April 7, 2014
The literary world is currently celebrating the centenary of William Stafford. This remarkable man wrote a poem every day for more than four decades, including the day he died. Even if a proportion of his prodigious output was duds, his discipline meant that over his life he published more than 22,000 poems in 65 volumes of poetry and prose.
I'd be happy if I could keep up that regime for even a year. That would be 365 poems instead of my usual handful. As it is, I struggle to create a tweet a day that's worth inflicting on the world. Sadly, even with 365 poems to choose from, I'd probably still never have a suitably themed competition entry. However, the more you write, the easier it gets. The words you want are less likely to elude you, and even if you can't come up with the idea you're searching for, when you brainstorm around a subject you're more likely to recognise other viable pathways.
William Stafford said: "Write day in and day out no matter what happens."
Here's to him, he's example to us all.
Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
March 30, 2014
I put my hand into the bag, and I pull out... a film: The Grand Budapest Hotel. I've seen it, and it's completely bonkers, but in a good way. It's a kind of fairytale grotesque alternative history/adventure/rom-com/thriller that rattles along like a steam train. There are top notch, often surprising, perfromances from a starry cast, including a host of cameo roles. Ralph Fiennes proves himself a fine comedy actor, and special mention has to go to Tony Revolori as Zero Moustafa the lobby boy. ...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
March 27, 2014
I should have known that if I wrote a blog about how important it is to write entries regularly I would jinx myself. Three days of closing my eyes and pretending that I don't feel nauseous, and another two of trying to avoid feeling seasick when I move, mean that I've broken my own rule. I'm now faced with quite a list of work to do before the end of the month, but I hope normal service will be resumed next week. Fingers crossed.
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
March 16, 2014
Sometimes a subject for a blog presents itself without having to think about it; something happens or a thought arrives in your brain and the words almost write themselves. At other times, the search seems impossible. You can trawl through old notes, leaf through the newspapers, go for a walk and nothing hits the right note. There's nothing for it, but to tie yourself to the desk (metaphorically or not, depending on whether the latter provides the kernel for a story about hostages or a magic ...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
March 9, 2014
Let me be transparent about this, I have a robust dislike of two adjectives that it seems no spokesperson can be interviewed without using in almost every sentence. It doesn't matter whether it's the police, a local councillor, a representative of the National Health Service or a head teacher, they all insist that they'll be introducing robust measures to ensure greater transparency in future, or demanding the same from someone else.
I suggest they look these words up in the dictionary. Not o...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Linguistics
March 2, 2014
For one week only, you can buy
Discord's Child and
Artists & Liars and save 25 and 50 per cent respectively on the usual price. Smashwords is running Read an Ebook Week until midnight Pacific time on 8th March 2014, and I'm happy to be taking part along with a host of other authors.
I started publishing with Smashwords in June last year, and I've found them really author-friendly. Their formatting might be a bit of a fiddle to begin with, but once you've mastered that they make it really eas...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Coming Soon
February 24, 2014
This blog was going to be all about publishing
Discord's Child and
Artists & Liars on both Smashwords and Kindle, with the annoyances caused by not formatting everything properly the first time around. (I thoroughly recommend making sure that
all original formatting is taken off before you begin and starting again from scratch, having backed everything up first, of course.) However, the news that Alice Herz-Sommer has died made that seem rather trivial.
Alice Herz-Sommer was believed to be th...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
February 18, 2014
One of the great things about being a writer is that sometimes work you did a long time ago rewards you out of the blue. This week I had a request to publish my story, 'Blind Alleys', from the organisers of the Yeovil Literary Prize. It was commended in the 2012 competition, and I had thought that was that. Now, I have publication in an anthology to look forward to in the autumn. It will bring together the winners and commended entries in the short story and poetry sections of the competition...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Competitions
February 12, 2014
Last week, National Grid dug up the street where I live. Traffic drove over the footpath spreading claggy clay mud everywhere, the drill sounded like a headache and my concentration packed its bags and departed for somewhere sunny. It was time to do something to stop me making excuses and kick me into action. Luckily, I had an invitation to an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Christopher Fiddes, organised by
Primrose Gallery and held at The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Museum, 78 Derngate...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
February 2, 2014
I did one of those online quizzes this week that's supposed to discover what the ideal job is for you. It's only a bit of fun, but (surprise, surprise) it turns out that the perfect career for me is as a writer. How they came to that conclusion by asking whether I preferred The Lord of the Rings or Star Trek, and whether I'd rather take food or a friend with me to a desert island I don't know. All they really needed was to ask four simple questions. Am I a control freak? (I like making my cha...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
