Occasional thoughts on life, learning and creativity
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So, I guess it would be fair to say the University of Oxford is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the world. It was founded in the 11th century, although there are tales of its origins dating all the way back to 872 AD; something to do with a rumoured several-day long……
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So last Tuesday evening I had the pleasure of interviewing Australian children’s and YA fantasy author Garth Nix for an event at Manchester’s Waterstones bookstore. Which, I’ll be honest, was a lot of fun. Nix is one of the most celebrated and prolific authors of the last 30 years — he’s written over 40 books,……
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Deficit. Disorder. Two words I’ve grown increasingly uncomfortable with in my thinking around ADHD of late. To be clear, I don’t have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, but over the last several months I have had the opportunity to interview a number of experts on this unexpectedly contentious but endlessly intriguing topic. I’ve spoken with award-winning……
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Shonda Rhimes is a successful writer, director and showrunner. She’s best known as the creator of US medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy, as well as its spin-off series, Private Practice. She’s also the executive producer of the hit US political thriller, Scandal, and has writing and directing credits on a number of other television dramas and……
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So I’ll admit there are few things more gratifying than to witness and shape the creativity of another — to watch that gentle unfurling of soul, like a wind-snatched sail, as they place their palm in yours to glide upon the eddies of their chosen art, and in so doing discover layers to their skill……
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I was invited, this past month, to reflect upon my writing influences, and in so doing share insights on how horror, as a genre, has shaped elements of my storytelling. And I won’t lie, I had a fair bit of fun contemplating this. Horror is a style of storytelling I’ve always had a love-hate relationship……
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I first came across the incredible stillness and power of Yaa Gyasi’s writing some years ago when reading a short story penned by the Ghanaian-born author in Guernica Magazine. Inscape, narrated from a daughter’s perspective, told the tale of a woman and her Ghanaian mother, weaving between themes of religion, culture and mental illness with……
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Thoroughly enjoyed being interviewed by the ever eloquent Dr Sanjida O’Connell and featured at Writersmosaic this past month. Sanjida, along with her PhDs in zoology and psychology, is an award-winning novelist and a gorgeous non-fiction writer. Which is partly why I was so excited about the opportunity to talk shop and dive into the nuts and……
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Although my love for writing came late, I think I’d always had a special regard for the power of the written word: the way life – with all its colours and vicissitudes – can be funnelled into the cool, clinical science of grammar and syntax, sentences and spellings; a domain of rules and laws. I……
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So the plan today was to fly out to Dublin, around about 3.15 this afternoon for Worldcon – a plan that has been scuppered by illness, rendering me duvet-bound within the cosy confines of my home, gazing at the grey drizzly skies outside. On the one hand, I’m gutted to be missing out on what……
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Micah Yongo 