Author: Rosanne Dingli

Paying the fiddler

We are told to avoid clichés. As writers, we are supposed to be original and thought-provoking. I suggest, however  – after over a quarter of a century of devising original sentences to put end to end in original works – that nothing moves a reader more than recognition.

Seeking originality, being inventive, and coming up with a piece of writing that’s totally unique has its drawbacks. It might not be liked. Readers might not understand what you are getting at. They might not see your premise. Where you are coming from might be a place they have never visited, and so not be able to identify. Or identify with. Continue reading “Paying the fiddler”

Entertainment to suit the age

Entertainment to suit the age

We seem to live in a sensationalist age, when things come to our notice only when they have become famous… or notorious. Celebrity-watching is super popular, and books seem to become instantly famous if they contain some controversy that brings them to the notice of the reporting and investigative media, more than literary critics or literary supplements.

Why is this? What is happening really? Are people losing interest in themselves in favour of celebrities? Are books becoming mere channels for discussion and debate? Perhaps this is simply a fashion or fad. It certainly has been going on for some time. There is a morbid interest among the general public for things that contain some sort of controversy. Continue reading “Entertainment to suit the age”

Cactus is our friend

Came to my desk early in the afternoon, pulled up a fresh Word page, sat down, spat neatly on the palms of both hands and gave them a good rub. The sentences were clear in my head. This week’s blog was bubbling and brewing – boy, was I going to out-do myself, or what?

Then three things happened, and I can’t remember in which order. I remember talking on the phone long-distance with my daughter in Ireland. I remember cleaning out the rabbit hutch … lovely job, that. I remember making the most delicious roast chicken dinner you could possibly imagine. I remember picking my son up from work. I remember giving the place a bit of a tidy up.

Bunny-bun

Do I ever remember having dinner!

I also remember doing the kitchen (my daughter’s in Ireland, remember?), feeding the cat, and giving the rabbit the vegetable peelings (yes, that is one spoilt rabbit).

And the blog went the way of all else. Boy, is Hise going to be mad. Madder than last week when I forgot to insert my byline and mug. [Like you wouldn’t know it was me, with all those long sentences and crazy semicolons.] Continue reading “Cactus is our friend”

Humanity and Madness: A link

Courtesy http://nettuno88ms.giovani.it/

It’s mad, really, what people get up to, what complicated schemes they devise for themselves and others. Perhaps it’s because we are all born into complication that we cannot escape it, and we weave more threads into the madness of it all.

The knowledge trap is perhaps the highest form of madness there is. We cannot jump off the merry-go-round of believing we “know” stuff and can teach it to others. Or that to “know” stuff will give us a better life or a more prestigious career. Or that to “know” stuff makes us somehow better than the next guy who “knows” less. Continue reading “Humanity and Madness: A link”