All writers have...

I met up with a writer friend today and between the cake and coffee we strayed onto books and unsurprisingly agreed that...

All writers:

Have a big stack of books that they have bought and intend to read- they just haven't got round to it yet...

If they see a notebook they like they'll buy it, even if they have a dozen in the drawer at home...

Lots of methods for backing up your work- I seem to have quite a few memory sticks now...

Among the big stack of books in my home are quite a few that are for reference. Sometimes they relate to a project I intend to get to later, rather than now or the next few months.
I just have this fear that if I don't get it when I see it I won't remember or find it again- when I do need it.

Now you'll probably have your own ideas of what to add to the list, so please share your particular writing related must haves in the comments section- just to reassure us all we are not crazy, we're just writers.

And the Contenders are...

It's that time of year again...

No, not Christmas shopping. I mean the shortlist for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award, an annual highlight of the Literary Review that has (in the past) probably included writers who hid behind their computer screens in shame, while others wholeheartedly embraced their inclusion.

You can see the shortlist here.

Ex-PrimeMinister Tony Blair was nominated a few months ago to much media comment for a few lines in his recently published biography, but he escaped while his former spin-doctor Alistair Campbell didn't and is included for a second time (that must tell him something).

You can read why some of this year's shortlist were selected by the judges in an article in the Guardian's book section.

This year's winner will be announced on the 29th November at a ceremony in the In & Out Club in St James's Square.

Now if you want to read an example of good sex in fiction ask any romance writer.

My personal choice... No- I can't pick just one, there are just too many good ones to choose from...