Category Archives: Writing

Bearing Witness

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Jamie Jauncey

It’s the email every writer dreams of getting: ‘I would like to make a film of your book.’ It came, out of the blue, at the beginning of July. And before you ask – no, it wasn’t Dreamworks or Working … Continue reading →

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Gwynne’s Grammar

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Jamie Jauncey

I hadn’t heard of Nevile Gwynne until this morning. Michael Gove clearly has. Gwynne is a former businessman and self-taught grammarian whose primer has been endorsed by the Education Secretary as one of the books he wishes his civil servants … Continue reading →

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Gone fishing

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Jamie Jauncey

Today my brother sent me a photograph he had taken some time ago of our father. He was on a fishing trip, standing on the bank of some indeterminate Highland river in old tweeds and the ever-present collar and tie, … Continue reading →

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Finding one’s voice

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Jamie Jauncey

What does it mean to ‘find your voice’? It’s one of the reasons you’re here, we often say to our students on Dark Angels courses – to find your voices as writers. We said it last night, in fact. John … Continue reading →

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As I Died Lying

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Jamie Jauncey

Last autumn, John, Stuart and I, the three Dark Angels (d’archangels as we’ve now been christened by the endlessly inventive Faye Sharpe – see link to the Secret Archaeologist in the blogroll below), had a mad idea. It was a … Continue reading →

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Sin of omission?

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Jamie Jauncey

I was listening at lunchtime yesterday to the BBC’s director of human resources being grilled about bullying and the ‘strong undercurrent of fear’ uncovered at the corporation by its recent Respect at Work review. The interviewer suggested that the human … Continue reading →

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Spit and polish

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Jamie Jauncey

Today we’re setting off to Balavil, a large house in the Highlands, on our maddest Dark Angels adventure to date – an attempt by 15 writers to produce a collective novel (I’ve mentioned it in previous posts). We obviously won’t … Continue reading →

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Tennis elbow

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Jamie Jauncey

This is a bit of an experiment. I’ve got mild tennis elbow and I’m trying to give my arm a rest, so I’m dictating via the voice recognition software that I’ve used over the last few years when writing books. … Continue reading →

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Music and silence

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Jamie Jauncey

I have two piles of books beside my bed. On top of one is A Book of Silence. On top of the other is The Big Music. I’m reading the first, the second has just arrived. Their juxtaposition is serendipitous, … Continue reading →

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Holding back

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Jamie Jauncey

I was ready to be moved to tears at the Dunfermline Crematorium, but I wasn’t expecting Steely Dan. Beloved of musical anoraks for their technical precision, and of anyone else with any pretensions to being cool for the two fingers … Continue reading →

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