'Before he could see, hear, or smell 'Fox', Hughes was aware of something entering the loneliness of his midnight writing moment. '

Before he could see, hear, or smell 'Fox', Hughes was aware of something entering the loneliness of his midnight writing moment. It is the second meaning of loneliness that needs to be embraced for such things to happen

The post Robyn Bolam appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'For no good reason, certainly no reason that I can understand, I still get that weird tingling sensation when I've written something that I like.'

For no good reason, certainly no reason that I can understand, I still get that weird tingling sensation when I've written something that I like. It's the obverse in many ways of the feeling I get when I read something really admirable.

The post Charles Jennings appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'If Dylan Thomas introduces you to intoxication, Emily Dickinson shows you how to distill it.'

A poet who does not figure in my childhood anthology but who has become very important for me in adulthood is Emily Dickinson. If Dylan Thomas introduces you to intoxication, Dickinson shows you how to distill it.

The post Hilary Davies appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Perhaps you will become a successful lace-seller, or a designer, or work in fashion, which might well be preferable to being a writer?'

Perhaps you will become a successful lace-seller, or a designer, or work in fashion, which might well be preferable to being a writer? But you're not listening, are you? Okay, well don't despair.

The post Penny Hancock appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'When I was a smoker I would wake early, make myself a coffee, tuck myself up on the sofa with a book and read for an hour before breakfast.'

In those happy bygone days when I was a smoker I would wake early, make myself a coffee, tuck myself up on the sofa with a book and read for an hour before breakfast: three fags.

The post Diana Hendry appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Immersed in domains of magic and adventure, I wondered how these story people tackled the great unknown. What did they feel?'

Immersed in domains of magic and adventure, I wondered how these story people tackled the great unknown. What did they feel at a given moment? Why did strangers choose to help or hinder them?

The post Shahrukh Husain appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'So much more satisfactory than speech; you can correct it, remould it, hone it ceaselessly, if you like, before you deliver it. '

So much more satisfactory than speech; you can correct it, remould it, hone it ceaselessly, if you like, before you deliver it. The pleasure is not just in the moment, it can be lasting.

The post Antony Mason appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'You have to be prepared for weeks of footnote-tag, invest heavily in clue following and set off for distant records offices and idiosyncratic archives.'

You have to be prepared for weeks of footnote-tag, invest heavily in clue following and set off for distant records offices and idiosyncratic archives without necessarily knowing you'll get anywhere useful at all.

The post Lydia Syson appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Writing, to you, is an enchanted pool; you hover round the edges admiring the grace of the swimmers, but you don't plunge in. '

Writing, to you, is an enchanted pool; you hover round the edges admiring the grace of the swimmers, but you don't plunge in.

The post Maria McCann appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'I still have my treasured copy of the sky-blue Heinemann edition of Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson.'

I still have my treasured copy of the sky-blue Heinemann edition of Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson, and I remember reading in Blackwell's bookshop some of her startling lines for the very first time.

The post Duncan Forbes appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.