When I was staying in Amsterdam, I visited Anne Frank House. It was a quiet January morning. I arrived early and wandered through the exhibition, which includes both introductory material about Anne, her family, and the other inhabitants of the Achterhuis during the war, the attic rooms themselves, and (once … Continue reading
Today, I answer some questions from Adam Mills over at Weird Fiction. You can also read an extract from Rupetta (The Miracle of Consciousness) published free and online in the same issue. There’s also little review of Rupetta included here. I’m all over that place!
Germaine Greer recently took it upon herself to comment on the debates about gay marriage. Now, first I have to say that I have a great deal of respect for Germaine. She’s difficult, noisy, articulate, passionate, awkward, intelligent and all kinds of other adjectives. She says what she thinks, … Continue reading
I’m not a huge fan of three act structure if it’s talked about as the ONLY structure available to writers or other creators who work with narrative, or – as in this TED talk created by the educator Matthew Winkler – people say that it’s a universal mythic structure that … Continue reading
No single approach to writing, no single essay or piece of advice, is enough. There are as many ways to write as there are writers, and as many ways to encourage others to write as there are teachers. I do not pretend to have all the answers. Instead, I try … Continue reading
Ray and Rosalie just forwarded me this review of Rupetta in The Tablet, a Catholic periodical. I was pretty worried about how the reviewer would respond to the quite critical portrait of (an) organised religion in the book, let alone to the oodles of lesbians romping around in the book. … Continue reading
I respect kindness in human beings first of all, and kindness to animals. I don’t respect the law; I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in … Continue reading