Tag Archives: dialogue

Transmission

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Michael Clarke

In the last post I mentioned the ‘Transmission Project’, which according to the Manchester Metropolitan University student handbook is ‘an independent research unit, undertaken at the end of the taught element…to explore a specific area of the transmission of text.’ … Continue reading →

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Anne Tyler at the Oxford Literary Festival

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Michael Clarke

Along with 850 other fans, I was lucky enough to have a ticket to this morning’s Oxford Literary Festival interview with Anne Tyler at the Sheldonian Theatre. It was an absorbing event – the first public appearance of its type, … Continue reading →

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Non-Instant Karma — We All Shine On

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Michael Clarke

I’ve recently been writing a very tricky chapter of The Angel in which Kim falls over and hurts herself and believes it might signify some sort of bad karma — which it may well be bearing in mind what she’s … Continue reading →

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One Day

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Michael Clarke

‘One Day’ by David Nicholls won the Sainsbury’s Popular Fiction prize at the Galaxy National Book Awards last week. I’ve mentioned this book in passing a couple of times on this blog since I read it in the summer. I’ve … Continue reading →

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Spooked by Heartbeat’s Demise

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Michael Clarke

I was rather gutted (as footballers say) a week last Sunday by the transmission of the last ever episode of ‘Heartbeat‘. No really — this isn’t meant to be a piece of wry irony. I enjoyed the programme, and admired … Continue reading →

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Three Universities in Two Days

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Michael Clarke

I seem to be visiting a lot of universities recently. On Monday I went up to the Open University, where I met my MSc. supervisor and my ‘specialist advisor’ — both are a married couple of academics who work on … Continue reading →

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My Penultimate Workshop Reading

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Michael Clarke

I read out my Chapter Three at our first evening workshop last night. I’d actually forgotten many of my misgivings about the piece and now I wish I’d ploughed ahead more over Easter and been able to submit the next … Continue reading →

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First Extract Sent Off

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Michael Clarke

I was hoping to write something brand new for the reading in the class on Saturday but got a bit bogged down. I’m still hoping to write something on the new novel, even if it is a collection of fragments, … Continue reading →

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Historical Fiction

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Michael Clarke

I missed Monday’s class this week on historical fiction so I’ll post a few thoughts here. These apply to modern writers setting novels in the past rather than looking at historical books set in their contemporary time. However, I’m aware … Continue reading →

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