'Why make the reader feel that characters are made to be together, and then drop them – us – in it?'

Why make the reader feel that characters are made to be together, and then, just as romantic resolution is in sight, drop them — us — in it?

The post Lucy Lethbridge appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'In the end, my only way out of this crisis was to make Tony's next chapter, Chapter Eighteen, a blank page. '

In the end, my only way out of this crisis was to make Tony's next chapter, Chapter Eighteen, a blank page. The not-knowing could be suspenseful, I hoped.

The post Chris Westwood appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'I can remember the woman who was moved by my depiction of bipolar disorder to seek her own diagnosis.'

I can remember the woman who was moved by my depiction of bipolar disorder to seek her own diagnosis; the mother who used a story I'd written to help her better understand her troubled son.

The post Ann Morgan appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'When I read Clette my expectations changed; in barely more than a hundred pages, she conjures up a world of luxury, sensual feeling and expression.'

When I read Colette my expectations changed; in barely more than a hundred pages, she conjures up a world of luxury, sensual feeling and expression, and sheer beauty.

The post Sue Roe appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Self-expression is likely less universal to all artists; for me, it's essential. In my best pieces, something is at stake for my personal development.'

Self-expression is likely less universal to all artists; for me, it's essential. In my best pieces, something is at stake for my personal development.

The post David Spencer appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'I must not be present-centric as opposed to ethnocentric; I must try and free myself of the assumption that the time in which I live is intrinsically better.'

I must not be present-centric as opposed to ethnocentric; I must try and free myself of the assumption that the time in which I live is intrinsically better or more advanced than another.

The post Lucy Moore appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Suddenly people were offering me good fees to go to Cardiff or Newcastle or Belfast and read to people who had come just to see me.'

After my first book was published in 1987, suddenly people were offering me good fees to go to Cardiff or Newcastle or Belfast and read to people who had come just to see me.

The post Geoff Hattersley appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Over three novels I had taken a child's misremembered and half-forgotten memories and turned them into fiction.'

Over three novels I had taken a child's misremembered and half-forgotten memories and turned them into fiction. I had invented a vast cast... and weaved Jamaican history into Pao's shenanigans in downtown Kingston.

The post Kerry Young appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Open document that is Novel In Progress; re-read last paragraph, feel very tired. 10.30; check twitter. Eleven am; coffee, peg out washing.'

Open document that is Novel In Progress; re-read last paragraph, feel very tired. Ten thirty; check twitter. Eleven am; coffee, peg out washing. Eleven fifteen; impatient with self for having achieved nothing this far.

The post Bethan Roberts appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'I'd have to say that it's the writing fraternity itself that inspires me, not the writers who are loved and admired.'

I'd have to say that it's the writing fraternity itself that inspires me; not the writers who are loved and admired, who are household names, but the writers most people have never heard of.

The post Dyan Sheldon appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.