short story

 
Alexandra Benedict, part 1
11-05-2023

Alexandra Benedict speaks with Doug Johnstone about taking up writing at the age of three, her enduring fascination with dark and disturbing themes, the role of place in her creative output and how synaesthesia has influenced her use of unusual sensory details in her writing.

Ian Ayris
20-04-2023

Ian Ayris speaks with Ann Morgan about the therapeutic power of storytelling, football’s role in male expression, learning to write in your own voice and discovering the joys of Shakespeare.

Sara Wheeler — The Best Advice I Ever Received
'George Saunders develops the acronym TICHN — things I couldn’t help noticing. In other words, referring back to his advice ‘Don’t say something for no reason’; if you include a detail, make sure it means something, and repeat it, with subtle variations. '
Andrea Bennett — Rejection
'I sent letters and had meetings, and spent a couple of hours with one who I realised, then and there, was definitely the agent for me. The vibe was all so positive — until three weeks later, when she emailed me that she didn’t feel the same. I was crushed. '
Dilys Rose
09-03-2023

Dilys Rose speaks with Doug Johnstone about her literary work including poetry, short stories, novels and historical fiction, the different technical challenges of each form, her collaborations with composers and artists and her own visual arts practice.

Cynan Jones — Writing As Game Time
'I would move to a new story each week, regardless what shape a piece was in. Ultimately, I coached myself, I can make it better later. The goal was to generate acceptable drafts of twelve stories by Christmas. Stay positive, keep the work rate up. '
Old Fish Dip And A Cannabis Grinder
Charlie Hill on how the closure of a train station, and an unplanned overnight in Leicester, led him to question his long-held beliefs about what makes effective writing.
Martin MacInnes — The Biggest Surprise Of My Writing Life
'I found a single email, sent by the organisers of a writing competition, inviting me to a reading and presentation, but my phone was out of service. I had been shortlisted, and I needed to call them by the following day, or my place would be forfeited. '
Rebecca Goss — Writers Who Inspire Me
'Jayne Anne Phillips' slim collection Sweethearts was published when she was in her early twenties. She does not refer to its contents as stories or poems; she calls the writing ‘pieces’. Each is a page, a snapshot of small-town American life. '
Cynan Jones — Killing Your Darlings
'I sent in a physical copy of the novel rather than a Word doc., banking on the fact no-one would wordcount it. It would stand on its own merits, and either feel the right length for itself or not. As it happens, it was the right length for itself.'
Lucy Flannery, part 2
01-12-2022

Lucy Flannery speaks with Catherine O’Flynn about fallow and active creative phases, the terror and euphoria of live theatre, working collaboratively with other writers and adapting and extending Wodehouse and Austen.

Tom Lee — Rejection
'Years passed and I did not write the novel. During this time my contact with the agent became more sporadic and – from my point of view – more fraught. I had anxiety dreams about him. Sometimes he didn’t reply to my emails. '
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