Katherine May's Blog, page 3

A teacher is a learner is a teacher...

I trained as a teacher, years ago when I still wasn't sure what I wanted to be. In the first few weeks and months, I was conscious that I was being instructed on how to spoon-feed teenagers whilst meeting the least resistance. For a while, I kicked back against it; soon, I realized it was easier to just go with it. I didn't want teaching to be my life, and I didn't have it in me to be one of those all-sacrificing, inspirational teachers you see on TV. I settled for doing as I was told.

Six yea...

On motivation and desire

Where does motivation come from?

It seems to me that it's one of life's intangibles. We can make lists, book appointments in our diaries, plaster our walls with motivational quotes, but it gets us no nearer to actually getting stuff done.

For me, there's a secret moment between wanting to do something and actually doing it; it's that tiny, imperceptible impulse that propels you into action.

This moment is pure desire. The trick is not to think too much, but just to feel that desire, and let its ...

Taste, part 2

My husband collects obscure records. Hundreds of them, probably thousands. He's an active member of a chat room that discusses them, and also a group that meets in real-life to share exciting new finds. Whenever he gets the chance, he plays them loud in clubs and at parties.  At any one time, he's in active pursuit of dozens of records, each one barely known to the rest of humanity. He's a genealogist of records, tracking down new albums though the family lines of producer, arranger, composer...

Looking after your review readers

That dreaded time has come - the time to send my new novel, Salt Vinegar, Mustard, Pepper, out to its first readers.

One thing's for certain - it's not a step you should skip, even if you're cringing at the thought of anyone seeing your precious work. If your aim is publication, you're going to have to let people read it sooner or later.

I didn't do a particularly good job of this last time, so I've made a few amendments to my process this time, which I thought I'd share here.

1. Think...

Taste, part one

Last Sunday, I went to see Fiona Shaw's muscular and funny performance of The Waste Land. After I had queued for 20 minutes to collect my tickets (Wilton's Music Hall is splendid in all ways except for this), a lady of a certain age barged in front of me, and said to the receptionist, 'I would like my tickets now, please.'

Now, I shall not transcribe the whole, protracted argument. But I shall say this - the woman simply felt she was entitled to skip the queue. She was meant to be there. She i...

I'm Just a Girl

It seems a bit churlish to start the new year with a grumble, but I have something to get off my chest. No jokes there please, boys. For I am about to wade into the sticky subject of male attitudes to female writers.

Now, I am in now way generalising here - but since I have been writing, I have come across a significant minority of men who think writing is a silly little project, which I must fit in between cooking & cleaning for my husband.

Take, for example, a colleague of mine (who, judging ...

Full of resolve!

I'm what you might call a resolution sort of a girl. I make them at several points in the year, being June (just before the long school summer holiday, which leaves me much more time for writing), September (when my work kicks off again, necessitating some stiff resolve to ensure the writing doesn't get swamped) and, yes, the traditional January, when a couple of weeks of laziness have forced me to contemplate my sins.

The point is that not all of my resolutions stick, but some do, and I've le...

The Perfect Cuppa

Bless you, @Lourdes_G: when you asked me on Twitter how to make a proper British cuppa, you had no idea that it would merit this degree of response. For, by accident, you have happened across a tea-maker of such excessive perfectionism, nay, such a tea fiend, that the Japanese can only wonder at the intricacy and precision of her technique.

Here, because it's Christmas, and because the world ought to know, is my guide to making the perfect cuppa.

1. The Right Teapot
I hold no truck with teabags....

An Early Christmas Present

Okay, I admit it: I have been a neglectful blogger lately. Too many things to do and too little brain-space to do them with.

How can I make it up to you?

Well, like every other absent parent, I'm resorting to bribery. How about a sneak preview of my forthcoming novel, Salt, Vinegar, Mustard, Pepper?

Click here to download it in PDF format.

Salt, Vinegar, Mustard, Pepper is set in 1930s England, and tells the story of four sisters as they navigate their way through love and loss into wartime Br...

Laying out your work

Here's an uncomfortable fact - when you're submitting work, it will be judged on its appearance long before anyone reads the words. Here are a few simple rules for new writers that will help you t...