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Writer's On Literary Rejection
Oct. 11th, 2014 09:57 amThis article was forwarded on Facebook by an esteemed colleague and it just makes my heart go squeee!!! Rowling, of course, is in a league of her own. I adore Neil Gaiman and Ray Bradbury for very different reasons of course, but their messages amount to the same thing. Today, I received a copy of the Writer's & Artist's Yearbook for 2015, which has Pratchett, Gaiman et al in it with timely advice re writing in a specific genre. Below are the photos of my top three - the rest is in the link at the end :-)
“Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.” – Neil Gaiman
“Often, you have to fail as a writer before you write that bestselling novel or ground-breaking memoir. If you’re failing as a writer – which it definitely feels like when you’re struggling to write regularly or can’t seem to earn a living as a freelance writer – maybe you need to take a long-term perspective.” – J.K. Rowling
“You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.” – Ray Bradbury
Link --------------------> http://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2013/06/15/12-famous-writers-on-literary-rejection/
Will Self on Digital Media
May. 28th, 2014 08:53 amAs I am writing for digital media next academic year, I was very interested in what Self had to say about literature and its placement in the digital age.
Politics & Literature Debate
Apr. 2nd, 2014 06:40 pmWe had to stage a debate this morning - All literature should have a political basis. Interesting. I had to be on the opposing team and trying to prove that there shouldn't be politics in all literature - however, most of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels have some kind of feudal system and any trashy novel has some form of sexual politics, so more difficult than we thought. Define politics - Define literature. Politics: are they just morals and values channeled into governing society? It would make the written word an even more terrifying tool - akin to fascism and communism under Hitler or Stalin.
Thankfully, we were prepared with enough ammo - how it would stunt education, devalue scientific discoveries and cause divisions where there would not have been any. If you enforced politics into literature in past, present and future text - at the very most there would be concerns of brainwashing/paranoia; at the very least, some people would lose interest and not read at all. Could you imagine the drive to find more and more 'neutral' books and just how boring that would be? A horrible Orwellian world of sanctioned books etc.
Edit ::: I forgot to mention that I used the children's story 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' as part of the argument. Try stuffing politics into the life cycle of a butterfly, you will come unstuck.
Thankfully, we were prepared with enough ammo - how it would stunt education, devalue scientific discoveries and cause divisions where there would not have been any. If you enforced politics into literature in past, present and future text - at the very most there would be concerns of brainwashing/paranoia; at the very least, some people would lose interest and not read at all. Could you imagine the drive to find more and more 'neutral' books and just how boring that would be? A horrible Orwellian world of sanctioned books etc.
Edit ::: I forgot to mention that I used the children's story 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' as part of the argument. Try stuffing politics into the life cycle of a butterfly, you will come unstuck.
