What’s in a Name?

Literary characters who made it into the English dictionary

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How to Write a Modern Fairy Tale Movie

With Christmas on the way, we'll be inundated with these. I'm talking about the 20th/21st century spin on ordinary girl meets royalty and lives happily ever after. Once you start looking for them, these modern Cinderellas are everywhere, especially at this time of year. The great news is that if you want to cash in …

Quote of the Week: Robert Frost

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. We had to memorise The Road Not Taken in sixth form until we were able to recite it. It's …

Quote of the Week: Oscar Wilde

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. You can always count on Oscar Wilde to say something contrary and entertaining. I've deliberated before about whether this counts as good advice or bad, but it took me down a route of revisiting my least favourite philosophy modules from university, so I stopped and had …

Quote of the Week: C.S.Lewis

'Welcome, Prince,' said Aslan. 'Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?' I - I don't think I do, Sir,' said Caspian. 'I am only a kid.' 'Good,' said Aslan. 'If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not.' Have I mentioned before that I …

Quote of the Week: Terry Pratchett

The pen is mightier than the sword, if the sword is very short and the pen is very sharp.   This week's quote was prompted by the following photo that I took at Yarndale (a wool-themed festival in Yorkshire, if you didn't know). Book-themed craft materials and money going to a great cause: what more …

Quote of the Week: J.K.Rowling

Last Monday kicked off Quote of the Week. Here's this week's pick from the queen of children's fantasy and Twitter comebacks herself. Rowling's books are exceedingly quotable, and I could have chosen any of hundreds of memorable lines. But this one is special to me personally. The idea behind it got me through the worst …

Quote of the Week: A.A.Milne

I'd like to introduce a new weekly feature on the blog. Quote of the Week is going to be exactly what it sounds like: a favourite quote from something I've been reading, whether it's profound, funny, beautiful or memorable. This week I've been ill. And when I'm ill, I read children's books. So my first …

Terrible TripAdvisor Reviews from Fiction

"This is the worst journey ever!" the driver declared, after we'd been pretty much stationary in traffic for two hours. "Is it really though? At least we're not walking to Mordor. That would be worse," I attempted to instil some optimism to the car atmosphere. "Nope, that definitely wouldn't be as bad as this." And …

Which Coffee Will Beat Your Writer’s Block?

Do you need a bitter black coffee or a syrup-sweet cup of froth to get your writing back on track?