'Somewhere out there, on the very fringes of memory, is buried the single word, 'effluvium'. And not far from that; 'the stage fills with blood'.'

Somewhere out there, on the very fringes of memory, is buried the single word, 'effluvium'. And not far from that, my best stage direction ever; 'the stage fills with blood'.

The post Fraser Grace appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Swotting was highly risky in my state comprehensive, where any show of keenness was likely to be met with jibing and jostling.'

This kind of swotting was highly risky in my state comprehensive, where any show of keenness was likely to be met with a great deal of jibing and jostling, in this case accusations of being teacher's pet.

The post Caroline Sanderson appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'I am a late adopter. I was the last journalist I knew who typed articles, the last who faxed rather than emailed.'

I am a late adopter. I was the last journalist I knew who typed articles, the last who faxed rather than emailed, the last who delivered books to publishers in hard copy — usually, in an actual box.

The post Andrew Martin appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'No matter what I am doing, my current work in progress simmers away in snippets of conversation, memories bubbling up, observations.'

No matter what I am doing, my current work in progress simmers away in snippets of conversation, memories bubbling up, observations on busy streets and queues in Tesco's. These compost into my story.

The post Cynthia Rogerson appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Some poems change you more than others. Anne Sexton said that in poems, you write what you don't know yet. '

Some poems change you more than others. Anne Sexton said that in poems, you write what you don't know yet. There is a moment of turn, a flick as the points change, and you speed off.

The post Pippa Little appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Kashtanka is taken in by a clown, who runs his own theatre show, training a cat, a goose and a pig to perform circus tricks. It's told in short chapters.'

Kashtanka is taken in by a clown, who runs his own theatre show, training a cat, a goose and a pig to perform circus tricks. It's told in short chapters; a plus for a children's story.

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

'The rage was building... stoked by subterranean rejections of all sorts. Going back to childhood, to the womb, to before the womb, to legions of unplacated ghosts.'

The rage was building... stoked by subterranean rejections of all sorts. Going back to childhood, to the womb, to before the womb, to legions of unplacated ghosts of ignored women and writers over the centuries.

The post Clare Bayley appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'I was offered a place at Goldsmiths to read History. I didn't like history, but it was my ticket out of my home town. '

I was offered a place at Goldsmiths to read History. I didn't like history, but it was my ticket out of my home town. Some time during my three years I discovered there were bits of history I loved.

The post Paul Dowswell appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'The articles I later wrote about this extraordinary trip may have helped sell my novel, who knows? I was fired by something else.'

The articles I later wrote about this extraordinary trip may have helped sell my novel, who knows? I was fired by something else by then; the urgent need for an ocean sanctuary to protect the Kermadecs in the future.

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

'I opened myself up to the learning process, committing time and money to improving my craft. '

I opened myself up to the learning process, committing time and money to improving my craft. The happy outcome was that my next novel manuscript found a publisher, and the work I did to fund my M.A. provided inspiration for my second.

The post Hannah Vincent appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.