Tag Archives: essay

The art of becoming an original writer in three days!

Posted on August 21, 2013 by gabrielablandy

We talk about that first ‘bite’ we get as a writer, the first punch of an idea. Something catches our eye – a painting, or a conversation between two people across the room. We watch. Suddenly we start to imagine … Continue reading →

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Playful child and iron teacher: the two halves of the writer

Posted on March 1, 2013 by gabrielablandy

I was nine when a new games mistress arrived at my school. She was a grey-haired woman, although she wasn’t old; I could tell because her eyebrows were black. Her bum was boxlike, giving an impression of very little waist. … Continue reading →

Posted in Essay, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 39 Comments

What happens when a character’s skirt gets hitched in her knickers?

Posted on February 20, 2013 by gabrielablandy

Character is arguably the single most important component of the novel…nothing can equal the great tradition of the European novel in the richness, variety and psychological depth of its portrayal of human nature. David Lodge    When I was ten, … Continue reading →

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First drafts: allowing the worm to navigate the soils of your mind

Posted on February 5, 2013 by gabrielablandy

I decided to go on a retreat a few years ago. When people asked me why, I tried to explain, but always got a sense I’d left something out; I circled back to the beginning, tried again. Words followed words, … Continue reading →

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The boy whose butter I ate: writing from the inside out

Posted on January 15, 2013 by gabrielablandy

When I was fifteen, I wanted, with a desperate force, to fall in love. This desire was mirrored over a decade later – though it wasn’t love I was urgently wishing for, but a career as a writer. In the … Continue reading →

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