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A New Affliction

23/6/2018

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I'm suffering from an interesting affliction: novelist's block.
 
Never heard of it? Well, neither had I until recently, when I discovered that I could write almost anything except a continuation of my latest novel. Short stories? Flash fiction? The odd (very odd) poem? No problem. Even the occasional song, believe it or not. But a novel? Nosirree. The keyboard's gone cold.
 
Part of my problem is that I'm easily distracted. Short fiction suits my lack of concentration rather well, although even a decent-length piece can be challenging unless I'm in the right mood. But I probably have enough to publish a collection, even allowing for one or two being dropped out by an editor.
 
The Blogger Who Came in from the Cold hit the bookstores only last week. But while that book had been going through the editorial and cover design sausage machine, I'd been writing its successor... until it hit the buffers.
 
So what next? Ironically I covered this very subject myself in a blog a couple of years ago. But that assumed a general writer's block, not a problem with something specific. I suppose that, in the end, there'll be nothing for it but to lock myself in a room and grind it out. But I also know what that means: it means that I'll have to start all over again once I'm finished. Because a novel must flow seamlessly, carrying the reader along with it. And if it's not doing that for me, the author, it's hardly going to do that for anyone else.
 
Don't expect that new novel any time soon.
Gordon Lawrie
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More Photos from Our recent BookLaunch

14/6/2018

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These photos of the launch of Gordon Lawrie's The Blogger Who Came in from the Cold are courtesy of Callum Chomczuk.
Remember the song isn't supposed to be very good! Danny, the central character, struggles to write decent lyrics, and this verse uses the back of a credit card statement.
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The Blogger Who Came in from the Cold

13/6/2018

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Photo: Lucy Lloyd
Last night saw the launch of The Blogger Who Came in from the Cold by Gordon Lawrie in Blackwell's South Bridge, Edinburgh. Gordon was "in discussion" with the Edinburgh International Book Festival's Helen Chomczuk (although she was anxious to make it clear that her role there is a non-creative one). Helen also happens to be his daughter.

The evening was really well attended. Helen skilfully prised a few nuggets from Gordon, who also read a couple of excerpts and played a couple of snippets of not-very-good (his words) music from the book. Questions followed from the floor to conclude a fast-flowing evening which one observer described as "buzzing".
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Book Launch: the Blogger Who Came in from the Cold

10/6/2018

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Gordon Lawrie's new novel The Blogger Who Came in from the Cold ​will be launched (and published) on Tuesday, 12th June in Blackwell's, South Bridge, Edinburgh.
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There are still tickets available for this event, which is free and begins at 6.30.
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Copyright and Trade Mark Myths

10/6/2018

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The other day a fellow writer got in touch with me. She'd written a story faintly referencing a well-known burger chain. Then, anxious to ensure she was allowed to quote the brand name in her story, she decided to contact the burger chain's customer services department to be sure.
 
The burger chain (allegedly – you'll understand that I can only quote her version) instead said she could be sued for using their brand name, and demanded to know her name and contact details. Perhaps they threatened to pull her fingernails out and shoot her dog, too, but I've no information on that. Whatever happened, the writer was sufficiently concerned to contact me to ask what to do.
 
I suggested a slight edit, but I honestly don't think it was necessary.
 
I've noticed that North Americans sometimes get a little confused about copyright and trademarks. The author of a work of art – including paintings, sculpture, music, photographs as well as literature – can claim copyright and that he or she wrote it. To claim copyright, all that writer needs to be able to do is to demonstrate that they wrote it first. After that, no one else can reproduce it without the author's permission. However its title can be referred to, and the work can be quoted for the purposes of critical analysis and education research – so long as it's made quite clear who wrote the original.
 
A trademark, on the other hand, is a brand. It can be an everyday word or picture, but even a trademark needs to be able to claim it's unique. Trademarks are registered, mainly to make it easier for big corporations to hunt down other firms who try to steal the brand. Big firms pay agencies to manage their trademarks, and also to frighten innocent callers.
 
That's why a recent case – where a romantic fiction author managed to trademark the word 'cocky' for the titles of her books – is nonsense. US judges aren't doing so well at the moment, but this was a particularly bizarre ruling: allowing a long-established word in the English language to be for the exclusive use of one individual is utterly perverse. Someone will sort that.
 
There are two areas where writers need to be incredibly careful about copyright. The first concerns quoting music lyrics. When I was writing my first novel Four Old Geezers and a Valkyrie, I wanted to have the central character singing some rock classics while bashing an old guitar. Once I discovered the cost, I changed my mind. Quoting one line – just one line, mind you, of the Beatles' song When I'm Sixty-Four costs over $1,000. I changed the story. Note, though, that I can mention the title of the song quite freely.
 
It's also important not to steal images from image stock firms such as Shutterstock, Dreamtime, Adobe and – especially – Getty. These firms can use clever software to trace copies of their work online, so that your ebook cover, say, will be spotted if parts of it match with an image in their library. And they go for the jugular. For £7.00, say, just accept that it'll cost a little to stay onside with the publisher.
 
When you're dealing with the Beatles or Getty, it pays to take care of your fingernails and your dog.


Gordon Lawrie
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