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Do the names of characters affect how you read fiction, perhaps enhance � or distract from � the reading experience? If you write, how do you choose your characters� names � do you undertake research; do names just pop into your head; do you name them before or after a first draft? Also, what do �

Does it matter what you read? As long as, that is, you read at all. In this case, we’re considering reading fiction and reading for pleasure � or for leisure, rather than explicitly for educational purposes. We’re probably all aware of the phenomenon of the book snob, generally describing those who not only scorn ‘popular� �

It was eerily warm on our new-year’s eve walk this morning. After a light snowfall late on Christmas Day, which charmed us all, the temperature has been around the 10°C mark. It’s now 13°C (that’s over 55°F). Thirteen. Tomorrow, New Year’s Day, it’s forecast to be 15°C (55°F). Fifteen. I call this ‘eerie� because this �

Two traditions that have taken root in our household at this time of year:1. Each of the kids� ‘Christmas Eve box� contains new pyjamas, a fizzy bath bomb � and a book.2. Boxing Day (i.e. what we call 26th December or St Stephen’s Day in the UK) is Reading Day. It’s a bank holiday (except �

Two traditions that have taken root in our household at this time of year:1. Each of the kids� ‘Christmas Eve box� contains new pyjamas, a fizzy bath bomb � and a book.2. Boxing Day (i.e. what we call 26th December or St Stephen’s Day in the UK) is Reading Day. It’s a bank holiday (except �

Common wisdom has it that a good cover has a significant influence in selling a book � alongside its title and the blurb or description, and excepting the reputation of a well-known author. A good cover must, runs the advice, convey something about the contents; it should match the genre of the book in terms �

Apparently, the sentences that writers use in fiction (or perhaps that should be ‘the sentences that readers are prepared to read�) are getting shorter. This comes from research into fiction by British authors, as reported in the media last month. These writers are, evidently, are using fewer words per sentence. Related to this, they are �

Well, my plans to get my blog back on track were derailed � by myself and child number 2 catching the SARS-CoV-2 virus. What was (in the event) a minor misfortune, at least in our case, was overlaid by an enormous amount of luck � that I experienced it as a bad cold rather than �

The summer holidays with my children seem a long while ago now, and I’ve neglected this blog terribly. Sorting through the photos, I can be grateful all over again for the places we visited here in the UK. A trip to William Wordsworth’s childhood home near Cockermouth in the Lake District was one highlight. It’s �

I’ve noted in a previous post that some writers, and creators in general, have a preferred time of day for working (Good morning brain). But what about in a preferred � or even required � location? Listening to an interview with writer Donna Tartt, from a few years ago, this response struck me: “I can �