The blank page is still terror, 50 years on - Books - Times Online
Alan Garner, writing in The Times and recalling starting work on his first novel, The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen, 50 years ago:
Much has changed in those 50-years-to-now; but one thing has not. The more critically successful a writer becomes, the more need there is for a strong editor. To think otherwise risks artistic suicide. A trusted editor, dedicated to the text and sensitive to its author, is the making of a writer and is the great teacher. On the high trapeze, the Flyer may be the one who draws the applause from the crowd, but it’s the editorial Catcher who times the flight. I have been fortunate in my editors. The readers’ reports for the three novels that followed my second all recommended rejection on the same grounds each time: that the new book was different from the previous one. And each time the editor had faith, and published.
Very Highly Recommended
Leave a comment