Last week I announced a competition to win a copy of A Town Without Time, the new collection of work by Gay Talese. Here is the link again, this time with an unrestricted link!
Read MoreCompetition to win a copy of Gay Talese's A Town Without Time
Creative Writing
7 useful literary techniques
Here are seven handy techniques with which to enrich your writing. Used sparingly, they can be very effective at bringing a piece to life.
Read MoreThe hardboiled collection: 3 Chandleresque stories in one post!
Three creative writing experiments: stories written in the hardboiled style.Quick look: A Town Without Time PLUS A chance to win this book!
A short review, plus a chance to win a copy of this new book.
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A writer, by Terry Freedman
My 60 Minute Writer course
Next week I’ll be teaching a course called The 60 Minute Writer. The title always makes me smile because it sounds like I teach people how to be a writer in an hour. It reminds me of a joke by, I think, Frank Carson…
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An A minor harmonica, by Terry Freedman
Poetry writing and me
Poetry writing is not my thing. At least, I don't think it is. The reason for my uncertainty is that although I attended a one-day poetry class some years ago, the feedback provided by the tutor was not very detailed, to say the least.
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drawing of a fish, by Terry Freedman
Fish (flash fiction)
This is a piece I wrote during a flash fiction course several years ago. It’s exactly 90 words long.
Read MoreA literature course I'd like to take if it were available: an Oulipian puzzle
Blogger,+by+Terry+Freedman
Blogging: a course
Every so often I read some pundit, or usually a journalist pretending to be a pundit, suggesting that blogs are dead. What can I say? They’re not.
Read MoreThe spy who went down with a cold
in Creative Writing, EiS
“Good afternoon”, said the doctor. “What seems to be the trouble?”
Read MoreCompare and contrast: Picture Perfect
As indicated by the title, the first thing to know about this anthology is that it comprises both poetry and prose, rather than one or the other. Many of the pieces are quite unusual...
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station platform, by Terry Freedman
The train now standing on platform 10
Transport in London these days is, for the most part, sleek, efficient. The epitome of this newish Utopia is the Elizabeth Line, with its silent, gliding carriages, air-conditioning and wi-fi. The announcements are soothing...
Read MoreCritical analysis of the Borgesian story: Using AI as a soundboard or critical friend
In this essay I have used three different AI apps to analyse a piece of my writing, and to make suggestions for improvement.
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Experiments in Style: A Borgesian Story
in Creative Writing, EiS
One of the things I’ve been trying out is reworking a piece of text into a completely different style. This one was written in the style of Borges.
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Six-word reviews
When writing short-form I think it helps to think in terms of the minimum viable wordage, or MVW...
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Knighton Wood, by Terry Freedman
Success -- at last! A short, hopefully interesting and chortlesome, memoir piece
It is understandable that an ambitious young man, in his late twenties and early thirties, wanting success in all its various guises, and with a belief in the power of the mind, would be attracted to certain kinds of books, tapes and courses. The young man I’m talking about was, of course, me.
Read MoreNano reviews
You’ve heard of six-word stories. How about nano non-fiction?
Read MoreAn intriguing interlude on the Underground
Travelling back from my saxophone lesson on Saturday, a very attractive young woman kept looking at me. Did I finally have sax appeal I asked myself.
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Photo by Terry Freedman
An embarassing interlude on the Overground
Last week, Elaine, a friend of hers (D) and I went to an art gallery. On our return we caught the Overground train at Highbury and Islington, heading towards Stratford….
Read MoreWhat makes a great and successful writer?
in Creative Writing, EiS
This is a transcript of a conversation between Fred Terryman and myself. It’s been lightly edited, with the pauses taken out for ease of reading.
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