Here are some thoughts on the process of writing, and also some creative pieces.
On writing:
I wondered lonely as a crowd – on the delights of crowd mentality, and its wisdom (or otherwise) when funding
The silence of the archives – observations on how archival lacunae can help to nourish fiction
Killing Beauties – on my novel
The scarlet letter – on the problems of writing for free (or ‘exposure’, as it’s laughably termed)
An odd exercise – something from a creative writing workshop
Revealing no coin in hand – Rock yoga. Damn, you just know it makes sense!
Please don’t teach them Shakespeare (2008) – a reaction to the then education minister’s decision that children as young as 5 ought to be taught shakespeare. Fool.
Cutting a shape in Time – An old piece on Ezra Pound and music
Freud, Klein and Dr Seuss – an old essay on Freudian sublimation, Kleinian reparation and the Cat in the Hat
Polymathematics – a response to Jim Giles’ piece in Prospect, Go figure
Writings:
Sanctuary – a piece on end-of-life care that actually won a (meaningless) prize
Nigel, Prince of DarknessĀ – if you play the guitar, you really ought to read this.
Cogito, ergo amo – on drones, AI and inevitability
A place for everything – Hamish isn’t quite on top of his game, and he’s also managed to get lost in the local shopping centre. It can only go one way …
It’s a metaphor – it certainly is. Dolphins and the tyranny of ‘only persevere’
Dramatically speaking – some dramatic things I wrote on Shakespeare, Cricket and, er, NottheArchers