williamdawson2Feb 17, 20191 minState of PlayAs you may have seen, I've updated the website. I've added an extended extract from The Maze Garden, and also an extract from my current work-in-progress, Th...
williamdawson2Dec 8, 20181 minNovel UpdateSo An Angel of Glass is complete. Sort of. It still requires a little polishing here and there, but I feel that it can be left on the backburner over Christm...
williamdawson2Feb 4, 20182 minWhy The Good Place is the Greatest Show Currently on TelevisionIt's rare to find a comedy that genuinely loves its characters. Most comedies seem to thrive on humiliating their cast. Think about the painful bedroom antic...
williamdawson2Apr 6, 20173 minInspirations: Hergé, Tintin, and the Never-History of EuropeThere was a period during my childhood when my reading consisted pretty much solely of Asterix, Tintin, and the Horrible Histories. All three influenced me i...
williamdawson2Apr 3, 20173 minInspirations: Robin Hobb and the Don Giovanni climaxRobin Hobb's Farseer trilogy were the first books that I really hated. I must have been about fourteen or fifteen when I first read them. Up until that point...
williamdawson2Dec 29, 20164 minReview: Polish Romantic ComposersQuick, quick – name a Polish composer. Now name a Polish composer who isn’t Chopin. If you remembered Szymanowski, well done – have a gold star. But it shoul...
williamdawson2Dec 29, 20164 minReview: Mozart Operas; Currentzis vs JacobsI had to buy my own Christmas present this year – which isn’t quite the sob story it sounds to be, because it meant that I finally got my hands on Teodor Cur...
williamdawson2Dec 28, 20163 minReview: Three FilmsOne of the joys of being a student again is that I get six months of Amazon Prime for free – and it’s a privilege that I’ve been thoroughly abusing. Amazon P...
williamdawson2Aug 3, 20162 minReview: Gone with the Wind and ContinuumJust a quick update on a couple of things I’ve loved recently. GONE WITH THE WIND: I finally finished reading Margaret Mitchell’s epic. I thought it was bril...
williamdawson2Apr 29, 20162 minInspirations: 'Map and Maze Puzzles'I used to love the Usborne Puzzle Adventure as a kid. But one volume in particular has had a lasting influence on me. That is (the somewhat underwhelmingly t...
williamdawson2Apr 6, 20164 minOn FantasySo, I've written a fantasy novel. It wasn't a direction I anticipated on going in, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. I read quite a bit of fantasy as ...
williamdawson2Feb 13, 20162 minReview: Tchaikovsky from MusicAeternaSomething interesting has been happening in the period instrument movement recently. For many decades 'authenticity' was the watchword. But as more research w...
williamdawson2Dec 9, 20152 minReview: The Other Works by Max BruchMax Bruch is one of those composers who, like Pachelbel, often gets dismissed as a one-trick pony. His First Violin Concerto is one of the most popular piece...
williamdawson2Nov 18, 20151 minReview: Parade's EndI've just finished watching the BBC production of 'Parade's End', starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall - and I'm completely in love with it. I have...
williamdawson2Oct 31, 20151 minBack to Front ResearchI always fall into this trap. Really, if you want to make your novel convincing, you should go where your research takes you. But instead, I usually find mys...
williamdawson2Oct 26, 20152 minThe Malignant EndingI love writing beginnings. Whether it's the start of a whole novel or just the start of a chapter, there's a sense of infinite opportunity. You can let your ...
