"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
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My instagram account is roberttwiggerinstantart HERE
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 6:44AM Stuart Kelly gave a fascinating and erudite talk at the impressive home of Ray and Marie - the Penningham centre- where healthy eating is also delicious- as we discovered as we ate a three course meal and heard Stuart tell us how Walter Scott invented the modern idea of Scotland.
Monday, September 26, 2011 at 9:09AM I'm at Wigtown literary festival - I have been since thursday, and already I am taking vitamins, going for walks, making up for the intense program of festivities. There was the talent festival won by an amazing local girl- aged 14- and called Zoe, who, strangely had been in the class I had talked to earlier that day at Douglas Ewart school, Newton Stewart. John Paul Flintoff- the multi-talented writer and journalist who makes his own clothes devised a Noh slapstick comedy routine which worked suprisingly well for the talent show, the point of which is to seamlessly blend local and imported writerly talent. Martin Bell, Tom Hodgkinson of Idler fame and Sadakat Kadri have all given great performances. Later this week there will be the top crime writer Jason Webster- whose novels are set in Valencia Spain, Johnny West who penned the first book yet on the Arab Spring- Karama- Sarah Hall and Roger Moorhouse- the world's foremost historian of WW2 Berlin. There is also Blo-karting with Carole Anne Brown- blo-karting being land yachting at incredible speed using an ingenious piece of kit that folds down to a pack you can put in your car boot that weighs only 25 kg. The theme of the festival is the great outdoors. Today we went swimming at Rigg Bay- it was beautiful- sunny and not too cold. Accompanied by the polymathic Shaun Bythell- owner of Scotland's largest secondhand bookshop - we took the plunge without another beach tourist in sight. that's part of what makes Wigtown so special- it's far enough away to seem like a real adventure.
Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 4:24AM We all want to be superhuman from time to time. Why aim at being merely human when the megalomaniacal urge descends?. No one wants to be subhuman. How do we try to be superhuman? We set ourselves idealistic goals we cannot achieve, because we are, human after all. In some ways we use the word human to mean failing, not living up to high standards- yet these are areas where humanity is most easily shown. Animals don't keep their word. Animals aren't reliable. But animals do care for their young and sacrifice themselves for their offspring and even for the survival of the group. So public charitable work could be downgraded to subhuman even though lots of 'heroes' are considered superhuman. But when someone lets another down we say, "he's only human". One can aim for superhumanity in outperforming the average, or as Michael Phelps coach put it: Doing what the others could do, but won't do. Sometimes you need to find yourself in a group with higher aims than you had before to suddenly go up a level. If you want to be superhuman hang out with superhumans.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 4:29AM "Thought broadens but paralyses; action inspires, but limits."
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 9:41AM When I was sixteen i went climbing with the local mountaineering club. I spent time climbing with a professor of economics. He made economics sound fascinating. I changed to do economics at A level, did it a year early, and this probably helped me get in to Oxford to study Politics, philosophy and economics. Of course I dropped the economics after a year because I realised it wasn't that interesting after all...but still, as a result of a few conversations over a weekend I had changed my life.
I'm fascinated by people who have had a conversation, probably with a stranger, and then changed their lives as a result. If you have - let me know- comments are on for this one.
Friday, September 9, 2011 at 5:18AM The person whom God has cursed trades butter in the summer and salt in the rainy season.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 6:49AM The latest word that public people think will solve the world's problems. Since there is no shortage of such words, there is little prospect in the foreseeable future of people relinquishing the desire for a word to replace what is really quite common: genuine insight, informed experience, common sense, tolerant perceptiveness...in other words what separates the best qualities of human beings from mere automation.