Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. ~ George Orwell In 1949, George Orwell sat in … Read More
Far from being fearless, authors tend to be anxious people who are duking it out with their anxieties on the page. They don’t write despite their fear but because of it. They want to wrestle the alligator. ~ Ralph Keyes I heard them before I saw them. My … Read More
The first step toward being a writer is to hitch your unconscious mind to your writing arm. ~ Dorothea Brande Fledgling writers sometimes need an attitude adjustment. And sometimes more experienced writers do, too. Otherwise, why would bestselling author Hilary Mantel confess that she reads Dorothea Brande’s … Read More
As a writer of ghost stories, I should explain that I ventured down a deep rabbit hole recently in pursuit of the best ghost stories of the Victorian/Edwardian era: tales written by the master, medievalist scholar M. R. James. He is revered in the United Kingdom as the gold … Read More