I'm currently going through the Endever Process with what now feels like my first actual novel (the others, it turns out, were all just pretend — or at best they were exercises to get me warmed up for the real thing). In practical terms, this means the manuscript is opened up to the bullpen of... Continue Reading →
"Say what happened, and let the reader know when it happened and what caused it and what the consequences were, and tell me where the characters were and who else was present – and while you're at it, I'd like to know what they looked like and whether it was raining." - Philip Pullman The above... Continue Reading →
I love technology This feels like some kind of ‘Technophiliacs Anonymous’ group meeting: “Hi, my name’s Matt and I love technology.” To many of my friends and associates, technology is a dirty word. They don’t see the benefit in fiddling around with a computer or a smartphone when a piece of paper never runs out... Continue Reading →
You don't have to be a great writer to get published. You don't even have to be a particularly good writer. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that talent has very little bearing on one's chances of getting published. Let me qualify my statement. Firstly, I'm not complaining. This isn't another one... Continue Reading →
Or, The oddness of characters. Characters are funny old things. We dream them up, give them lives, names, faces,bodies, likes, dislikes, all manner of mannerisms, friends, families, wants, desires, needs, passions; and yet, for all that, they can remain stubbornly two-dimensional, trapped in the words on the page, struggling to come to life. This is... Continue Reading →
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene ii The above lines from Romeo and Juliet are often taken by writers... Continue Reading →
It’s official. I want a divorce. Not from my wife, of course. She’s the loveliest creature on this good earth, and no matter how hard things get in this marriage the D-word is one that will never come up. No, I would like a divorce from this novel. I have hit a period in the... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEDt1OxLVbM I said I would do it, and here it is: my first attempt at recording myself drafting the next section of 'The Singularity', with accompanying commentary. I'll be honest: this was a strange experience, and I'm not entirely sure of the effect it had on my output (quality, not quantity — what you see... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsPfpQuBpmE Welcome to my first ever video blog, in which I take you through my Google Docs setup and explain my thought processes behind re-drafting 'The Singularity'. I don't actually do any writing in this video — although I may upload a video later in which you can watch me struggling with a draft. Apologies... Continue Reading →
I'll say this for working at a school: the holidays are well-earned. It's quite popular these days to bash teachers and teaching staff for the amount of time they get off, but believe me: they deserve it. Imagine trying to do your job (whatever you do), with all of its paperwork, admin, on-line and off-line... Continue Reading →
Matthew Wainwright, Children's Author 