Author: Writing The Long Way Around

Writing the Long Way Around3 Comments

If Carlsberg made accountants…

Writing The Long Way Around

When he is not wrestling with the Inland Revenue, filing my tax returns and grammatically bitch-slapping this blog, my accountant finds the time to indulge his own love of the written word with literary related courses. His most recent was based on a literary Italian connection, and produced a reading list that includes about six or seven books I have always wanted to read with a bottle of Prosecco. Here is that list: Balzac, Honoré de (2007) Sarrasine, London, Hesperus Classics. Douglas, Norman (2009) South Wind, London, Capuchin Classics. Forster, E. M. (2007) Where Angels Fear to Tread, London, Penguin Classics. Godden, … Continue reading If Carlsberg made accountants…

Writing the Long Way Around4 Comments

Get over yourself

Writing The Long Way Around

Passion is always good. Sometimes ill placed, but always well-intentioned. Be a stickler for the causes you hold dear I say, but be careful of letting a bad mood ruin your day. Enter stage left – Professor Rosenthal. Displaying the stereotype of the rude New Yorker, our angry heroine caused a riot in Starbucks resulting in the police escorting her off the premises, warning her never to return. Now there’s a tax payer expenditure bargain. What could incite a learned Prof to start a riot in a haven such as Starbucks you ask? Turns out the Prof in question was … Continue reading Get over yourself

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Big Jessies and Rude-Boys

Writing The Long Way Around

It would appear while my back was turned that things have changed on the recruitment front. Now, even if you have had an interview, employers do not bother to get in touch to let you know if they want you for a second interview or if you are just not the person they have been looking for all this time. Even if you e-mail them to thank them for their time and reiterate your interest in the role and ask directly if they want you for a second interview (after a week’s wait), their response is blowing in the wind. … Continue reading Big Jessies and Rude-Boys

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Books that Change your Life

Writing The Long Way Around

Guest post by Gordon Binnie – diver, mountaineer-er, cyclist, runner and book devourer Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks I first read Birdsong in 1995, not long after it was published. I was incredibly moved by the story and although I have re-read the book a number of times since, I found that the impact of that first reading has not dimmed with the passage of time. The novel is in several parts and spans nearly 70 years, beginning in 1910 in the city of Amiens in northern France and ending in England in 1979. Whilst there are various stories woven throughout the book, … Continue reading Books that Change your Life

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The Writing on the Wall

Writing The Long Way Around

At my interview for the MA Creative Writing course, I was shown round the rather impressive facilities of the writer’s room and lounge complete with TV, DVDs, desks, books and, a full size white board for writerly use. Sadly this last facility quickly became akin to a toilet wall with very little creativity employed. Here, David Bishop shows us how to really make use of such a contraption. Continue reading The Writing on the Wall