Novelist in Training

Sophie Playle shares her journey on the career path of being a novelist; including discussion of her master’s degree work and the lessons she learns on writing.

Academia, Literary Fiction and Steampunk – A Conceivable Concoction?

November 10, 2011
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In last month’s column, I left distracted and struggling to write as my MA deadlines loomed. At the end of September, I handed in my Creative Writing MA dissertation and writing project. That is, a twelve thousand word academic essay plus fifteen thousand words of fiction. It was a relief to have it all complete, but it was also quite sad. The year has passed quickly, and overall it was a very enjoyable one. When I first started the MA, I only had a vague notion of what I wanted to write about. This was a hindrance in a...

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The Psyche of the Times

September 20, 2011
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As I write this, London is burning. I’m watching live footage of the violent riots that have been destroying the capital for days. This is my first column for Doctor Fantastique, in which I am to report on my steampunk writing journey, yet when your city is destroying itself from the inside out, it seems to cause a serious case of writer’s block. I have roughly three weeks until the final deadlines for my Master’s degree in Creative Writing. I am to submit a twelve-thousand word dissertation along with fifteen-thousand words of a novel. Suffice to say, I have...

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