school runs, stews and soggy weather, I’m relishing the absence of barbecues, bared flesh and … Continue reading
