Let's Get Writing

I’m going to write a book today. I don’t know what it’s going to be about, but I’m going to write one. I like the idea of an old-fashioned pulp adventure. Maybe a western. Or a swashbuckler. That will be fun to write. I’d better start with a protagonist. How about two? A pair of wandering rogues who are always getting into trouble. That could form the basis for a really good series.

Hold on, the phone’s ringing. It’s the boss. They want me in for a stock take, even though it’s my day off. The car won’t start. I’m not feeling very well. I’m already at work. I hang up. This is my valuable writing time and I don’t live to work. They can sack me later. I’ll save a fortune on petrol.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, now I remember. I’ve got two characters, now I need a story. But I might check Twitter first. I also need some music to get me in the right mood. Bloody hell, the phone’s ringing again. Whatever they’re selling, I don’t want it. I put my headphones back on and turn the music up. It’s time to start the first chapter. Blast! My coffee’s gone cold. Time to brew a fresh one.

I can give the heroes a good introductory scene, but now I’m hungry. Maybe a stroll to the deli will help me focus my mind. I can get back to work while I’m eating. I can see it coming together now. They meet a lady and get roped into an adventure. A search for a missing parent with the promise of a hidden treasure. That sounds good. I might watch a film to get some inspiration. Maybe there’s something good on Netflix.

Where’s the time gone? One film later, combined with another visit to Twitter, and then it’s back to work. Wait, I think I heard a noise downstairs. It sounds like a wine bottle being uncorked. Drink!

Now it’s morning, and I’m hungover. But I’m looking at a decent night’s work: a couple of chapters, filled with action, adventure, wit…and typos. I’ll edit those when I’ve finished.

I might spend an hour or two on the PlayStation, but today I will get some writing done.

Meet the Author: Val Penny

Today I'm delighted to be joined by author and fellow Swanwicker Val Penny, who has recently launched her debut novel, Hunter's Chase, and has come to the Writer's Block to answer some questions.

1. Tell us a little about yourself and your writing
I am an American author living in SW Scotland. I have a Law degree from Edinburgh University and  an MSc in Business from Napier University. Although I have had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, lawyer, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer, I have not yet achieved either of my childhood dreams of becoming a ballerina or owning a candy store. Until those dreams come true, I have decided to turn my hand to writing poetry, short stories and novels. My debut crime novel, Hunter's Chase set in Edinburgh, Scotland was published by Crooked Cat Books on 02.02.2018.

2. Tell us about your new book
The main protagonist of Hunter's Chase is DI Hunter Wilson. He knows there is a new supply of cocaine flooding Edinburgh and he needs to find the source but his attention is transferred to murder when a corpse is discovered in the grounds of a local golf course. Shortly after the post-mortem, Hunter witnesses a second murder but that is not the end of the slaughter. With a young woman's life also hanging in the balance, the last thing Hunter needs is a new man on his team: the son of his nemesis, the former Chief Constable. Hunter's perseverance and patience are put to the test time after time in this taught crime thriller.  He is a Hunter by name – and a  Hunter by nature: DI Hunter Wilson will not rest until Edinburgh is safe.

3. What first inspires you when writing – The setting, the plot, or the character?
My writing is usually character driven. I always make full biographies and back stories for my characters. Although most of these do not hit the page, I know them. So I know how my characters would react in any given circumstance.

I also think that setting is important. I debated creating an imaginary town for Hunter's Chase. However, Finally I decided that my books featuring Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson should be set in Edinburgh. This is a city I know well and the Scottish Presbyterian work ethic sits well in a police procedural crime novel.

Edinburgh is a beautiful backdrop for a story. It has the wide, elegant streets of its new town the tight, historical closes of the old town. The ancient castle towering above the city centre sitting on an extinct volcano contrasts with the ugly modern Parliament building near the Royal palace at the other end of the Royal Mile. There are also many open spaces including several golf courses, four universities and a selection of residential suburbs. The myriad of pubs and restaurants form great settings too. Even so, I do not rule out Hunter having a trip out of the city sometime!

4. Who would you consider to be your favourite author?
My favourite author varies according to my mood and the time of day! My favourite genres are thrillers, crime fiction and murder mysteries, although I do read all sorts of titles. I also enjoy discovering authors who are new to me and recently read An Evil Mind by Chris Carter, Death in Dulwich by Alice Castle, and Kindred Spirits: The Royal Mile Jennifer C Wilson, all of which I enjoyed. I also have Heart of Stone by John Jackson and Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah in my TBR pile, so you can see I do read a wide variety of books. However, one of my favourite ever novels is The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly. I read that book at one sitting, it is so good that I could not put it down. It is amazing that it was a debut novel. I tease Erin that she owes me a night's sleep!

5. Do you listen to music while you write?
I rarely listen to anything when I write, and if there is something in the background I don't hear it. I see and hear the scenes of my writing like a movie. The characters act it out and speak their lines, all I do is write down what they say and describe what they do. I wouldn't hear any music that was playing in the middle of the action.

6. Do you prefer to plan your stories or do you chance them?
I have often written short stories and started novels without any real story-line planning. I certainly never knew how my stories ended. However, last year I attended a course on novel writing at Swanwick Writers' Summer School run by Sue Moorcroft. Sue also said she had started writing without planning, but that she now plans her books meticulously. Since taking that course, I have been planning my stories.

I am now writing the sequel to Hunter's Chase which will be entitled Hunter's Revenge. This novel is being planned according to the tips I learned from Sue. It is quite a different feeling writing this book, knowing how the story ends.

7. What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you?
My mother told me not to place too much importance on things because they are easily lost. Value what you have inside you: love, learning, experience and instinct. They will serve you well. She was right.

Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog, Andy. I hope you will enjoy reading Hunter's Chase.

Thank you for joining me. I wish you every success with Hunter's Chase, and Hunter's Revenge.

Meet the Author - Misha M. Herwin

Writing is, by and large, a community. And the best way to develop in the writing world is to network with other writers. With this in mind, I would to welcome Misha M. Herwin, who has recently launched her latest book, Shadows on the Grass, and has agreed to visit the Writer's Block to answer a few questions.

1. First of all, tell us a little about yourself and your writing. 
I am Misha Herwin and I write books for adults and for children. I’ve also written plays which have been performed both by a professional theatre company and in schools. My short stories have been published in various anthologies in the UK and US; including The Way to my Heart, Voices of Angels, The Darkest Midnight in December, The Yellow Room, and Bitch Lit, among others.

2. Tell us about your new book. 
Shadows on the Grass slips between past and present and tells the story of a Polish immigrant family who find themselves in Bristol after the Second World War. The Poland they knew has gone. It has become part of the USSR and they have to start a new life in a new country. It also goes back into their past which helps to explain the family dynamics. To sum it up: In 1960s Bristol, seventeen-year-old Kate is torn between the new sexual freedom and her rigid Catholic upbringing. Her parents have high expectations of her, but she is determined to lead her own life. Her grandmother Mimi is dying. In her final hours, her cousin The Princess keeps watch at her bedside.  Born in the same month in the same year, the two women are bound by their past and a terrible betrayal. Meanwhile, caught between the generations, Mimi’s daughter Hannah struggles to come to terms with her relationship with her mother and to keep the peace between her daughter and her husband.

3. What is your favourite place to write? 
I like to write in my office, which is crowded and messy but full of books and photos and pictures that are special to me. That, however, is not always possible and I often work on the train when I go down to Bristol to see family. I like to plug in the laptop, buy a cup of coffee, and get immersed in my latest WIP.

4. Are there any authors you would like to meet and why? 
I’d like to meet JK Rowling and ask her how many times Harry Potter was turned down. There is such a mythology about this book that I’d be curious to learn the truth.

5. Have you ever based a character on someone you know? And if so, did they ever find out? 
I did once write a play for a youth group and the characters were tailored to the kids who would play them. I didn’t mean anyone to know but the mother of one of the main characters came up to me afterwards and said “You really got our Clare.” Luckily she was pleased because the character Clare was playing whinged and moaned throughout the whole piece. It taught me to me much more careful the next time.

6. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research? 
Sorry, not done anything really crazy. (Well not in the name of research for a book)

7. What’s the best advice anyone gave you? 
Best writing advice is a) read, read and read some more. Which is easy for me because I’ve always loved reading. b) Try to write every day. When I do the WIP comes more easily and I feel happier, because I’ve done something creative even if I’ve only had 20 minutes to do it.

Thanks for hosting me on your blog. If you want to buy a copy of Shadows on the Grass  HERE is the link.

Thank you for joining me today, and I wish you every success with Shadows on the Grass.

Happy writing.

Western Weekends - Lonesome Dove (The Miniseries)

It's been a while since I've done a Western Weekend. One of my favourite reads of last year was Larry McMurtry's 1985 western novel, Lonesome Dove. It's a hefty read, but it's nonetheless gripping and poignant. So, I figured I'd take a look at the 1989 miniseries.

Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones star as Augustus McRae and Woodrow Call, former Texas Rangers and the proprietors of the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium of Lonesome Dove, Texas. Things take off when fellow Ranger Jake Spoon, played by Robert Urich, unexpectedly arrives in Lonesome Dove after a ten-year absence. Jake is wanted for murder in Arkansas, but the stories of travels inspire Woodrow to gather a herd and set up a ranch in Montana.

It's amazing how such a big book could be transferred to the screen. In fact, that was the original intention. Larry McMurtry wrote Lonesome Dove as a screenplay back in 1972, under the title Streets of Laredo. The film was due to be directed by Peter Bogdanovich (whom McMurtry had previously worked with on The Last Picture Show), and was going to feature John Wayne as Woodrow Call, Jimmy Stewart as Augustus McRae, and Henry Fonda as Jake Spoon. However, John Wayne turned the role down, prompting the others to back out, and McMurtry eventually bought back the rights to the story and made it into a novel.

Watching this, I agree with John Wayne; I really cannot see him in the role. However, Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones share some great chemistry. The expansive scenery looks stunning, and I am invested in the journey all the characters go through. The first part starts out with the promise of an adventure, but then it takes dark turns at every corner. OK, not quite to a Game of Thrones level of killing off main characters, but they still try and keep things a little gruesome if toned down.

I do have to reserve some criticism for one particular scenes: The first river crossing at the end of the first episode. One of the ranch hands gets killed after his horse disturbs a nest of water mocassins. It's not exactly a pleasant end, but the slow motion and extreme close-ups ended up looking silly. They show it again at the beginning of the next episode, but the aftermath is still poignant.

There are a couple of other changes from the book that I didn't entirely agree with, but that's expected and often required, so I can't really fault that. They still kept the emotional feel of the book, and that's all that really matters.

The miniseries is four parts, all of which are about an hour and a half. I've not seen it on any streaming services in the UK, but the DVD is available online and I do recommend you buy it. I do recommend subtitles though, as the accents are quite thick.

An Unexpected Visit - A Flash Fiction for #WIPTruthOrDare

It’s not often you get fancy dress nights at my local. That’s what I thought when I saw the two newcomers. Granted, the pub was virtually empty since they weren’t serving food while the kitchens were being redone.

I was sat at the corner table, pint in my hand when the doors swung open and two men from a previous century strode in. The first man was no taller than 5’6”, but with an athletic build. With a rakish grin shining behind his Van Dyke style moustaches and goatee, and the rapier swinging between his legs like a monkey’s tail, he seemed to fill more space than he actually took up. That’s no small feat, considering his companion. The second man was a large black man, almost 7’ tall and with a muscular build. His face bore a grave expression, beneath the three parallel scars which ran from above his right ear to his left cheek. Hanging from his belt were two cutlasses and a brace of old flintlock pistols.

“This place looks pretty dead, Scar.” The first man looked around. I almost chocked on my pint when he mentioned the name.

“As long as there’s some food and ale, I don’t care.”

I took a deep breath. “Sorry mate, kitchen’s closed.”

They both stared at me. “Mr Scar, is it? Then I take it that your friend is Mr Kestrel.”

I saw the other man’s grin become wider. “Hear that, Scar? Our reputation precedes us. Seafaring men have taken our exploits as far as…where are we exactly?”

“You’re in Stoke. And there aren’t many seafaring men around here. We’re too far inland for that. How’d you get here from the Caribbean?”

They gave each other a quizzical look. “You seem to know a lot about us for a respectable man.” Scar leaned over me. “Who are you?”

“I’m a writer.” I stammered.

“Then who are we?”

“I guess, the characters.” I stood up. “This is surreal, and kind of terrifying. I’m going to get another drink. I’ll buy a round if you want.”

Their expressions immediately softened at the promise of free booze.

Laughter filled the room while empty glasses filled the table.

“I remember the incident with the Andalusian in Havana!” Scar punched Kestrel’s arm with enough force to knock him off his chair. “That mare got the better of Kestrel. You need to write about that one.”

“It’s in the works.” I raised my glass in a toast. “As is your smuggling run in Charlestown.”

“Anything of ours made it to print?” Kestrel struggled back up.

“Not yet. Your adventure with Rosanna Barclay’s is being beta-read by a friend. But you have to sell your soul to have a steady income. I ain’t cut out for this full-time work malarkey.”

“I know the feeling.” Kestrel slurred, “That’s why I became a gentleman of fortune.”

The sound of the bell at the bar signalled our revelry had to end. Outside, I watched them stagger off into the night.

“I wish you good fortune, Mr Roberts.” Kestrel waved, “Here’s to hoping you can share our many adventures.”

Writing Hashtags

Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas. I hope everyone has got the presents they wanted, had plenty to eat, and aren't nursing too bad a hangover. 2018 is almost upon us, and I have to admit that I haven't been too happy with 2017. Working in a full-time job means that I haven't written as much as I'd have liked, and the bulk of my creative output for the year has been blogging and Twitter.

With that in mind, I'd like to talk about a couple of hashtags I discovered in the past few months. There is a big community of hashtaggers, which make the Twitter experience something akin to an episode of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue or a "Scenes We'd Like to See" from Mock the Week. However, I'm specifically looking at a few hashtags aimed at writers.

The first one I'm looking at is #AuthorConfession, which is hosted by Jessica Julien and J.M. Sullivan. Every week, they post a series of questions for each day, pertaining to writing, usually with a seasonal twist depending on the month. One day will usually involve taking a picture, and another will involve shouting out other writers on Twitter to help them build up a network.

Next is #WIPTruthOrDare, hosted by Melanie Thurlow and Heather Hayden. This is similar to #AuthorConfession, but there are two sets of questions each day: a "Truth", which often involves answering questions about works in progress; and a "Dare", which is more about sharing lines based on a particular subject similar to the "Truth" question.

Both #AuthorConfession and #WIPTruthOrDare have their questions set out at the beginning of the month, so you'll know the running themes. For example, October's questions would often relate to Halloween, November's would be about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), while December's have a Christmas theme.

Another one I found was the newly-developed #CharactersTell, hosted by Manuel Arbanassi. In this one, you answer a different question each day, but you roleplay as a character from your story. The questions from the first week were directed at protagonists, the second week was about the antagonists, the third week was dedicated to a secondary character, and the fourth week involves developing a background character to answer questions.

Finally, there were two similar ones: #WritersPatch, hosted by Alexandra VanHorn every Sunday at 10:00 am Central Time (4:00 pm where I am), and #JustAddTea, hosted by Elizabeth an hour later. These sessions are also about answering questions about writing, but there's a lot more discussion involved.

While some writers might not be keen on discussing WIPs, I think these tags are a good way to share ideas and possibly advice, all while developing a bigger network of writers. I look forward to seeing more of these hashtags in the New Year.

Happy writing.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Well, it's that time of year again when Disney releases another Star Wars film. Last year it was the anthology film Rogue One. This year, it's the next instalment in the main saga, The Last Jedi.

Picking up from where we left off, the Resistance have been forced to evacuate their main base, but The First Order are close behind. The ace pilot Poe Dameron carries out a heroic but costly assault on one of the First Order's most fearsome ships, and is demoted by General Leia for his recklessness. After she is taken out of action in an attack led by emo Darth Vader Kylo Ren, Vice Admiral Holdo assumes command of the fleet, but her apparent inaction puts her at odds with Dameron. In another thread, Dameron sends reformed Stormtrooper Finn on an unauthorised mission to sabotage the First Order's flagship in order to help the Resistance escape. Finn enlists the aid of mechanic Rose Tico and the droid BB-8, travelling to a Roaring Twenties version of the Mos Eisley cantina to find a computer expert. Meanwhile, scavenger Rey seeks out Luke Skywalker and tries to persuade the cynical former Jedi to train her in the Force, but soon finds a mental connection with Kylo Ren and realises she has to confront him. Oh, and there are Porgs.

So yeah, there's quite a bit to take in. I've stated previously that The Force Awakens was pretty much a rehash of A New Hope, but that was more or less what people wanted. The Last Jedi, not so much. I did think that Rey's story arc does seem to be re-treading old ground from both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but I will give them some credit in that they try and play with alternate outcomes of the scenarios we knew and loved.

It's quite a long film, and I think some of the brooding scenes could have been cut, but the action is great and I love the snarky humour. I'm also glad that they didn't put too much emphasis on the Porgs.

Overall, it's no Empire Strikes Back, but it is nonetheless a superior follow-up to The Force Awakens.

Right, same time next year for the Han Solo movie.

WriMo

Tools of the Trade

One of my co-workers at my first job had a sign which said "Aim low to achieve your goals and avoid disappointment".

November has come and gone, bringing with it the annual writing challenge known as National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, which I previously discussed on this blog this time last year. You can read about that here.

Anyway, I opted not to do it this year, as I don't think it's the best challenge. The fact that I'm working in a job that's five days a week rather than four days doesn't help either. However, I still wanted to take something from my previous attempt.

With that in mind, I opted to pay lip service to the challenge by simply doing WriMo. This notion took on the following differences:

1. No enrolment. NaNoWriMo involves registering on the website to monitor your progress with your circle of Writing Buddies. I did nothing of the sort, but I did keep in touch with numerous participants on Twitter, offering encouragement.
2. No special projects. I've heard that many participants often use NaNo to experiment with genres they don't normally write in. I originally did that, but this year I focused on my existing WIPs.
3. No word count goals. In order to keep on target, you have to write an average of 1,667 words a day to meet the 50,000 word goal for the month. My goal was simply to write every day, as I've been a little out of practice lately.

So, what did I manage? Well, I managed to write every day, but there are good days and bad days. Work is quite numbing, and I attend a writers' group some evenings, but even then I managed to write at least a paragraph. I've not made a lot of progress, but what I have written has been quite well-received. On top of that, I've started taking a notepad into work, and am often sketching out scenes. So, if anything, this home-spun challenge has taught me to become a better planner.

Whether you managed to write 50,000 words or not, I'd like to offer my congratulations for managing to make it through the month. Seeing it to the end is something to be proud of.

Happy writing, and if I don't post anything else here soon, Merry Christmas.

Book Review - Kindred Spirits: Tower of London

I love a good ghost story every once in a while. A while back, I'd won a competition after taking part in a launch event with a few other Swanwickers, and opted to pick up Kindred Spirits: Tower of London, the first book in a series of paranormal historical novels by Jennifer C Wilson.

Taking place in contemporary times, we follow the numerous ghosts inhabiting the Tower of London as they interact with each other and play tricks on unsuspecting tourists. I suppose the main plot thread is about the last Plantagenet king Richard III as he seeks the ghosts of 'The Princes in the Tower' - his nephews whom he had been accused of killing. Meanwhile, he asserts his leadership over the other ghosts in the tower, including Henry VIII's former wives Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard.

If anything, I think there are lot of characters to follow, so much that there is less attention paid to Richard's story about finding the princes; to the point where it seems more like an anthology of shorter stories than a novel. However, when the main story arc is involved, it pays off really well. Richard seems like he is searching for inner peace, seeing the public's perception of him as a historical figure while seemingly regretting his actions in life.

However, are the other events and diversions a bad thing? Not at all. Despite more time being spent on the ghosts' numerous interactions with each other and human visitors, they still work off each other really well. All the ghosts were actual historical figures (there's a dramatis persona at the end of the book), and their interactions seem reminiscent of Old Harry's Game, a radio series set in Hell which I'm also fond of.

If you're interested, you can find the book on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindred-Spirits-London-Jennifer-Wilson-ebook/dp/B016TRKU2A/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

If you fancy a few ghost stories, then I recommend it. I certainly enjoyed it.

Wild Tales

It's been an odd couple of days. I turned 24 last Thursday, but I lost out on a chance to read some of my work on the radio, and I'm having to deal with some of the most mind-numbing bureaucracy at a job that's already eating my valuable writing time. This road to the breaking point has led me to an interesting piece of world cinema: The 2014 Argentinian film, Wild Tales.

 The film is divided into six vignettes:

• Pasternak features a group of passengers on a plane who slowly realise they all share a connection to one man;
• The Rats follows a waitress at a diner who must deal with the man who ruined her family, and the cook's offer to poison his food;
• The Strongest is about two motorists who try and out-do each other on a desert highway;
• Little Bomb tells the story of how a civil engineer's life comes crashing down over a disputed parking ticket;
• The Proposal is a "Bonnie Situation"-style scenario about a wealthy man trying to cover up his son's involvement in a hit-and-run;
• Till Death Do Us Part shows what can happen when a bride learns of her husband's infidelity at their wedding.

All these stories are built up really well, and include some of the funniest pitch-black humour I've ever seen in a film. It's sick, but it's also something we can all relate to in one way or another.

I originally saw this film last year, after having a minor breakdown in my previous job and leaving obscene notes on the front desk. I saw a strange irony in the fact that this was the running theme in the film: stories about ordinary people who are pushed to violent extremes by a society which makes no sense to them. Even if foreign language films aren't your thing, I highly recommend that you check this one out.

And if you were wanting to hear me on the radio, you can see what I'd originally planned to read here: https://authorvalpenny.com/2017/10/27/the-emporium-a-short-story-by-guest-author-andrew-roberts/

Or here: https://bookreviewstoday.info/2017/10/27/the-emporium-a-short-story-by-guest-author-andrew-roberts/

Special thanks to Val Penny for publishing the story. I hope it makes some interesting Halloween reading for you. Happy writing.

Upstart Crow - So You Think Shakespeare's Boring?

"So You Think Shakespeare's Boring?" - That was the title of a project I had to do as part of the English GCSE. I'm just going to let it all out: I hated learning about Shakespeare at school. It's rarely taught well. Having to stay up all night translating one scene from Much Ado About Nothing into modern English is a surefire way to really kill someone's interest. Especially if that someone is 14 years old and believes that evenings are better spent playing Call of Duty.

Anyway, I'm not here to do another rant about bad blood from my school days. I'm here to look at something that might get someone interested in Shakespeare: Upstart Crow. This sitcom from Ben Elton follows David Mitchell as William Shakespeare trying to make a name for himself as a playwright. Unfortunately, his common background is a cause of contention with the Oxbridge-educated playwright and Master of the Revels Robert Greene, played by Mark Heap.

The series has a great cast of characters, and takes place around three principal locations:

1. Shakespeare's London lodgings, where he writes his plays while plagiarising accepting inputs from his servant Bottom (Rob Rouse) and his landlady's daughter Kate (Gemma Whelan) who aspires to be an actress. Also present is Shakespeare's close friend Kit Marlowe (Tim Downie), a suave fellow playwright and spy.
2. Shakespeare's family home in Stratford, where he interacts with his wife Anne Hathaway (Liza Tarbuck), their grumpy teenage daughter Susanna (Helen Monks), and his parents Mary Arden (Paula Wilcox) and John Shakespeare (Harry Enfield). The home scenes often include a rant by William about his commute from London.
3. The Red Lion Theatre, where Shakespeare runs his plays with actors Henry Condell (Dominic Coleman), Richard Burbage (Steve Speirs), and William Kempe (Spencer Jones).

The stories in each episode often allude to Shakespeare's works, and he is often inspired or dissuaded by these events. And because it's Ben Elton, there are plenty of stabs at modern issues, but it's done in a way that fits in well with the setting, often in the form of people joking that it will never catch on. I especially like how everyone frequently criticises how loquacious Shakespeare is, most notably with the line "Wherefore art thou?", which is seen as "Where are you, Romeo?". Yeah, it mocks Shakespeare just as much as it lauds him.

If there's anything I do take issue with, it's the character of William Kempe. He's supposed to be similar to Ricky Gervais, but I don't really see the point of that. I just don't think he's very funny - and I wasn't that keen on The Office to begin with. Besides that, the series is solid comedic gold. Speaking as someone who hated studying Shakespeare at school, I find it very therapeutic. And speaking as a writer, I find that I can almost relate to the protagonist, as I'm sure most writers trying to get their lucky break would.

The second season of Upstart Crow has just finished, but there's a third season and a Christmas special on the way. I highly recommend that you find it. If you liked Blackadder then you'll love this one.