Nikita Jane Garner

I'm As I write this, I'm well aware that I should really be writing some of the 15,000 words I have due by 10th December. I am a chronic procrastinator, not a good trait for a writer, though, I understand, a very common one. I'm sure you've gathered by now that I generally like writing about city life. However, I recently finished James Rebanks's acclaimed bestseller The Shepherd's Life . I borrowed it from my favourite old farmer friend who described it as 'bleak' and 'depressing', yet I devoured the whole volume in a couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed the way it conveyed the history and purpose of farming in the Lake District and beyond. Its pages were filled with honest people who had no desire for fame, fortune or recognition (except maybe for their prize-winning tups), but who, instead, were part of a tradition and who would live on in a landscape and a flock, rather than in any grand or narcissitic legacy. So, I find myself mulling o...

Those who know me, or have read my previous posts such as this one , will know that in the decade since they first formed and released The Back Room , Editors have found a place not only in my record collection, but also in my creative conscious. From their highly-acclaimed debut to recent fifth studio album In Dream , which has seen them return to form, Editors have chartered a course which has not always been plain sailing; with the rocky bass-driven urgency of the early albums giving way to the electric In this Light and On this Evening which, though Smith described as being a ' ferocious attempt to capture their live sound ', some would argue consisted almost entirely of synth-driven melodies and left the talented rhythm section underutilised. Then there was somewhat incoherent The Weight of Your Love , which was released following Urbanowicz’s departure. Still, their changing sound over the span of their career has always been held together by Smith's distincti...

This week the subject of morals and ethics in fiction came up briefly during a seminar. To give context, the discussion was around prize winning books discussing slavery, apartheid and murdering your own children. There was a general consensus that what we produce should be, in some way, moral and ethical, and that even if our characters lack morals, the plot should address this: retribution by author. I believe, absolutely, that fiction has no obligation to be impartial, moral or ethical. This is not Jane Eyre. Be unapologetic. You do not have to make anyone pay for their sins. Sometimes, the bad guy gets the girl, the money, drives off into the sunset and lives happily ever after. And that's fine. Likewise, you can show one (narrow) point of view and apply the same principle. We are taught from GCSE onwards to address and acknowledge what is missing from our writing, i.e. other points of view. That doesn't mean you have to include them. Anyway, this week I've been...

I First, let me start with a huge thank you to everyone who has looked at my blog and read my first post - a huge 142 views in the first 24 hours, and from all over the world! I was very flattered. I'm now under immense pressure to keep you all coming back and reading... In my first post ( here ) I talked a little about music as an influence from which writing ideas can stem. To quickly say something about music influencing setting, it doesn't happen with every song, very few in fact. The tiny, subtle aspects of a place are what make it vivid and opaque; get those perfect and you can cut other decription to a miminum without missing any detail. Music can give you a fleeting glimpse of something powerful; a tiny flash which is hard to materialise. You need to find a way to take that tiny piece and attach words to it until it becomes something tangible, but without losing the focus or integrity of the original inspiration. It can be almost impossible. But get it right a...

They say writers will find any excuse to get away from their desk and I'm definitely guilty. But, recently, I've found myself wanting to get down to putting words on the page again - a feeling which is both heady and terrifying in equal measure.  Perhaps it's the start of the new academic year, which for me has involved a shift in universities and the beginning of studying for an MA in creative writing. However, my timetable is unexpectedly light on contact time - four hours a week, split into two two-hour sessions, (one of which is at night). A part of me is mourning the promise of the student experience I'd been looking forward to; Newcastle is a fantastic city for culture, music and student life, but one which can't be fully appreciated on a timetable centred around a Monday afternoon.  More positively though, after the first week of seminars, I'm excited by the structure of degree and the focus on long form (novels). This excitement stems from t...