Novel Thoughts - The Invention of Morel (Alfredo Bioy Casares, 1940)
There are two big questions an author needs to answer when choosing to write in the first person. For whom is your narrator writing, and...
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David Savill
- Jul 20
- 4 min
Novel Thoughts - Swimming Home, by Deborah Levy (And Other Stories, 2012)
(Novel Thoughts is my blog of quick reads on craft and technique in the novel, reacting to every novel I read). Deborah Levy’s Swimming...
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David Savill
- Jul 16
- 4 min
Novel Thoughts - Klara and The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber and Faber, 2021)
Every year I teach a class in children's fiction. The most difficult reads for my students to enjoy are a particular ‘middle grade’ of...
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David Savill
- Jul 1
- 6 min
Work in Progress: All of Russia's Children
Chapter One It began with a call from the court-reporter of The Bexleyheath Courier, and ended on the border of Belarus. “You said she...
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David Savill
- Jun 26
- 4 min
Novel Thoughts - Natasha Brown, Assembly (Penguin 2022)
Elsewhere in this blog I have asserted with the (false?) confidence of a creative writing teacher, that a novel can be defined as nothing...
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David Savill
- Jun 19
- 3 min
Novel Thoughts - Antonio Tabbucchi, Requiem: an hallucination (Penguin 1994)
It is nearly always dull to hear other people’s dreams recounted, partly, because in dreams there are no dramatic stakes. Whatever...
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David Savill
- Jun 7
- 2 min
Novel Thoughts: Sandro Veronesi - The Hummingbird (W&N 2022)
If I was asked to demonstrate the potential of the novel to someone who has never read one before, I might suggest The Hummingbird. This...
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David Savill
- May 29
- 3 min
Novel Thoughts: Antal Szerb - Journey By Moonlight (1937, Pushkin Press 2001)
Starting in May 2022, novel thoughts is a blog of my immediate reactions to reading a novel. This is not a critical review or...
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David Savill
- May 29
- 3 min
Novel Thoughts - Sarah Winman, Still Life (Fourth Estate, 2021)
Starting in May 2022, novel thoughts is a blog of my immediate reactions to reading a novel. This is not a critical review or...
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David Savill
- Mar 11
- 2 min
Behind the frontlines on March 11 2022
On the M60 westbound in Manchester this morning civilians drove to work under clear skies in light, Friday traffic. An accident on the...
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David Savill
- Nov 13, 2021
- 4 min
Transitions
I am endlessly fascinated by creative processes. Every year, I teach a module called Creative Practice, where the underlying subject is...
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David Savill
- Jul 21, 2021
- 1 min
An Improvisation: July 01st, 2021 10.03pm
Pay attention. It's a mantra in the creative writing classes I teach. There are rules for my musical improvisations that mean I must...
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David Savill
- Sep 27, 2020
- 1 min
Here Come The Leaves
I feel like I can hear the production and playing finally improving with this piece. The overall sound captures better what I intended...
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David Savill
- Sep 27, 2020
- 1 min
Zoli's place: Improvisation
Something I'm discovering by making music is how much my relationship with any art depends upon improvisation. I have a terrible memory....
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David Savill
- Sep 27, 2020
- 1 min
Dream in C: focusing on production
After the frenzied whirlwind of making a piece of new music every week, I took a break and spent a bit more time trying to understand...
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David Savill
- Sep 27, 2020
- 1 min
Ibrahim's Place: The last of my weekly lockdown pieces
This was the last of my weekly lockdown pieces. I went from not making music, to buying a guitar, discovering Garageband and then Logic,...
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David Savill
- Sep 27, 2020
- 1 min
Five Songs: an interpretation of Auden
I'm not mad keen on singing, but sometimes I read something that feels like it needs to be sung. This short poem by Auden reminded me of...
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David Savill
- Jun 20, 2020
- 1 min
Making a new piece of music every week: June 16th 2020
This piece was inspired by my love of Skateboarding
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David Savill
- Jun 12, 2020
- 1 min
Making Music Every Week. June 7th 2020.
The burning world turns.
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David Savill
- Jun 12, 2020
- 1 min
Making Music Every Week. May 31st 2020
I think my longing for a good night out got into this somewhere.
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