A novel begins as a whiff of an idea that a writer’s scribbles then give flesh. But most books remain unwritten. The British newspaper the Independent asked ten contemporary authors about the books they had failed to write. My favorite responses were from Will Self, who wanted to write a superhero saga about unremarkable people–an idea squashed by the recent television hit Heroes–and the gutsy premise behind D.J. Taylor’s “religio-political epic” God: The Novel. Maybe some enterprising creative writers in our readership will take up their pens and complete these unfinished potential masterworks?
The Fine Art of the Pataphysical Novel
Tagged with: creative writing, D.J. Taylor, Great Writing, pataphysical novels, the Tndependent, unwritten novels, Will Self
