Wednesday
Dec282016
"Fabulous Storytelling" Mick Herron
I have been writing and publishing books on a variety of topics since my bestselling Angry White Pyjamas came out in 1997. Other bestsellers include Red Nile, a biography of the River Nile. In total I have written 15 mainstream books translated into 16 languages. The include creative non-fiction, novels, memoir, travel and self-help. My publishers include Harper Collins, Picador, Penguin and Hachette. I have won several awards including two top national prizes- the Somerset Maugham literary award and the William Hill sportsbook of the Year Award. I have also won the Newdigate Prize for poetry- one of the oldest poetry prizes in the world; past winners include Oscar Wilde, James Fenton and Fiona Sampson.
A more recent success was Micromastery, published by Penguin in the US and the UK as well as selling in eight other countries.
Micromastery is a way of learning new skills more efficiently. I include these methods when I coach people who want to improve as writers. If that's you, go to the section of this site titled I CAN HELP YOU WRITE. I have taught creative writing in schools and universities but I now find coaching and editing is where I can deliver the most value. In the past I have taught courses in both fiction and memoir at Moniack Mhor, the former Arvon teaching centre in Scotland.
"Micromastery is a triumph. A brilliant idea, utterly convincing, and superbly carried through" - Philip Pullman
Subscribe FOR FREE to the Micromastery Newsletter HERE
My instagram account is roberttwiggerinstantart HERE
Sunday
Dec182016
The Book of the Book
Sunday, December 18, 2016 at 12:39PM The Book of the Book- reprinted in a new issue by ISF Publishing- repays reading, rereading and contemplation of the central idea. Get a copy now!
The Book of the Book
by Idries Shah
ISF publishing
ISBN 978 1 78479 078 3
Friday
Dec092016
Nora says
Friday, December 9, 2016 at 9:39AM Nora Joyce to James: "Why don't you write sensible books that people can understand?"
hmm.
Friday
Dec092016
Larkin Says
Friday, December 9, 2016 at 6:08AM 'A writer's reputation is two fold: what we think of his work, and what we think of him. What's more, we expect the two halves to relate: if they don't, one or other of our opinions alters until they do.'
Fairly inescapable.
Monday
Dec052016
Sunday
Dec042016
Five day course thoughts
Sunday, December 4, 2016 at 5:24PM Just finished teaching a five day course on 'secrets of story'.
the main 'secret' was that you can make a story out of anything as long as you re-use elements that are there in the beginning.
You have a squirrel, a car horn and a banana. The squirrel tries to stop the old style horn by shoving a banana into it. But the banana blasts out. It hits someone in the back of the neck. The horn is still sounding. The angry person pushes the squirrel. The squirrel pushes back and almost steps on the banana. He avoids it carefully. But then a policeman calls to him about the car. He looks up, turns, and now of course slips on the banana. Or something like that- this story was made simply by thinking of ways to reuse three things. You might think you already do this but I find most story makers are looking forwards, running a little fast, to the next thing. Instead of looking back at their stock of toys, images, people and finding ingenious ways to re-use them. Storymaking is all about parsimony.
Saturday
Dec032016
