It’s no surprise to anyone when I say I love words… which obviously means I also love books. And if you’re a fellow book fan, you’ll probably know that this year’s Booker Prize shortlist was announced on Tuesday. With it, the same question gets asked each year: what makes writing good? Bad writing is much easier to spot. Sometimes it
Is this a question that you’ve asked yourself lately? And if you have—is it met with white noise and a blank stare as you try to articulate your story? Whether you believe in the creation of life or the big bang theory, your story started before you were even a twinkle in your mother’s eye. It’s a collection of stories—generational,
‘When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.’ – Dalai Lama
‘Tsundoku’ is a Japanese word that describes the accumulation of a pile of unread books. It is a hybrid word from ‘dokusho’ (reading books) and ‘tsunde-oku’ (pile of things). It also brings to mind a ‘tsunami’ which tends to give readers like me nightmares similar to a popular cartoon depicting a person who has met their demise under a pile
“Good prose is like a windowpane.” Of all the quotes I’ve found about clarity in writing, this one by George Orwell is the pithiest, and my favourite. His Politics and the English Language, more of an essay than a book, is well worth adding to your pile if you come across it at the bookshop counter. Writing in 1946, Orwell
As the name so vividly suggests, clickbait is a combination of annoyingly tempting videos, news ‘facts’, must-have knowledge and uncovered secrets – content all designed to lure you to click through to a web page and scroll on and on, inevitably while you swim through streaming margins of never-ending advertisements. Have you ever skimmed pages of someone’s childhood memories before
“We are all storytellers,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson. But where do stories start? And why does storytelling matter? Freelance writer Mark O’Loughlin’s experience working with charities led him to discover a passion for writing and telling other people’s stories. How my story started After working and volunteering in the charity sector for ten different charities during the past decade, I
This week’s blog has been written by Natalie Lartey, Director and Founder of Wood & Water, a not-for-profit consultancy that brings Black British changemakers and communities into critical conversations about humanitarian and environmental injustice. In her blog, Natalie reflects on a review by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), explores common challenges in tackling racial bias in the
For World Book Day, copywriter Paul remembers an old favourite and wonders: Can the books we love when little influence the career paths we take? SCARRY PROSPECTS? From kisses to records to foreign holidays, we’re supposed to remember our firsts. I can’t claim to remember the first book I ever had, but the first I can remember was a pretty remarkable one. Richard
If you pay attention, you can observe how the stories we tell each other eventually generate change and disruption for the better, says Lou Hamilton.
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