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Since my last post back in July I had planned to follow up with more book news BUT, after ten days seeking out art installations at the Venice Biennale, I was able to bring home a virulent strain of Covid. The result has been a long, slow recovery. The next person who tells me it’s like a ‘mild dose of flu’ may find themselves seriously indisposed!

So now it’s back to why we’re here. To start with here’s a couple of recent announcements that I must post:

First the appointment of award winning author Frank Cottrell-Boyce as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2024-2026. He was presented at a special ceremony with the silver Laureate medal by Joseph Coelho, the outgoing Children’s Laureate.

Cottrell-Boyce is a multi-award winning children’s author and screenwriter. His books include Cosmic, The Astounding Broccoli Boy and Runaway Robot. He also co-wrote the famous Platinum Jubilee Paddington Bear sketch. He has declared his ambition to ensure the benefits of reading are taken seriously as part of his campaign Reading Rights: Books Build a Brighter Future.

The second missed announcement was the sad death, on 27 July at 93, of controversial Irish novelist, Edna O’Brien. As the author of more than 20 books O’Brien was one of the outstanding writers of our times. She was one of the first writers to give a voice to women in Ireland and transform the status of women across society.

Her first and perhaps best known novel was The Country Girls (1960) – a story of two convent girls Cait and Baba who look for life and love in the big city. It was credited with breaking a number of taboos – banned and denounced by religious voices. I remember, back in my bookshop days – some years after its publication – it was certainly a go-to title for a whole cross section of buyers and was eagerly sought out by first year university students. I’m not sure the male management was that impressed.

I’d like to have covered these in more depth, but too much time has elapsed. Maybe later I’ll look in detail at O’Brien’s legacy and hope to cover more of Cottrell-Boyce’s Reading Rights.

Like many writers, I’ve collected dozens of useful books and just too many other books! Among these are two battered copies I keep re-reading, periodically, to remind me why I write and when I should: Becoming A Writer by Dorothea Brande and On Writing by Stephen King.

These are not how-to books but are common sense approaches to the craft. Brande’s book, though originally published in 1934, looks at the difficulties of writing and what writers are like. She covers reading as a writer rather than simple reading – even if the book doesn’t really appeal. This book contains a wealth of great advice and comment. Among this are two approaches which I find invaluable.

The first is taking yourself off at a chosen time – not necessarily the same time or place every day – and writing for 15 minutes. What about, when and where? That’s up to you. The second is what I call My Morning Pages. The technique here is to write before doing anything else as soon as you can lever yourself out of bed. Don’t think, don’t plan, just write whatever comes into your head. One caveat: Put it aside along with all the other Morning Pages, DON’T read it and leave it for at least 6 months before looking at it. You will be surprised at what you’ve written. Of course it may well be garbage, but there’s often some gold in the rubbish bin!

Stephen King’s On Writing, first published in 2000, is more a biography and goes from his childhood through to June 1999 when he was hit by van while walking on a country road in Maine, USA. King, of course, needs no introduction. This book is as a result of that accident. He had been writing for years, but this was his way of fighting back from devastating life-threatening injuries.

His book contains a very useful toolkit and, as you might expect, he’s very down to earth with his advice. There isn’t enough space here to highlight all the key points he makes, but it’s a great read – just in case you get the impression that it’s easy for people like him – it ain’t. He ends with these words: ‘Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends. It’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work’.

My copy contains an extensive booklist – no doubt updated – that, he says, are the ones that worked for him and based on his maxim ‘Write a lot and read a lot.’ Both books now go back in my bookcase, even more battered, and will certainly be re-read. They’re available through your local independent bookseller – try them.