writing

sunday times review of Red Nile

2013-05-19T14:04:43Z

Unexpectedly decent review of red nile!

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/books/non_fiction/article1259457.ece

view from Portland

2013-05-10T22:14:22Z

Chesil beach on a sunny day.

Red Nile out May 23

2013-05-08T19:04:45Z

Red Nile- biography of the world's greatest river will be published on May 23 2013- probably available before then.

Red Nile

2013-04-30T14:00:34Z

Red Nile- published in May is a recommended read in TGO (The Great Outdoors) Magazine

escape from colditz

2013-04-29T10:41:19Z

I went on a tour with the excellent Historical Trips company to see the site of the Great Escape and also Colditz. The tour - led by renowned author Guy Walters was fascinating, fun and highly recommended- here's the piece I wrote for the Spectator:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/8895371/great-escapes-2/

http://www.historicaltrips.com/greatescapes.html

silence is the best medicine

2013-04-26T09:21:06Z

check out my latest article on selling silence: http://www.aeonmagazine.com/oceanic-feeling/robert-twigger-desert-silence/

dialogue tip

2013-04-10T09:07:03Z

When writing dialogue in a story or novel think about the way the talkers connect in a REAL way. Talking only rarely allows of a real connection (so rare that in real life the result is often silence). So even if the talking or the scene demonstrates lack of connection it's good to show the lower level on which there IS connection- this could be hostility or desire for attention (in fact it's always worth looking at a scene and asking yourself - who's looking for attention, who's giving it here, is there an attention battle going on). Melville is good at connecting his characters through the way they may touch each other physically. Updike is good at finding the level of connection that surrounds otherwise banal dialogue. If you can look for that connection you'll bring interactions between characters to life- because you will be depicting life and not some jaunty back and forth exchange of ideas.

only question the novelist need ask

2013-04-07T11:00:49Z

There is only one question a novelist need ask himself:

What do I want?

Not: what does the editor want, what does the reader want, what does the public want, what does the critic want, what does my mother want, what does my best friend want?

Of course it is possible to write with all or any of the above questions in mind but you'll find when the going gets tough your mind will begin to skate unless you pull up and say to yourself- screw all the rest- what do I want to write here? It's the only way to break though the topsoil into the clay beneath. And clay is the stuff real people are moulded from.

traditional parenting

2013-03-26T10:30:10Z

Just as we have seen a move in the last forty years towards using traditional foodstuffs that haven't been mucked around by chemicals, hormones and anti-biotics; so I think we'll see a return to using the main ideas of traditional parenting, but in balance with whatever genuine modern benefits we have accrued. An analogy might be using organic vegetables but cooking with a juicer, mixer and an electric oven. I searched quickly on amazon for books on traditional parenting- there are plenty on non-traditional- but NONE on the good points of traditional parenting. It's a tricky subject because in the current era the culture suggests we blame our parents for just about EVERYTHING. So if the modern world is less than perfect then our parents - and their methods of parenting- must be at fault. The fact that the phrase 'traditional parenting' is now a cliche for bad 'Victorian Dad' type parenting means that the time is ripe for change- when something is a bonehead TV cliche its usually 100% wrong. Just as traditional food has been rediscovered, so too will the lost skills of previous generations of parents begin to be revalued- in all cultures not just our own. This is a key point- the Irish had organic potatoes before the famine- but it wasnt a healthy balanced diet. We may have to widen the search for better versions of traditional than our own recent past.

building fictional characters #2

2013-03-21T09:47:34Z

The question you want to be able answer about a potential character is: can I run with this? You can build up a character full of quirks and contradictions and then find he or she just doesn't move of their own accord- you're always having to cattleprod them from scene to scene. You know you're in this pickle when the thought of writing new scenes seems like a drag (or a bigger drag than usual). You want a character with LEGS which carry them around gaily and happily or even grumpily but at least carry them. So you need to keep trying on characteristics that seem to chime in with the name and character's context, seem to mix into a potent cocktail that moves. For example I spent a long time building this character X who was supposed to be an expert on the jungle, knew about plants, etc etc...but it was all a bit static. No legs. Then I had a mid-morning coffee break insight that X was tough. That was it. I had my legs. I like writing about toughness and now I had my chance. So, it is likely that the key driving characteristic may be somthing simple that appeals to YOU, gets YOU a bit excited- or excited enough to want to write about it. One must always ignore what is 'good' or 'acceptable to the audience' at this stage- it's all about charging your own generative powers with whatever fuel they need.