The Life Of The Professional Writer -

This Is The Paradox For Me: In Failure Alone Is There Any Possibility Of Success. I Don't Think I'm Alone In This - Nor Do I Think It's An Attitude That Only Prevails Among People Whose Work Is Obviously "creative".

Lust Was A Positive High-tension Cable, Plugged Into My Core, Activating A Near-epileptic Seizure Of Conviction That This Was The One Thing I Had To Do In Life.

You May Have Gathered That I Am Not The Most Cheerful Of Revellers - Some Characterise Me As The Death And Soullessness Of Any Party But It Wasn't Always So, Believe Me.

Sometimes It Occurs To Me That The Job Of A Serious Cultural Critic Mostly Consists In Telling The Generality Of People That Their Opinions - On Films, On Books, On All Manner Of Widgets, Gadgets And Even The Latest Electronic Fidgets - Simply Aren't Up To Scratch.

Don't Look Back Until You've Written An Entire Draft, Just Begin Each Day From The Last Sentence You Wrote The Preceeding Day. This Prevents Those Cringing Feelings, And Means That You Have A Substantial Body Of Work Before You Get Down To The Real Work Which Is All In . . . The Edit.