charles barrow's writing

I like listening to authors discussing their work, Radio 4's Front Row is especially good for this. I also like reading author interviews that provide insights into their working lives, their creative process. I want to hear a description of their desk too. I like to compare notes with my own routines, 'oh, I do that too.' or 'I must try that technique.' Recently I read two novels in the back of which were additional pages of author notes and information. 'Life After Life' by Kate Atkinson and 'When God Was a Rabbit' by Sarah Winman. Atkinson writes a short essay on why and how she wrote her story, and her research for it, with interesting insights into what is historically accurate and what is her own invention. I find that kind of detail fascinating. Winman has also written a short piece on her inspiration for this, her first novel, and other pieces titled 'Life as a writer', 'My day' and 'My tips'. All short but sterling ...

I'm editing Book 2 at the moment. I'm making hard choices. Kill your darlings, they say. Sometimes that is easier said than done. Take, 'A feint taint of woodsmoke.' It's writerly rubbish and trying too hard. Yet it survived several passes of my red pen, although each time I read it it snagged at me and caused me to pause for a fraction on the road past, like black ice might cause a tyre to lose traction. I always knew it was wrong and its days were always numbered. Eventually I returned to it and scored it through. Gone. Other edits are much harder. One sentence I really liked that had come to me in a bright moment, was a big sacrifice. It's wrongness remained hidden for a long while and even when I realised that I fought to keep it, would not admit it didn't work. I admired it, loved it even but it didn't belong in this story so out came the red pen again. It died hard. Editing can be a chore, can be fun, can be painful in equal measures but if y...

I mentioned a while back that a cover redesign was in the works. Jess has worked hard on it and I'm thrilled with the results. Please welcome the new cover for The Stolen Days of John Mann.

Now that the evenings will be drawing in I've lined up my Autumn reading.

I'm more excited than I probably should be by my new autumnal socks collection.

This is an accidental selfie. I was trying to take a photo of a statue in the grounds of Quarr Abbey. But it was a bright day and the sun was shining on the tablet screen and I didn't realise the lens had reversed itself, there is probably a technical word for that, oh yeah, idiot.  Anyway, I like that it caught the path behind me winding away into the trees. 'The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep.' That is my favourite line of poetry, it's the only one I can ever remember. The poem is by Robert Frost.

Kate Bush is all over the media at the moment, and for good reason, she's Kate Bush goddamit, and she's also doing her first live shows in 35 years. I'm sorry not to have tickets but I did see her 3 times on her first time around. Now, in amongst all the media coverage I picked up that Kate had said she's no longer keen on a song she wrote, way back, called Oh England My Lionheart. This is crushing news. It's one of my favourite tracks. It often winds itself, like ivy, around my brain and stays for days. It's a hymn to England, referencing Shakespeare, the Thames, the Tower of London, London Bridge and Peter Pan, amongst other things, all in a haunting melody. What do you do when one of your idols no longer likes a piece of their own work that you very much admire? What a dilemma.