Currently Browsing: Paul Anderson
31 Dec 2012
For Auld Lang Syne
It was 2007. I was working a particularly unfulfilling job in a law firm in London. With apologies to my former employees, it really was. You had employed a law graduate desperately clinging to the vestiges of his PhD plans, who was only working in document production because it paid reasonably well and it wasn’t a job that I found particularly taxing. Sorry, but that’s the truth. August is a... read more
12 Dec 2012
Odds and ends
Since joining Write Anything I’ve written 210 articles. At an average of 500 words per article, that’s 105,000 words, roughly the size of a novel. Odd to think that my largest creative output has been a column, rather than a work of literature. I could assemble all these articles into some sort of ebook of advice, but then I’m not sure how good my advice has been over the years… One... read more
1 Dec 2012
Praecedo—December 2012
“Everything has to come to an end, sometime.” L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz Welcome to December. Welcome to the end of the year. And welcome to the final month of Write Anything. Throughout 2012 the writers on this site have been working on projects. Some successfully, some (like me) not so successfully. But all have grown this year as writers, as people and this month we share our... read more
20 Nov 2012
Inspiring the next generation of writers
Did you know you can study creative writing at university? Probably you already did. American colleges have allowed you to major in creative writing for years, and now in the UK you can study creative writing. And before university? Well, if you’re lucky you might wind up with an English teacher who is themselves a writer and who feels that no English course is complete without some fiction writing... read more
6 Nov 2012
In praise of not caring
In 2007 I began posting very short pieces of fiction on an online bulletin board. It was flash fiction, before I even knew of such a phrase. This was before I knew about Write Anything, back when I was certain I would still be working as a lawyer. I had ideas in my head for stories, and for many years beforehand I had written, in secret. But this was the first time I had posted anything publicly. It was a... read more
1 Nov 2012
Praecedo—November 2012
Sitting by the window and looking out at the trees which surround my home, I notice the subtle changes of the seasons, day by day and week by week. Where once the leaves were full and green, sparkling where the summer sun shone on their waxy skin, now they begin to wrinkle and curl, becoming like the pages of a forgotten book—fragile, parchment yellow, dry and brittle. Some fade away with little... read more
22 Oct 2012
On new challenges and letting go of the old
Sometimes you just have to recognise when is the right time to let go. A decade ago I had just graduated from Cambridge with a Masters in International Law, and was about to embark on my doctoral studies. I was aiming for a career in government, international relations or with an NGO. Or so I thought. It took me the loss of my offer at my first choice institution, a two-year hiatus from study and a... read more
28 Sep 2012
Am I finished?
In just over a week I’m going to be running 13.1 miles. Last week I ran 12 miles, my last long run before the race. It is tempting to run further, to run 13, 14 miles before the race so that I know I can last 13.1 miles. But in doing so, I risk over-exerting myself, possibly injuring myself. At best, I’ll tire myself so much that I won’t achieve my best times possible. At worst, I will... read more
