Kathryn Scanlan's collection of short stories, The Dominant Animal, is unusual on a number of levels - if not actually surreal. The really nicely produced book (from Daunt Books Originals) weighs in at just 118 pages, yet it contains forty stories. That's right, at an average of just under 3 pages per story. Some of … Continue reading “The Dominant Animal”
Category: Blog
Yesterday & Today: 8th February
There can only be one highlight from yesterday, and that is the news that I will be performing Crash at the Ripon Theatre Festival on the afternoon of Saturday 10th June (precise time and location to be confirmed). My performance will be directed by Andrew Bates. Can't wait to get started rehearsing! The other major … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 8th February
Editing: how much is too much?
Currently preoccupied with 'final' reviews of two of my projects, I find myself assailed by a question relating to editing work - namely, when is enough, enough? It is, perhaps, easier to define what is insufficient - especially when, in the first instance, no editing at all is unacceptable! So what happens when you first … Continue reading Editing: how much is too much?
Yesterday & Today: 7th February
The infinite variety of poetic style, themes for poems, and opinions about poetry - what's good, bad, indifferent (and why) - never ceases to amaze me. Yesterday's Stanza meeting was another case in point when we were treated to such splendid diversity. And at the end of the day, liking a piece or not is … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 7th February
Yesterday & Today: 6th February
Some days it's not how much you work but what you work on - or is it like that most days? In any event, yesterday was such a day. Tilt drafting done and now put away for a month or two; and the final review started on Not the Sonnets and Once Significant Others. Plus … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 6th February
Yesterday & Today: 5th February
Saturday tends to be a rather modest day when it comes to volume of writing activity, and so it was yesterday. The most significant effort was spent on completing a first-cut of that missing section from Tilt (enough, at this stage, to take it to a book of c. 180 pages). Apart from that, a … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 5th February
Yesterday & Today: 4th February
Nothing really turned out as planned yesterday - either in terms of 'Life' or writing... But I did manage to draft a little more of Tilt, and it's entirely possible that the 'missing' section will be complete by the end of tomorrow. Then we'll see. I also spent a chunk of time continuing to prepare … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 4th February
Yesterday & Today: 3rd February
I think the 1-2-1 mentoring went okay yesterday. It's always difficult trying to strike the right balance between honest critique and encouragement. Writing is such a personal thing, and our words can be so precious to us, that any questioning of them can feel like vicious betrayal. I know, because I've been there! Haven't we … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 3rd February
“Demolition”
I really liked Neil Rollinson's collection, "Demolition". Across a variety of subject matter there was something in his tone and voice which certainly resonated with me. "Away with the Mixer" is a wonderful poem exploring the death of a parent who has suffered from dementia; and the way it handles the aftermath - raw and … Continue reading “Demolition”
Yesterday & Today: 2nd February
Part one of my short burst of mentoring went reasonably well yesterday. I spent 50 minutes helping someone work out what their next steps should be on the journey to try and get their children's book into print; and later in the day, an hour reading the draft of a short story which will be … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 2nd February
Ian Gouge - Writer 