Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 321

Tak (Thank You) Iceland!

Having just travelled halfway up the world in a matter of days, going from ziplining through volcanic rainforests (hooked into 700 feet of vertigo-inducing line by a bored, disinterested local kid on his mobile) to glacier hiking in the land of the Vikings,I’m ready for a nice cup of tea and a sit-down.

First, a massive [...]

London Quiz: Where Is This?

And do you know why I took the picture? A clue: Rain.

What’s The Point?

Here’s an interesting writerly problem. Do books, plays, artworks and films have more longevity if they defy meaning? I’ve written far too many smart stories with neat plots, but the ones everyone remembers most are the ones without a simple explanation.

In London at the moment, there are several good examples of art that avoids explanation. [...]

What Have We Learned In Iceland So Far?

Okay, the schedule for Iceland is hot springs, lagoon bathing, glacier hiking, the avoidance of puffin and ‘rotten shark’ (which if tinned has to be opened underwater because of the smell), a gig held in a swimming pool and a quick trek North.

We hit the road in a Jeep and headed out to waterfalls, geysers [...]

I Didn’t Ask For Ice In This

There’s been a terrible mistake. For some reason that escapes me, I appear to be in Iceland.

I remember saying to my mad mate Roger that I would go if he invited his beautiful wife Izabella, then forgot about it. Apparently the plan didn’t end there, and now I’m in Reykjavic, getting ready to search for [...]

The Strange History of The Players’ Theatre

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a long time. I touched upon it briefly a couple of years ago, but there’s a fuller story to be told. It involves a time warp, a lost theatre, a boardroom fight and some ice cream. Let’s start with the event that brought it all back.

Here’s a [...]

Connecting With Readers

Here’s an interesting quote:

“For the first time in human history, a writer – or group of writers and editors – can instantly reach readers – even hundreds of thousands of readers across the planet – with no intermediary at all. And they can reach back. We want to create a place where readers – and [...]

Must Have One Of Those

No blogs for a day while I recover from being wide-awake through a night flight by going straight to work from the airport – not ideal. But check this out – an aged local rum with a fairly off-putting sensory list. It reads; ‘An intensely toasty bouquet with scents of hemp, charcoal, cigarette, paraffin, charcoal [...]

On Being A Professional Writer No. 7: Connections

Stay with me on this one: I’m out to prove a point.

In the comments section of the last post on sounds, TangoDancer asks if anyone still whistles tunes. I’m an inveterate whistler, and always have been, which makes me think it’s a hereditary thing; my father whistled constantly. Hardly anyone does now.

A little research seems [...]

The Sounds Of Silence

As my vacation ends, I’m glad I chose a final hotel that didn’t pump music around itself like some kind of aural pollution zone. Why would any hotelier think it was a good idea to have a terrible country and western duo play Willie Nelson covers all evening, very loudly, in an area of outstanding [...]