Sir Salman

I never thought much of Salman Rushdie as a celebrity and I don’t know much about his writing, given that I’m only part-way into his latest book and haven’t read any of his stuff before….

[pauses for breath]

BUT

I’ve been listening to a talk he gave at the Free Library of Philadelphia recently and it’s like a masterclass in fiction writing.

He’s is surprisingly unpretentious, self-deprecating, and generous with praise and advice. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in writing fiction.

Salman Rushdie at the Free Library (right click to save it to your hard-drive, unless you’re on one of those new-fangled “MacIntosh” things in which case you’ll have to work your own voodoo…)

It’s not a ‘how-to’, but it is one of those experiences that makes you want to jump up and run to your notebook and write your own novel.

I love that.

Thanks, Sir Salman!