'I stopped to smoke a cigarette, talking aloud to myself in a near-fury that I had a commission waiting for me and no pitch to make.'

'I learned very early on as a self-employed freelancer that the answer to ‘Can you do this paid work?’ is always ‘Yes’. That has stood me in good stead.'

I learned very early on as a self-employed freelancer that the answer to ‘Can you do this paid work?’ is…

I learned very early on as a self-employed freelancer that the answer to ‘Can you do this paid work?’ is always ‘Yes’. That has stood me in good stead. Writing often has to come second place to the work that has more immediate returns. I learned very early on as a self-employed freelancer that the answer to ‘Can you do this paid work?’ is always ‘Yes’. That ethos has stood me in good stead.

The post Doug Johnstone – The Writing Life appeared first on Royal Literary Fund.

'There was actual advice but the real, unspoken advice was that they were all there. All doing it. Managing with or without a day job.'

There was actual advice but the real, unspoken advice was that they were all there. All doing it. Managing with…

There was actual advice but the real, unspoken advice was that they were all there. All doing it. Managing with or without a day job. There was actual advice but the real, unspoken advice was that they were all there. All doing it. It struck me when I came down for breakfast the following morning that there was nothing to stop me from joining them at their metaphorical table.

The post Anna Woodford – The Best Advice I Ever Received appeared first on Royal Literary Fund.

'The writers that grab me these days are those who pull and push not only at the limits of language but at those of form. '

The writers that grab me these days are those who pull and push not only at the limits of language…

The writers that grab me these days are those who pull and push not only at the limits of language but at those of form. The writers that grab me these days are those who pull and push not only at the limits of language but at those of form. Lydia Davis takes the already chameleon short story and whittles it down to single paragraphs, stacking sentences into collages.

The post Clare Fisher – Writers Who Inspire Me appeared first on Royal Literary Fund.

'On that rainy afternoon in O’Connell Building, surrounded by my classmates, my love of drama ignited: recreating Joan of Arc’s last night on Earth. '

On that rainy afternoon in O’Connell Building, surrounded by my classmates, my love of drama ignited: recreating Joan of Arc’s…

On that rainy afternoon in O’Connell Building, surrounded by my classmates, my love of drama ignited: recreating Joan of Arc’s last night on Earth. On that rainy afternoon in O’Connell Building, surrounded by my classmates, my love of drama ignited. You tasked us with devising a dramatic scene: recreating Joan of Arc’s last night on Earth. Maybe some of her rubbed off on me that afternoon.

The post Fiona Evans – Letter To My Teachers appeared first on Royal Literary Fund.

'I watched my new desk as its surface got covered with more and more piles of paper and books, and found myself using it almost… never. '