Words about Words - November 2020
Hello,
Welcome to November’s Words about Words, where I share some of the things that I have found interesting or useful over the past month, plus a few things I’ve been working on.
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Interesting or useful
‘Landscape of fear: why we need the wolf’, by Cal Flyn in The Guardian
A fascinating article about our relationship with wolves, and the prospects for their reintroduction in the UK… LINK
‘The secrets of TV’s greatest thriller writer’, by Sarah Hughes at bbc.com
A profile of Jed Mercurio, who - as well as having a wonderful name - is known as the writer behind ‘Line of Duty’ and ‘Bodyguard’… LINK
‘Essential writing advice from Virginia Woolf’, by Emily Temple at Lithub.com
I’ve just started reading Woolf’s Orlando and love the style of it, so I went searching for articles on Woolf’s writing. This is a good one, with good advice… LINK
Free resources for writers from the National Centre for Writing
This is, as the title suggests, a directory of free resources for writers… LINK
‘Sabhbh Curran: ‘A smart, engaging pitch letter will stand you in good stead to get attention’’, by Katie Smart at Curtis Brown Creative
The Curtis Brown Creative site is a ‘go-to’ site for me, when I’m looking for advice for writers. In this article, one of Curtis Brown’s agents, Sabhbh Curran, shares her tips for getting noticed… LINK
Chartered Institute of Fundraising
The Institute of Fundraising is now the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and has a rebrand to mark the occasion. This seems as good a time as any to remind anyone within the charity world (because you’re all fundraisers really, even if it’s not in your job title) of the CIoF and its resources… LINK
Breasts and Eggs, by Mieko Kawakami
I realised that I haven’t shared much about the books I’ve been reading in Words about Words recently. I’ve decided I want to share some more detailed reviews, but in the meantime, I can wholeheartedly recommend Mieko Kawakami’s novel, Breasts and Eggs.
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My work
Lonely Goat Running Club
Over at lonelygoat.com you can read an interview with pro athlete, Laura Muir, a guide for people who want to start running, and a summary of the principles of running training… LINK
Fundraising
I’ve been doing a bit of work for an organisation that I have a lot of respect for, which has been good fun. I’m not going to go into more detail here, as I’m not sure if this is an appropriate place to do so, but just wanted to mention it as I’m so pleased to be working with them.
28 day fiction writing challenge
At the start of Lockdown II, I set myself challenge of writing a work of fiction, by adding a new Tweet to an ongoing Twitter thread each day. To make things more challenging, I decided to try and come up with each daily instalment that morning, rather than plan or plot the work in advance. I don’t mind admitting, that I’m not entirely convinced of the results so far, but I do think projects like this are a great way of getting the creative juices going… LINK
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Thanks for reading
That’s it for November’s Words about Words. I usually send these to subscribers on the last Thursday of the month, and then publish it here onm my website the following day, but as that will be New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, I might do it a couple of days early.
Have a great month,
Cheers,
Jonathan