Monthly Archives: April 2008

Planning a novel …

Posted on April 26, 2008 by angela

… is a strange and frustrating business, despite my colleague’s beautiful vine and wire analogy. My heart gives a little leap of excitement each time I think I’ve ‘got it’, only to find that what I thought I’d got won’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Hope Remains, Peter Mattiessen, Planning a novel, puzzles, Speaking of Love, vine and wire analogy, Zen Buddhism | 6 Comments

As easy as 123

Posted on April 24, 2008 by angela

Norm at normblog has tagged me for this … and because I’ve never been tagged before (I’m so easily flattered) and because my nearest book was not what I usually read but what I absolutely need (for research for my … Continue reading →

Posted in normblog tag; Norman Geras; The Edwardians: the remaking of British Society; Stuck in a Book; BooksPlease; Cornflower: A Work in Progress; Random Jottings | 4 Comments

Telling ourselves into being

Posted on April 21, 2008 by angela

I found this: We tell ourselves into being, don’t we?… I think that is one of the great reasons for stories. I mean, we are the storytelling animal, there is no other creature on earth that tells itself stories in … Continue reading →

Posted in Matthew d'Ancona, Norman Geras, normblog, Salman Rushdie, storytelling, Telling ourselves into being, The Spectator | Comments Off

To plan or not to plan a novel?

Posted on April 16, 2008 by angela

That is the question. A writing colleague and I were talking the other day about whether we should or shouldn’t plan our novels. I said I felt as I’d heard Rose Tremain say she’d felt: that if she plans, the … Continue reading →

Posted in bedrock of writing, John Fowles, planning, romance, Rose Tremain, soul in writing, The French Lieutenant's Woman, to plan or not to plan fiction | 10 Comments

Cornflower Book Group

Posted on April 12, 2008 by angela

The Cornflower Book Group is discussing Speaking of Love, so if you’d like to join in the discussion, hop on over there, here.I’d like to hear what you think does work as well as what you think doesn’t work, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Group discussion, Cornflower Book Group, Speaking of Love | 1 Comment

I have been Normed

Posted on April 11, 2008 by angela

Here. It is a wonderful thing that normblog does, this norming thing of a Friday. The similarities and the differences between, for instance, why a person would tell a lie (often to save a life) and which songs and poems … Continue reading →

Posted in being normed, Geoffrey Chaucer, linked blogs, normblog | 2 Comments

The Convergence of the Twain

Posted on April 9, 2008 by angela

It is strange what research throws up when you let yourself follow a curving line, isn’t it? (I know, it could be called a MAT, but I don’t think it counts.) I was looking for information about icebergs, when this … Continue reading →

Posted in research, RMS Titanic, The Convergence of the Twain, Thomas Hardy | Comments Off

In the blink of an eye

Posted on April 5, 2008 by angela

Jean-Dominique Bauby (Jean-Do to his friends) wrote a whole book, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, by the arduous process of one blink for each letter. In French it’s called La Scaphandre et le Papillon. (I tried to upload a … Continue reading →

Posted in Jean-Dominique Bauby, La Scaphandre and le Papillon, Locked-in syndrome, MATing, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | 3 Comments