Anne Corlett

Wow. You really can buy anything on Amazon.

I still mourn the loss of the Committee for Guildable Manors. I sneaked it into the acknowledgements.

My last book had short sections between some of the chapters, mostly to do with the history of the setting, but with some hints about the actual story. We needed to lose 20k words and the most hotly-defended territory was in those sections.

I’m not adverse to a well-crafted footnote, mind, if the narrative structure allows. Always interesting from a perspective point of view!

Most of my students are writing in the speculative area, so we spend a lot of time on worldbuilding. So much is about justifying what the viewpoint character notices/thinks, without the constant ‘as you know, Bob, in this world…’ It’s the abnormal the character will naturally notice, not the norm.

I love this. I bang on endlessly to my students about perspective, and the difference between the character viewpoint and narrator structuring. Explanation and comment breaks immersion. A strong setting just…is. The Hookland pieces are such a good example. Is the quote from a longer work/article?

Just finished watching Firefly and Serenity with Boys 1 and 2. The desperate hope in Boy 1’s voice when he said ‘Is there…like, a post credits scene? Or something?’ It was like watching small children realise there’s no Santa. #firefly #scifi

Today I finally found my meat handling limit as a vegetarian in a meat-eating family. The words ‘reach inside the chicken’ seemed entirely innocuous until the moment of the reaching arrived. Reader, I found another recipe.

Boy 1’s English lit paper flagged for remark - 2 marks off higher grade. One problem - his teacher will find out he abandoned Frankenstein and answered the Christmas Carol questions based solely on multiple viewings of the Muppet version. And did substantially better than expected. Just…how?

Relief here after GCSE results. Boy 1 decided not to do any work before mocks, thinking natural ability would get him through. Cue a frantic scramble before the real things. It could have gone either way. Solid set of results - a couple of disappointments but a couple of pleasant surprises too.

I had to find the manual release for ours this morning. I’d put some damp running kit in for a short dry, and the machine went on like I’d insulted its entire lineage and spat in its drawer, then sulked and refused to do anything but flash a pointed lock symbol at me. Arse of a machine.

I loved that book. I’ve still got it on my shelves. I did look at it while sorting out books recently and think I’d never seen anything else from her.

My sister in law, on the other hand, is now deeply confused about my wasps. Considering sending partner’s rowing updates to his mum, just so everyone is entirely up to speed.

I am now fully updated about what I am up to.

I seem to be everyone’s ‘oops, not for you’ this morning. I have had an apology for cancelling tonight’s session at short notice (partner, and he was talking about rowing!) and my mother in law informing me that she’s just spoken to me and will be seeing me later and that we’ve had wasps nests.

It’s meeeee!

On a bus which has a fault that is making it give a ‘Please apply handbrake’ alert every 5 seconds while the bus is moving. I am fully expecting the driver to hurl himself from his window any second. Then ‘please apply handbrake’ will become a pressing matter for all of us on board.

I am a vegetarian, but if it would make chirpy mcchirpface outside my window shut up, I would gladly eat him, feathers and all. Yes, rhw sun is rising. It happens every day. Calm down.

Me: OMG how much weight have I put on since I last wore this dress? I can't even get it on. What am I going to wear tomorrow? Aaaaaargh!
Less stupid me: You know you haven't undone the zip, right?

Me: My parcel has been delivered to the wrong house. The house in the picture is not mine, or in fact any house in this very small village.
Evri: Have you checked with all your household members?
Me: Yes, they're all pretty sure they also don't live in that house that's not our house. HTH.

I remember going to a colleague’s house with my two older boys when they were little. When they discovered eating like this was an option, they both turned and looked at me, like ‘And you were going to tell us about this when?’ It was clear they thought forks had been imposed just to piss them off.

a close up of a stuffed animal with a rainbow in the background . ALT: a close up of a stuffed animal with a rainbow in the background .

Actual footage of my face for the 15 minutes when I thought Scrivener had somehow deleted all traces of every copy and backup of the book that will be going to my agent by the end of this week. Turned out to be a misunderstanding between me, the wifi and Dropbox. #writing

I had this exact conversation yesterday. My particular favourite is when they’re all ‘I’m dyyyyyyyying’ while thrashing about on the edge of the sill of the enormous open window. And you flick them out and they come back and resume their operatic demise. ‘Noooo, nothing to be done. Dyyyyying!’

Anne Corlett, Lianne Dillsworth and Emily Howes in conversation with Sebastian Huang | Events at Waterstones Bookshops | Waterstones Events at Waterstones get you closer to the books and authors you admire most. Find information and tickets about Anne Corlett, Lianne Dillsworth and Emily Howes in conversation with Sebastian Huang t...

Your one week reminder of what should be a fun event at Covent Garden Waterstones, talking about writing for and about the stage, obviously including immersive theatre! With @emilyhowes.bsky.social, Lianne Dillsworth and Seb Huang of Sleepwalk Immersive. www.waterstones.com/events/anne-...

This was so much fun. Thanks to @minimumlabyrinth.bsky.social for the invitation. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon if you’re interested in London history or immersive theatre - or both!

It happens.

I mean, I made it. It just seemed to take a lot longer than it should have done. And the pitch black bit between houses went on long enough that I was starting to get a little bit edgy…

You know there’s a festival happening at the weekend called Voidspace Live. I can put in a good word with the organiser…

All the best conversations happen while drinking in barns in Somerset. And I say this as a committed northerner.

That thing where you live in a really small village, go drinking with your neighbours and then have to tittup home through the pitch dark and 100 yards takes about 20 minutes.