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Prize
When my debut novel was about to be born, my publisher and I worked out a PR strategy. Her preferred modus is to enter contests. My faithful readers will recall my attempt to get myself onto the shortlist of the Not the Booker Prize, a contest run by The Guardian. You may surmise by the […]
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Shanghai Mind
To shanghai is to Force (someone) to join a ship lacking a full crew by drugging them or using other underhand means. The word dates back to late 19th century Shanghai and, indeed, all the tropes are there. The drugs, the crime, the indentured service. When we think of the residents of Shanghai, we see […]
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Curve of the Land
Setting is a basic building block for any kind of writing. It doesn’t matter whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry or drama. There are lots of definitions of setting but I like the Wikipedia version the best: The setting is both the time and geographic location within a narrative or within a work […]