Literary Birthday – 5 February – Terence Blacker

Happy Birthday, Terence Blacker, born 5 February 1948.

Five Quotes

Read. Try to write every day. Don’t be afraid to imitate writers you like. Try different styles. Develop a thick skin. Get an understanding bank manager. Have faith in yourself. Listen to the experts, then do it your own way.
[Inspiration] comes from all around – things that happen to me, that I hear and see. A writer is a spy.
Getting paid does not make a writer somehow less pure, less of an artist. If you find that idea embarrassing, you are probably in the wrong profession.
Being a writer involves a tricky balance between self-belief and arrogance. A good editor can often help an author from going bonkers.
…occasionally, it’s tough to write. I have no easy solution except to hold on to your seat and sweat your way through it. Writing for a living, with the financial panic that is never far away, can help ease the block, too.

Terence Blacker is an English author, columnist, journalist, and publisher. He has written children’s books and mysteries for adults. His works of fiction include the novels, Boy2Girl and The Angel Factory.

Source for Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_Ter_137A.jpg By Angela Sykes – Norfolk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11188113